Inspire vs S1000 vs waiting

[drewmaw]

I've been preparing for months to fly the Inspire 1 flying smaller quads, but now that I'm seeing so many quirks with inspire 1 with many videos showcasing strange behavior and crashes and questionable design decisions leading irreparable damage outside of dji's hands. I read about the warranty tape inhibiting from local repair and replacing the whole arm even if a motor fails, etc etc. The more I read, the more I've started looking at the S1000 + GH4, or A7S.

So, I'm curious to hear from a S1000 user that can attest to the superiorty that it has over the Inspire, if any at all. I know one perceived advantage is self repair at home, such as easy access to replace components, but what about reliability, flight, and fpv+filming camera for two operators with two independent cameras for each operator.

Obviously the s1000 is more expensive especially with the camera purchase, but is it worth it in a world with the Inspire? Is it better to just get the Inspire at this point?

Thanks so much! I've been working as a DP for the last 7 years, and looking to add quad piloting to the portfolio. Cheers! [emoji4]

 

[rilot]

They are different birds for different uses. If you want the best image quality possible (without carrying a Red) then the S1000 (or S900 if you plan to carry a GH4) is for you. I don't see the need for the S1000 to be honest. It was designed to carry the 5D but people are getting better IQ from the GH4 which is fine on the significantly cheaper S900.
I fly an S800 EVO with a Sony Nex5 and the Inspire won't be replacing it. I need the image quality from the Nex and the stability of the large hex platform. In fact, I'm going to replace the S800 EVO with an S900 in the near future.

For me, the Inspire is a Phantom replacement.

 

[drewmaw]

They are different birds for different uses. If you want the best image quality possible (without carrying a Red) then the S1000 (or S900 if you plan to carry a GH4) is for you. I don't see the need for the S1000 to be honest. It was designed to carry the 5D but people are getting better IQ from the GH4 which is fine on the significantly cheaper S900.
I fly an S800 EVO with a Sony Nex5 and the Inspire won't be replacing it. I need the image quality from the Nex and the stability of the large hex platform. In fact, I'm going to replace the S800 EVO with an S900 in the near future.

For me, the Inspire is a Phantom replacement.

But what about the repairability between the s900, s1000 premium, s1000+, as I'm reading the s1000+ has improved access to the main boards for easier and more efficient repair...?

 

[phantomjoy]

Likewise, I am also thinking about the on-going costs of the Inspire. I have crashed and re-built my Phantom 2+ a few times. I'm now on my third shell. Watched loads of videos on YouTube about moving insides of Phantom to a new shell, replacing motors, ESC's etc. I'v had no problems at all. Ok, my background is electronics so mostly its second nature.

On the current S900 S1000 S1000+ are individual parts of the frame available, down to nuts and bolts? If I bend an arm, but the motor checks out OK, I just want a new arm and stick the motor back in.

It sound like this is just not going to be possible on an Inspire?

 

[rilot]

All parts are available for the pro DJI platforms. I bust an arm on my S800 EVO and just bought a replacement arm and transferred my motor and ESC from the old arm over. S900 and S1000 are the same. Easy to repair.
I can't see the Inspire being quite as easy. Looking at mine, there is a lot that can be destroyed in a crash and I can't see individual parts such as screws being made available. Take the Vision+ for example, there aren't individual parts available for the camera and gimbal. Break something and you're replacing the entire module.

 

[Chestermoney]

In my opinion, if you are crashing/damaging a phantom constantly you're not ready for an inspire or the larger s800/900/1000.
They're not designed to be in crashes regularly and certainly don't make for a nimble aircraft like the phantom.

I have an inspire and phantom 2v+ and have never crashed either. That's not due to skill, that's purely based on my attention to safety and the environment I fly in.

 

[qbizzy]

Chester$, even the best pilots have to prepare for a crash. To me it's just like riding a motorcycle. Everyone says that if you ride, you will eventually crash. I believe the same holds true for our multi-rotor systems. It's bound to happen. I think it's a valid concern regarding the repairability of our crafts. I am sure DJI makes a handsome profit from the replacement parts.

I wonder what the new DJI system will be like? I think it's called the Matrix 100? It might be worth waiting out for that.

There's a company close to where I live called PMG multi rotors. They haven't done a ton of marketing but their multi rotor systems are rock solid. PMG originally wanted to make drones to film their trophy trucks. Demand for their custom built UAVs eventually led to the creation of their own division. I saw their shop in Corona, CA. really solid stuff. They run pixhawk and DJI A2 and are currently beta testing the second gen pixhawk which will be released in 2016. Everything they make is done in house. Heck their gimbal have little gas dampeners in them. Sorry for the rant. I am with Rilot - my Inspire is like a better phantom to me.

 

[InspireAggie]

I just ordered an inspire....and my gut isn't setting well with how long it takes DJI to get around to repairs and their control. I can see why they would want their products to perform up to a standard for their reputation, so that's why they want to do the repairs. And money. It makes them money. I'm going to try the inspire. So far flying a phantom I've only had one or two close calls. Both caused be the RTH automation. Not my flying ability. Some things can be take out of your control. Being a mister fix it, and having repaired countless helicopter crashes, I would like more parts available. Like the arms for instance. So....we will see. If I do my part, hopefully, I can stay away from having to send my inspire in for repair. I'd probably be more liberal with my phantom than my inspire but I haven't flown an inspire yet...so who knows. Phantom seems easy to fix.

 

[Kilrah]

FWIW our 2 S900s and GH4s are gathering dust right now... Might be more of a local market thing, but here there simply isn't anybody who requires/wants/is ready to pay for images made with the big ones, they're instead happy that availability of cheaper platforms like the Inspire drives the prices down due to newcomers being easily able to get into the market.

In terms of repairs we didn't find much advantage to the modular platforms. Yes parts are "available"... when they're in stock, and it's often a pain.
And for bigger parts, for example if you damage your Zenmuse which is one of the first things that will suffer in a crash you'll also have to send it in for repair and wait whatever it takes unless you're ready to shell out $2500 for a new one... and even then nobody might have in stock i.e. wait a month, then get a dud, then wait 2 more months to have it exchanged because nobody has stock again (true story).

Anyway if you crash an S900 even if you can repair it yourself it's highly likely to cost you more than a brand new I1 you can have delivered next day.

 

[FangsCPO]

I too have an Inspire 1 being delivered tomorrow and the time and possible cost of repairing have been on my mind. I have an original Phantom that I crashed once and it was a very easy and not very costly repair. I also have a F550 that I've crashed twice and that too was an easy and not very costly repair. On all accounts, I was back in the air within 3-4 days. The lag time in repairs from DJI on the Inspire 1 has me really second guessing my purchase. The good thing, if I crash the Inspire 1, I'll still have two more birds to crash. LOL!!

 

[InspireAggie]

I'm second guessing mine based upon the repair times. Time will tell. Many have had no problems, while others have. I can make do with a phantom while waiting for repairs, I guess. I have other hobbies. I fortunately have a couple of guys from my church that own inspires and will help guide me and make sure I'm not forgetting a few precautions.

 

[Mopar Bob]

I think the biggest reason for going with the S900 over an Inspire should be the film quality. Not ease of repair. The quality of a 5D or a GH4 is night and day over that of the Inspire camera. On the flip side, when you get into the professional model like the S900 or S1000 you may gain the ability to customize it or repair it more easily (if you can get the parts). But you also loose the component integration that you get with the Inspire. In particular the battery. With the Inspire you have the cartridge type battery that is easy to charge and maintain. At $200 per battery. With the professional models, you have to purchase a special charger, a power supply, you have to monitor each battery closely to prevent damage. And the batteries cost about $600. So for maintainability, I think the Inspire is the winner. Especially if you consider you can buy 3 inspires for 1 fully loaded S900. But again, if you are looking for film quality, you need the professional platform so you can use a professional camera.

 

[skylabimaging]

I definitely agree Mopar!

Regardless whether or not a operator should be prepared for the worst with multirotors, I feel like you really have to try to crash the inspire (not including legit fly aways, which there are few of) You have to take what you read on the internet with a grain of salt. People from all types of backgrounds are trying to get into this hobby nowadays, some are really smart and some are....naive. So just because your reading that the inspire has quirks here and there and people are having problems, while its normal to assume you'll be an unlucky one (I thought I would be) the odds are far greater that you won't. Those of us that don't express problematic inspires aren't saying much cause were too busy flying it

 

[Kilrah]

The quality of a 5D or a GH4 is night and day over that of the Inspire camera.

I like to say a 5D or GH4 has potential of giving way higher quality than the Inspire 1's camera when you look at the right indicators and in the right hands and for the right purposes.

I.e. to any novice reading this, don't just expect to just buy an S900, slap a GH4 and any random lens on it and expect stellar results - if that's the amount of effort you want to put in you'll actually likely get better results with an I1.
Bringing out the potential needs some knowledge, and comes with its own lot of constraints.
For example auto exposure that varies depending on the framing looks pretty ugly and is typically considered "unprofessional" - using fixed exposure with an I1 is a piece of cake as you've got full manual settings that can be remote-controlled right there from the app and remote. With a GH4 there's no integration, so if you want locked exposure you have to set that before taking off.
We've been shooting outdoor scenes with an I1 yesterday and the weather was patchy clouds that were constantly changing lighting conditions from full bright sun to dark shade in less than a minute. With a camera that has no integration we'd have spent our time landing, changing settings and taking off again instead of shooting, or giving up and going for auto exposure. With the I1 we could set exposure at the beginning of each 20-sec shot to match the current conditions without having to come back and land.

The patchy clouds made for a couple of great timelapses of moving shadows BTW, even if the I1 cam of course did show its limitations in terms of dynamic range it will do the job. That's really something that should have been shot in log mode to allow for post prod corrections, but when asked the director unfortunately didn't want. By the end of the shoot it was obvious he didn't really know much about anything technical though, and we should have insisted more... oh well, part of the game.