DJI confirming X5S or X7S compatibility with I3?

[Surge]

Hi all,

I’ve pushed my Mavic about as much as I can and I’m looking forward to becoming an Inspire pilot.

One thing that concerns me is future compatibility with the forthcoming Inspire 3. Has DJI stated anything about the X5S or X7S in this regard? It’s odd not to know if your lenses will be compatible — after all, I can buy all the Nikon SLR lenses I want and know that they will be compatible with future bodies. DJI needs to do the same.

If I buy an I2 now and invest more than $5k in lenses, what happens if the I3 only works with the X8S? I’m not willing to take that loss so late in the I2’s lifecycle.

Perhaps DJI can comment on this.

 

[The Editor]

Hi all,

I’ve pushed my Mavic about as much as I can and I’m looking forward to becoming an Inspire pilot.

One thing that concerns me is future compatibility with the forthcoming Inspire 3. Has DJI stated anything about the X5S or X7S in this regard? It’s odd not to know if your lenses will be compatible — after all, I can buy all the Nikon SLR lenses I want and know that they will be compatible with future bodies. DJI needs to do the same.

If I buy an I2 now and invest more than $5k in lenses, what happens if the I3 only works with the X8S? I’m not willing to take that loss so late in the I2’s lifecycle.

Perhaps DJI can comment on this.

First of all, this forum is not affiliated to or connected with DJI in any way so you will not get a manufacturer response here.

Secondly, DJI has never made publicly available any compatibility specifications in its upcoming aircraft, nor has it a good record in reverse compatibility

Thirdly there will be NO new UAV’s from DJI coming to market until 2020 due to European/EASA requirements.

 

[iancrowson]

Difficult area. The DJI Zenmuse X5s uses micro 4/3 mount and sensor (as in Olympus M) whilst the X7s uses a DJI lens mount, sensor and lenses.
Either camera and gimbal will fit on Inspire 2.
Whilst the X7s may be a better camera especially for video the much cheaper X5s is very good and plenty of micro 4/3 lenses can be used.
I own the X5s, someone may comment if third party lens can be used with X7s. DJI lenses are expensive.
Ian

 

[Surge]

Thanks. It’s nice to have the flexibility to use almost any 3rd party lens with the X5S.

Do we know who makes the lenses for DJI?

 

[iancrowson]

No I don't know. The DJI branded 15mm lens for X5s could be any of the better manufactures camera lenses in appearance, The X7s lenses are different in appearance and made from carbon fibre.
Hopefully someone will know.
I have the X5s with the DJI 15mm, f1.7, Olympus 25mm f1.8 and Olympus 45mm f1.8, all are very good with probably the 25mm f1.8 the best, it sparkles. I also have the Panasonic 14-42 f3.5-5.6 zoom which is not too good and does not zoom very well in the air, jerky but maybe thats me.
I'm a Nikon full frame man so my standards are highish, however aerial long distance photos on a clear day are good with the Inspire 2, it must be clear to get the best landscape type images.
I've attached three photo taken with 15mm, 25mm and 45mm. Not sure how well they are reproduced on this site.
Ian

 

[Surge]

Thank you, great images!
So if you had to choose 1 lens, it would be the Olympus 25mm f/1.8?

 

[iancrowson]

The 25mm seems to me to be the best of the three for quality, sharpness and colour. The 15mm and 45mm are good too. It really depends on what you need to photograph or video. From a given position the 15mm will cover a wider angle while the 45mm will cover a smaller angle and bring things nearer. It will also give the appearance of distant things being closer to one another. If you can't fly near something but want to fill the frame the 45mm would be better.The 15mm for wide landscapes.
The DJI 15mm f1.7 often is offered as 'kit' with the Zenmuse X5s at a good price.
The Mavic lens is somewhere around 14mm (28mm full frame) so about the same as the 15mm (30mm full frame)
Ian

 

[jb.]

No one knows what DJI is going to do, but their track record on this isn’t great.

No Inspire generation has been compatible with anything from the previous generation. They love to sell you all new stuff every generation.

 

[ClaudioNC]

It’s nice to have the flexibility to use almost any 3rd party lens with the X5S

It would be nice, but actually IS NOT so!
Only very few lenses can be mounted and are compatible for one reason or another one.

 

[jb.]

The DJI 15mm that comes with some kits of the X5 series is a rebranded Panasonic Leica.

 

[huppe]

If I buy an I2 now and invest more than $5k in lenses, what happens if the I3 only works with the X8S? I’m not willing to take that loss so late in the I2’s lifecycle.

Perhaps DJI can comment on this.

Wonder why you are thinking of an I3 when you just bought an I2.
The I2 is more than good enough to withstand for years. It is very good and you can expect the I3 will be expensive.
I still fly my I1 and I'm very happy with it.
Only thinking of buying a Mavic 2.
And in the future an I2 when the I3 is on the market.Will save me money(after all I'm Dutch)

 

[Mixchief]

Didn't know there was an I3 in the works, or an X8for that matter, pretty impossible to know if there will be compatibility, furthermore the question is kind of irrelevant as any response would be speculation, can't base your purchase projections on speculation.

 

[dougcjohn]

Agree with above, several still use the I1 with X5Raw & MFT lens, Others enjoy the I2 & X5S & MFT lenses. I doubt very much DJI will design a 2nd new lens mount; indicating the DL mount, like the MFT mount will probably continue.

Not knowing anything about the next Inspire specifications, high probability (IMO) will continue with multiple camera bodies: MFT & DL Mount. The Inspire 1 offered a X5 and X5Raw with MFT lenses. The X5S continued the use of MFT and all 3rd Party acceptably lenses for the X5, X5R were carried over to the X5S. No Loss of Investment in Lenses. The X7 camera & Lens set is very pricey, and not even a consideration for the majority of the I2 Owners that comfortably enjoy the X5S & MFT Lens mount.

The X7 was focused on video with the Super35mm and proprietary DL lens mount.
Until recently, only the DJI Lens Pack of 4 were functional on the X7.
The Laowa 9mm f2.8 was recently offered with the DL mount and is now available for the X7 for a WIDE Super35 sensor view (Looks like the 9mm 35super provides a wider FOV than the 7.5mm on the X5S).
If the X7 remains a solid choice in videography, most likely more lenses will be offered with the DL Mount in future.

Back on MFT, if the next generation Inspire offers a MFT camera body... which I personally feel they definitely will when you consider the MFT lens cost, and is a "common mount" across multiple brands. The next option up would be multiple array of Full Frame, and I doubt that will appear, DJI I feel adopted their DL mount as their supported mount above the MFT.

DJI went to the trouble designing & making the DL Mount and has only released 4 lenses. I would assume additional lenses will be released by DJI in DL mount and the majority of these will fit X7 and what ever the new DL mount camera body.

Laowa 9mm f/2.8 DL Zero-D – the widest lens available for the DJI X7 cameras & Inspire 2 drones - Newsshooter

The Laowa 9mm f/2.8 DL Zero-D that was announced just before Photokina last year is now shipping. It is the widest lens available for the DJI X7 cameras

www.newsshooter.com

 

[Daniel Harrell]

No I don't know. The DJI branded 15mm lens for X5s could be any of the better manufactures camera lenses in appearance, The X7s lenses are different in appearance and made from carbon fibre.
Hopefully someone will know.
I have the X5s with the DJI 15mm, f1.7, Olympus 25mm f1.8 and Olympus 45mm f1.8, all are very good with probably the 25mm f1.8 the best, it sparkles. I also have the Panasonic 14-42 f3.5-5.6 zoom which is not too good and does not zoom very well in the air, jerky but maybe thats me.
I'm a Nikon full frame man so my standards are highish, however aerial long distance photos on a clear day are good with the Inspire 2, it must be clear to get the best landscape type images.
I've attached three photo taken with 15mm, 25mm and 45mm. Not sure how well they are reproduced on this site.
Ian

Thank you for this. I own the I2 with X5s, I have the DJI 15mm and the Olympus 45mm, and I agree with all that you said. I haven't played with the 25mm. I'm interested now.

Like the OP, I hope that DJI learned their lesson with the fiasco between the I1 and the I2 (I own both and nothing was compatible or usable between these two UAS. Even though I'm 100% convinced the X5's 15mm DJI lens is the exact same as the X5s's 15mm lens, I was told by multiple DJI sources that they were "different" and would not work)

The Inspire category is supposed to be the professional UAS for cine/video and photography. I would say that they cannot expect their user base to invest $7K+ each time they innovate, but I have yet to find an alternative UAS that is as well integrated. Without competition, they can do as they like.

However, a smart I3 platform would have more object avoidance, more stable flight, offer TB60 batteries, but also fly on TB50s, and use all existing cameras available for the I2. This is my opinion of course.

 

[dougcjohn]

Interesting on the DJI 15mm lens compatibility issue, Hadn't heard that one.
The DJI 15mm, is just a Panasonic MFT Lumix 15mm rebranded lens.
The Oly lenses indicated above are MFT and useable on X5R or X5S, and the DJI 15mm is a MFT that works on any MFT body: DJI, GH4, GH5, etc.

I fail to see where compatibility would prevent... certainly not the MFT mount and I don't think there's any difference in electronic contacts between the lenses.

I've used my Oly Zuiko 12, 25, 45 MFT lenses on any MFT body including X5R and X5S. I have one DJI 15mm and not sure what body it originally came off and I use it on both DJI bodies. I tried a Zuiko 14-42 pancake zoom, it worked but not an overall sharp lens, tried the Lumix 14-42 pancake with much better results in zoom & sharpness.... for an electronic controlled zoom. Best prime lens for Inspire(s) in my opinion is the ultra sharp Zuiko 12mm and it's equally sharp with X5R or X5S.

The bodies aren't compatible cross platform, but all MFT lenses that would mount & balance on gimbal to my limited testing are useable on either. The bodies in my viewpoint were more incompatible due to newer electronic changes and offloading CODEC circuits from X5R to the platform's onboard CODEC circuits with the X5S... and associated mount change to prevent cross platform mistakes.

I doubt the MFT body will be discontinued, it's just too much of a standardized mount to flush it in favor of a 2nd proprietary lens mount when I doubt they've even made much ground with their 1st attempt of the DL mount on X7. Might be wishful thinking, but I feel there may have been a little foresight when developing the X5S. With the offloading of the CODEC from the X5R to the I2's on-board circuitry; that's one advantage for the X5S since it's not the processing component and can probably utilize new circuitry within the I3. I wouldn't be surprised the X5S is one of the camera bodies offered on the I3 lineup.

 

[ClaudioNC]

I tried a Zuiko 14-42 pancake zoom, it worked but not an overall sharp lens, tried the Lumix 14-42 pancake with much better results in zoom & sharpness....

Your report is relative, personal, not absolute, limited to those lenses you have tested.
Unfortunately, there is almost always a significant difference in results between each sample in all the lenses of all brands.
I can tell you this from personal experience of 25+ years with hundreds of lenses of variuos formats in my photographic arsenal.
As for the Olympus 14-42mm, I have 3 copies, one aluminum version and two black.
Of these copies one is well constructed, well born, so optically well balanced, to the point that, except on the extreme angles, at all focal lengths from the center to the edges it has a surprisingly good details rendering, very sharp, close to that of a fixed focal length lens, excellent details on almost the entire focal plane.
The other two copies are scarce on more than a third of the frame, especially on a side, between 14mm and about 32mm.
And I have only one Lumix 14-42mm, very disappointing.

Now I leave the last conclusion to you.

 

[dougcjohn]

Your report is relative, personal, not absolute, limited to those lenses you have tested.
Unfortunately, there is almost always a significant difference in results between each sample in all the lenses of all brands.
I can tell you this from personal experience of 25+ years with hundreds of lenses of variuos formats in my photographic arsenal.
As for the Olympus 14-42mm, I have 3 copies, one aluminum version and two black.
Of these copies one is well constructed, well born, so optically well balanced, to the point that, except on the extreme angles, at all focal lengths from the center to the edges it has a surprisingly good details rendering, very sharp, close to that of a fixed focal length lens, excellent details on almost the entire focal plane.
The other two copies are scarce on more than a third of the frame, especially on a side, between 14mm and about 32mm.
And I have only one Lumix 14-42mm, very disappointing.

Now I leave the last conclusion to you.

You missed the subject of the thread and my post... it wasn't about recommending a lens. It was a response to the compatibility of MFT lens on both Inspire generations.

I wasn't recommending any lens, I was commenting on MFT being used on 2 different generations of DJI cameras: X5R & X5S. In previous posts there were indications of various lenses, I continued that as useable on both being MFT and added the DJI 15mm as useable in both... not unique for 1 body over the other. Additionally, I mentioned a few lenses I use as examples, and I did mention in "my opinion" a great sharp lens: the 12mm which has been highly recognized as extremely sharp... price & strong market also indicates.

Furthermore, this was a post, it wasn't a "report" or review, it's a forum of users expressing opinions of personal observations... so you're correct, neither of our expressions are absolute regardless of years. The Zuiko 14-42mm has been stated in many reviews as an average lens, and I'd highly agree. Actually, both pancake 14-42mm aren't considered high quality, both are compact average lenses per design. They've both gained a little popularity with the Inspire(s) due to the motorized zoom, but hasn't been recognized as high quality.

But back to point, the post was indicating using the same MFT lenses on on both generations of DJI MFT Bodies and the compatibility between platforms... and the DJI 15mm included.

 

[Dobmatt]

Your report is relative, personal, not absolute, limited to those lenses you have tested.
Unfortunately, there is almost always a significant difference in results between each sample in all the lenses of all brands.
I can tell you this from personal experience of 25+ years with hundreds of lenses of variuos formats in my photographic arsenal.
As for the Olympus 14-42mm, I have 3 copies, one aluminum version and two black.
Of these copies one is well constructed, well born, so optically well balanced, to the point that, except on the extreme angles, at all focal lengths from the center to the edges it has a surprisingly good details rendering, very sharp, close to that of a fixed focal length lens, excellent details on almost the entire focal plane.
The other two copies are scarce on more than a third of the frame, especially on a side, between 14mm and about 32mm.
And I have only one Lumix 14-42mm, very disappointing.

Now I leave the last conclusion to you.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but what are you basically saying is that the luck of a draw is a considerable issue with these X5 compatible pancake lenses? Hmm, that may be true as these are just too cheap to be good. It may also be true with other Olympus M.Zuiko lenses, perhaps with exception for the most expensive 12mm. Mine 25mm exhibits really bad aberration artifacts, thankfully correctable on DNG stills in PS.

 

[dougcjohn]

Playing on the above new 9mm DL for the X7... has any one used the equivalent for the MFT X5 series?
The Venus Laowa 7.5mm f2 for MFT.
It's made in a regular or Lightweight version, lightweight is 20g lighter for Aerial.

https://www.adorama.com/ve752lbmfta.html

For landscape or construction survey, the flat wide AOV 110 compared to the Zuiko 12mm AOV 84
Curious if anyone has used it and what you felt on results.

 

[ClaudioNC]

what are you basically saying is that the luck of a draw is a considerable issue with these X5 compatible pancake lenses?

Sorry Dobmatt, not sure to have understood this your, "luck of a draw".
Please try to reformulate it, otherwise I am not able to replay to this.

Regarding the CA (chromatic aberration), Olympus 25 mm, as almost all the lenses, you have to resign yourself to see it in jpg if the camera (whatever it is) does not automatically correct it.
Yes, use the RAW files, with DJI cameras, DNG files, eliminating almost every trace of CA with a good application, a RAW converter such as Lightroom or Camera RAW of Adobe, or others.
You can try to delete it also with jpg, but would be a bad way to operate.
The lateral CA easily disappears without obvious damage to the picture resolution, but the axial CA cannot be eliminated easily, not with an app like those, and in any case it's necessary to spend a lot of time and be patient in Post Production, with Photoshop or others.

However it's rare to have to worry about this kind of aberration when the camera flies, thus with a flying drone, usually not having to focus on a very close objects and blurring the infinite, or similar situations with diaphragm full open or almost full open.
If you don't know what I mean, what axial (or longitudinal) chromatic aberration means, please search the web for photo sites where the photographic lenses are tested.
One of the best, competent, accurate and complete for the number of parameters considered, is LensTip.com

Even the intensity and appearance of the lateral chromatic aberration, particularly around the borders, can vary a bit between one sample and another of the same lens, especially for a zoom and especially if it has a light and delicate mechanism like these small pancakes.
A small blow on the lens, a fall, without any visible structural damage outside, is enough to ruin the alignment of the internal elements resulting in a subpar lens.
Sometimes after a harder shock, can be ready for the trash, or if you are a scammer, a wicked, you could try to sell it to the first chicken you find on your way, possibly not in Ebay.

I do not sell anything...