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Inspire 1 with FPV camera, worth upgrading to Inspire 2?

Joined
Jul 10, 2016
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Hey guys,

I have an Inspire 1 with a custom FPV camera I made and fitted myself using a immersionRC 600 microwatt transmitter I soldered into the PCB board, works reasonably well(roughly 1km range). I also have 4 TB48 batteries, 2xX3 cameras (1 broke in a crash, I bought a new one then fixed the old one) and a Z3 and a second controller. I am not a professional, just someone who likes to use his drone for amateur filming, although I am considering getting CAA certified. I regularly go off road driving with friends and we use my inspire to capture us on the move. I fly while another friend operates the camera while in the car, I also use it to take photos and videos of the Scottish countryside and few other random projects. I quite like my setup, but get infuriated by the short battery life and the FPV camera is nowhere as reliable as the Inspires own camera setup.

I'm considering selling the lot and buying the Inspire 2. Do you think its worth it for my needs, and do think i'll make enough money to cover the buying an Inspire 2 with x4s camera?

Also worth mentioning, my inspire has covered a lot of miles, still works great but a little worried I might be on borrowed time and something may fail soon.
 
Hey guys,

I have an Inspire 1 with a custom FPV camera I made and fitted myself using a immersionRC 600 microwatt transmitter I soldered into the PCB board, works reasonably well(roughly 1km range). I also have 4 TB48 batteries, 2xX3 cameras (1 broke in a crash, I bought a new one then fixed the old one) and a Z3 and a second controller. I am not a professional, just someone who likes to use his drone for amateur filming, although I am considering getting CAA certified. I regularly go off road driving with friends and we use my inspire to capture us on the move. I fly while another friend operates the camera while in the car, I also use it to take photos and videos of the Scottish countryside and few other random projects. I quite like my setup, but get infuriated by the short battery life and the FPV camera is nowhere as reliable as the Inspires own camera setup.

I'm considering selling the lot and buying the Inspire 2. Do you think its worth it for my needs, and do think i'll make enough money to cover the buying an Inspire 2 with x4s camera?

Also worth mentioning, my inspire has covered a lot of miles, still works great but a little worried I might be on borrowed time and something may fail soon.
Be aware that if you are going to be CAA certified you get a whole different perspective of drone flying and you probably won't do 80% of what you are doing now anymore.
Getting certified means there's no excuse. It suddenly isn't a hobby anymore. Although you can still keep the passion for flying. Lot's of hobbyist got into this because they see it as a flying camera. But the national CAA's see it as an aircraft that can carry a payload. You will see it like that too once you're certified.

For your application a Mavik would do fine as well given the subject following possibilities. Or how about the P4 Pro with proximity sensors all around? It can follow you while avoiding trees and such. I think the I2 is more a commercial flying craft with payload options and the others still flying camera's and very suitable for filming while on an off road trip.

As far as the mileage on your I1, you can always give it a new set of motor bearings, new batteries etc.
 
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I think lake flyer is correct on all points if you can live with flying/ shooting/ navigating solo, which it doesn't sound like based on the activity/ terrain, which may make the mavic a deal-breaker.

I have made a relatively easy modification to my I1 that allows it to carry auxiliary LiPo batteries and consistently get 20+ min of flying time with ample leftover voltage so I'm never in an emergency "gotta land now" situation. It makes all the difference from flying with just a factory battery, where the impending low battery state is on your mind from the moment of takeoff.
 
Thanks guys for your contribution, both valid points I feel. I am genuinely considering a mavic, they are a fantastic piece of kit. I can't really see any advantage of a standard P4 vs a mavic, but the new pro p4 is also very interesting especially since battery life is 30mins, and as lake flyer says it has surround proximal sensors plus correct me if I'm wrong the camera is the same as the zenmuse X4S. I don't think I can sell the Inspire 1 for enough to cover the buying an Inspire 2 and camera (really surprised the camera is an extra cost and the Inspire 1 cameras don't work with it). If i did sell it all I would likely have to spend another £1000. I think that i might get a Mavic Pro and keep the inspire 1, and I'll look into those batteries mods Pescatoral Pursuit mentioned. I think this is probably the best compromise all round, appreciate your views though.
 
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