Is it a stupid idea to have a Zenmuse X3 as a backup for my X5?

[Ody]

Call me paranoid or whatever, but...
I came from a P3A world and while traveling to an island in the Caribbean, my P3A camera gimbal was damaged in transit. Nothing more frustrating that being on an island for 3 weeks and not being able to shoot video. Flying circles over the beach with no camera gets kinda boring after about 5 min. I kind of recovered but it was expensive and not perfect. (combined 2 1/2 working gimbals into 1 95% working one)

Anyway, I'm into the Inspire Pro now, enjoying the X5, but am heading back to the islands in the summer, and fear any sort of "Show stopper" issue with the X5 that might cut me off again. Following the threads here, I'm not seeing many comments about broken gimbals, ribbon cable issues, etc etc.

So my question is...
Would it be worth it to have a X3 as a backup, just in case something went wrong with the X5?
I know this is subjective, as $300 is diff to everybody. But compared to the cost of the pro in the first place, $300 is nothing.
Maybe I'm really asking for the comfort factor everybody has with the X5.
Can it take a bump and survive?
Maybe anything stressful enough to damage the X5, would also damage the Inspire anyway, and put it completely out of commission? So no point in having a spare.

And I say X3 as a backup, as I'm not a pro, not doing anything for money, This just a hobby. So I realize what I'd be loosing with the downgrade, but at least maybe not out of commission.

Opinions?

PS: If anybody has upgraded their Inspire to an X5, and wants to sell off the X3, pop me a message.

 

[ringolong]

You get a wider fov from the x3 that you cannot get from the x5 that I am aware of. I have a p4 too, but the props show up in the scene from time to time, and with the x3 you don't have to worry about it.

 

[Ody]

You get a wider fov from the x3 that you cannot get from the x5 that I am aware of. I have a p4 too, but the props show up in the scene from time to time, and with the x3 you don't have to worry about it.

I have the Olympus 12mm lens on the X5, so its already wider then the stock 15mm DJI lens.
Have not looked up the fov on that lens to compare to the X3, but they would have to be similar.
Didn't post in original message, but I would also need an assortment of ND filters. I often used the ND32 for bright sunny days along the beach with the Phantom. Expect to need something similar if I had to use the X3.

 

[ringolong]

The last 10 seconds will show the difference in fov.

 

[DoubleHorn]

If memory serves, the X3 is a 17mm equivalent vs the Olyumpus 12 on X5 is a 24mm equivalent.

 

[White Airwolf]

Call me paranoid or whatever, but...
I came from a P3A world and while traveling to an island in the Caribbean, my P3A camera gimbal was damaged in transit. Nothing more frustrating that being on an island for 3 weeks and not being able to shoot video. Flying circles over the beach with no camera gets kinda boring after about 5 min. I kind of recovered but it was expensive and not perfect. (combined 2 1/2 working gimbals into 1 95% working one)

Anyway, I'm into the Inspire Pro now, enjoying the X5, but am heading back to the islands in the summer, and fear any sort of "Show stopper" issue with the X5 that might cut me off again. Following the threads here, I'm not seeing many comments about broken gimbals, ribbon cable issues, etc etc.

So my question is...
Would it be worth it to have a X3 as a backup, just in case something went wrong with the X5?
I know this is subjective, as $300 is diff to everybody. But compared to the cost of the pro in the first place, $300 is nothing.
Maybe I'm really asking for the comfort factor everybody has with the X5.
Can it take a bump and survive?
Maybe anything stressful enough to damage the X5, would also damage the Inspire anyway, and put it completely out of commission? So no point in having a spare.

And I say X3 as a backup, as I'm not a pro, not doing anything for money, This just a hobby. So I realize what I'd be loosing with the downgrade, but at least maybe not out of commission.

Opinions?

PS: If anybody has upgraded their Inspire to an X5, and wants to sell off the X3, pop me a message.

There is nothing wrong with the X3.
I've done countless shows on tv with the X3 and it looks fabulous!
Use the X5 as a backup to the X3. Or even better, use another X3 as a backup to the X3.

 

[Ody]

There is nothing wrong with the X3.
I've done countless shows on tv with the X3 and it looks fabulous!
Use the X5 as a backup to the X3. Or even better, use another X3 as a backup to the X3.

Thanks for the comments from everyone so far.
I have never used the X3, and thats why I was wondering if it was a good contender as a backup.
Pretty sure I've seen enough videos that were done with the X3 to almost make me wonder about purchasing the X5 in the first place.
Being a DSLR full frame guy for years, knowing of the camera control that are available on the X5 sold me. But still the X3 footage should also be be pretty darn good.

Then along came the link above of the lens comparison that ringolong posted.
Excellent video. Can't believe I had not seen that before. Thanks for the post!
But the section with the X3 camera looked so bad. And by bad, maybe just underexposed. Sample video would not even be usable it was so dark.
Was this just a case of shot too slow, or wrong ND filter, or in guessing this clip was maybe just shot last and the sun had already mostly disappeared.

After doing some more Youtube searches X3 vs X5, I think I'm answering part of my own question...
The X3 would be good as a standby in bright light. (which will be my situation)

But still back to the main concern.
Is the X5 rugged enough to not be worried about an issue as long as its not a major crash? (or dunk in salt water)
I'm tending to say yes, but wondered what negative experiences X5 owners have undergone.

 

[White Airwolf]

The last 10 seconds will show the difference in fov.

Wow!
This is so slanted towards promoting the X5 it is criminal!
If you notice, the X3 shot was taken at sundown where the foreground and traffic shots are in shade where's the X5 shots were taken while the sun was still up.
Don't get taken by this obvious bias and save your money.
The X3 will look exactly the same as an X5 under the same lighting conditions.
What the X5 does offer is more sensitivity and faster lenses but so what? Shoot in sunlight and the X3 will look just as good as an X5.
Yes, you can put different lenses on the X5 for tighter shots but you can get the same results with the X3 if you just fly closer, if you can.
Is $2000,00 worth the difference? I don't think so.

 

[Ody]

Yeh,

Wow!
This is so slanted towards promoting the X5 it is criminal!
If you notice, the X3 shot was taken at sundown where the foreground and traffic shots are in shade where's the X5 shots were taken while the sun was still up.
Don't get taken by this obvious bias and save your money.
The X3 will look exactly the same as an X5 under the same lighting conditions.
What the X5 does offer is more sensitivity and faster lenses but so what? Shoot in sunlight and the X3 will look just as good as an X5.
Yes, you can put different lenses on the X5 for tighter shots but you can get the same results with the X3 if you just fly closer, if you can.
Is $2000,00 worth the difference? I don't think so.

Yeh, I got that after going back to watch it again.
I still think the clip is a great comparison of the lenses on the X5 though.
I think many could get what they might be looking for out of that clip.
I'll ignore the X3 section, and just refer to other X3 vs X5 clips available online.

Now just to build a comfort factor with the ruggedness of the X5/gimbal etc.

 

[ringolong]

x3 is much better than that. That is just for fov reference.

 

[FishTales]

The X3 is a great backup for the X5. It's wider than an X5 with a 12mm and for some subjects, that's a big plus. I bought my X5 in November and had only 5 flights with it when I had to send it in for service. Didn't get it back until Feb and then instantly sent it right back in because it was still way out of balance. I still haven't got it back! I can't even get an answer on when I might get it back. So if I didn't have my X3, I'd be totally screwed. Since I bought the X5 I have filmed in 5 different countries without it.

 

[Kirk Voclain]

I'll tell you my story and you decide if having an X3 as a back up is important or not? I originally purchased the Inspire 1 with the X3...then when the X5 came out...I bought that too....I do mostly still photography, thus the extra quality I get from the x5 was worth it.....I was just about to sell the X3.....but kept if just incase for a few months.

I was on a job, and started getting some strange messages on the screen of my iPad...I landed.....all appeared to be normal...took off....same thing....this happened over and over....but the ship appeared to be operating normally. So, I kept doing the job.

Suddenly....the Inspire seemed to have a mind of its own.....I took off and slammed into a light pole and fell to the ground.

It appears the only thing that was broken was the X5....I took it off...put on the X3 and finished the job.

DJI fixed my equipment under warranty.

I now go everywhere with both the x3 and the x5.

Kirk