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Gopro, inspire, and GH4 camera comparison

Good, better, best. :)

The demands of high motion 4k inherent in drone recording really take its toll on the Inspire camera from the examples I've seen.

The comparison above has only a small amount of motion but even so, the difference between the GH4 and Inspire is noticeable.

The default Inspire camera is better than the GoPro4 I would say, but here's hoping a higher end camera with larger sensor and more compute power is in the works for the Inspire.

A LUMIX GH4-class camera (without the bulk) would really make the Inspire a force to be reckoned with.

And of course, DJI could easily charge an extra $750-$2,000 for a high-end camera option, depending on how good it really is.
 
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To be honest the test should also incorporate a drop test.

Lets drop the GoPro from a height of 5 meters along with the other's and let's see the end results. Obviously gp is an action cam and the inspire cam is not designed to be an action cam and as for the G4 well that's some sensitive hardware that i would not recommend dropping that from any height.
 
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Drop test… So yes, that's a possibility of course but a camera comparison can only be that, to compare the performance of the camera. I fly an S800 with a Panasonic camera and I have to say that in a drop of 5 or 6 feet, I'd be into camera, gimbal and airframe issues. An unprotected GP isn't that tough if you nick it just right (my own experience) Damoncooper is right, for the photographer looking for results on a mid level platform like Inspire, an upgraded camera or better yet, a modular gimble capable of carrying a camera of the pilots choosing would be great. I thought the handheld gimble announcement would go hand in hand with other announcements about the device
 
DJI has said there will be camera upgrades in the future; after all, they designed it this way. And with so much attention given to video capability on this aircraft, I have little doubt that we will see a superior camera unit available in the future. This aircraft is exciting!
 
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DJi haven't said anything about there being camera upgrades in the future. People have assumed this due to the quick release, modular nature of the camera.
It would make sense for them to do this but I certainly wouldn't buy an Inspire with the hope of an upgrade in the future. Decide if the craft does what you want TODAY and then buy based on that. If you need GH4 quality video then buy a GH4, S900, Zenmuse and LightBridge.

DJI certainly won't be making a gimbal that takes the GH4 or similar for the Inspire due to where the gimbal mounts to the craft. They couldn't make something significantly heavier without unbalancing the entire craft.

Also, remember that the reason for the GH4 and 5D etc taking such excellent shots is as much to do with the glass as it is the sensor. Glass is heavy.
 
And this 'test' proves what exactly?

Absolutely nothing - It's a waste of 6 minutes and 51 seconds!

Firstly, as has been said numerous times previously, YouTube rips the crap out of ANY footage and recompresses everything as it sees fit irrespective of what you upload.
Secondly, It's no good just putting xxx camera, default settings. - What codec is being used?, what bitrate? CBR or VBR?
Thirdly, nobody who is serious about their footage will use it 'straight from the camera without grading. If you saw some 'untouched' footage out of an Arri or Sony F5 shot in S-Log you would say that your Fischer Price 'My First Drone' camera looks better - it appears flat, low contrast and washed out! It's what you can do with the footage in post and how far you can push it when graded that brings the footage to life.

Sorry - rant over.
 
And this 'test' proves what exactly?

Absolutely nothing - It's a waste of 6 minutes and 51 seconds!

Firstly, as has been said numerous times previously, YouTube rips the crap out of ANY footage and recompresses everything as it sees fit irrespective of what you upload.
Secondly, It's no good just putting xxx camera, default settings. - What codec is being used?, what bitrate? CBR or VBR?
Thirdly, nobody who is serious about their footage will use it 'straight from the camera without grading. If you saw some 'untouched' footage out of an Arri or Sony F5 shot in S-Log you would say that your Fischer Price 'My First Drone' camera looks better - it appears flat, low contrast and washed out! It's what you can do with the footage in post and how far you can push it when graded that brings the footage to life.

Sorry - rant over.


Vimeo does support download of the original uploaded video file if this option is enabled by the poster. You can find numerous Inspire 4K and GH4 4K Vimeo examples with this option enabled, download the files and compare for yourself on your preferred viewing platforms & screens. I just did this and posted the results in another thread here if you're interested:

http://www.inspirepilots.com/threads/inspire-video-quality.420/
 
And this 'test' proves what exactly?

Absolutely nothing - It's a waste of 6 minutes and 51 seconds!

Firstly, as has been said numerous times previously, YouTube rips the crap out of ANY footage and recompresses everything as it sees fit irrespective of what you upload.
Secondly, It's no good just putting xxx camera, default settings. - What codec is being used?, what bitrate? CBR or VBR?
Thirdly, nobody who is serious about their footage will use it 'straight from the camera without grading. If you saw some 'untouched' footage out of an Arri or Sony F5 shot in S-Log you would say that your Fischer Price 'My First Drone' camera looks better - it appears flat, low contrast and washed out! It's what you can do with the footage in post and how far you can push it when graded that brings the footage to life.

Sorry - rant over.


I would partially disagree with your post . I don't post my videos on YouTube ,but I would assume ,that if there is any degradation by uploading it to YouTube ,it will effect all 3 videos equally .
-even if editing might change final results drastically ,my interest is to see what is coming straight out from the camera.For experienced photographer/videographer ,the image quality straight from the camera ,as well camera specs,are very important to judge the quality( my nikon D3 won't produce as vivid RAW picture out of the camera compare to any higher level point and shoot camera's JEPG image ,because I know P&S camera has curve settings already applied in out coming picture).
Every photographer/videographer with certain level of experience is looking first for "straight out of camera results" ; majority of serious camera reviews pays lots of attention to resort straight out of the camera.
For example by looking at the this comparisons I can say that the GoPro is least suitable for aerial ,because its wide angle lens is badly effected by side light in most footage shown ,and it's improvement would need at least lens shield.
On another hand "comparison" is wrong word to use in this example ( to fairly compare cameras the same focal length lens should be used.
 
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