Is the Inspire 2 still relevant in 2021 after being 4 years old?

[mediabymartin]

Wanted to hear everybody's thoughts on how relevant the Inspire 2 is in 2021. I have had mine for 4 years now and with the way the drone technology is evolving I feel like the Inspire 2 is rather old technology.
Granted the X5S camera and the new X7 are excellent cameras that cannot be beaten by a Mavic 2 Pro or other drones in the sub $2000 range - but with drones like the Mavic Air 2 being able to shoot HDR video and photos right out of the box it is hard to justify putting such an expensive drone into the air, especially with the very basic obstacle avoidance in the Inspire 2, short battery life etc.
Yes, if you work in movie business you will need this kind of drone and camera, and they don't want HDR. Unfortunately breaking into this part of the drone business is extremely challenging as I have tried....for everything else I think this drone is overkill. Waiting for the Mavic 3 Pro that will come out eventually and I am ready to let go of my Inspire 2.....Thoughts?

 

[cyeung]

I got an Inspire 2 late November 2020 and have been nothing less than ... well ... inspired. For photos, HDR is achieved by using the automatic exposure bracketing function; and for video, HDR is just how you color grade. Shoot in RAW and D-Log, and you will have a solid foundation to build your edits on and realize your creative vision!

Obstacle avoidance is a crutch. A skilled pilot will only hear it beep when the pilot themselves are in front of the aircraft during takeoff and landing. As for the short battery life, my used drone came with a few sets of 4-year-old batteries. I got 8-9 minutes of flying before reaching 50%. My new sets of batteries get me at least 12 minutes. Finally, don’t forget that the Inspire 2 can go up to 58 mph (93 km/hr), making it eligible for speeding tickets in most parts of town!

On the ground, I have a six-year-old Nikon D610 with fairly old lenses. Even though there are better and newer cameras out there, my pics continue to wow people. So, I think the Inspire 2 is still relevant. And, I feel like rolling on site with an Inspire 2 gives the customer a "you're not here to mess around" kind of feel.

 

[Dobmatt]

You pretty much answered your question. Inspire is a one of a kind concept for aerial imagery and there will be no more in this price range. She's offering image quality professionally valid for next 5 years or more in many applications. Anything radically better will cost tenfold. If - for whatever reason - you can't take advantage of Inspire's talents, then the Mavic's platform is the way to go indeed.

 

[cyeung]

I should also add that the Mavic 2 is not a bad drone at all! My use cases are: Site survey and dry runs, lower "tiers" of service, confined spaces, or when I need to get an aircraft in the air ASAP.

 

[rpossum]

Wanted to hear everybody's thoughts on how relevant the Inspire 2 is in 2021. I have had mine for 4 years now and with the way the drone technology is evolving I feel like the Inspire 2 is rather old technology.
Granted the X5S camera and the new X7 are excellent cameras that cannot be beaten by a Mavic 2 Pro or other drones in the sub $2000 range - but with drones like the Mavic Air 2 being able to shoot HDR video and photos right out of the box it is hard to justify putting such an expensive drone into the air, especially with the very basic obstacle avoidance in the Inspire 2, short battery life etc.
Yes, if you work in movie business you will need this kind of drone and camera, and they don't want HDR. Unfortunately breaking into this part of the drone business is extremely challenging as I have tried....for everything else I think this drone is overkill. Waiting for the Mavic 3 Pro that will come out eventually and I am ready to let go of my Inspire 2.....Thoughts?

100% yes
Speed... lenses... straight to ProRes....
Depends what you're doing with it... I chase cars a lot and also have to shoot with longer lenses sometimes for parallax...
The I2 is a beast... tough as nails. Everything about it is just a bit more 'pro'... it stands up to serious wear and tear... hard knocks etc

 

[MattMouraud]

It is indeed a tough drone. Flying time is a tad on the low side, but with proper planning usually it's not an issue. IQ iq more than enough for 99% of the jobs out there, stepping up for a bigger camera is a lot more money, for me, between the P4P and the I2 it covers more than my needs, and I do corporate, tv shows, inspections etc.

 

[Phillip DeVore]

Wanted to hear everybody's thoughts on how relevant the Inspire 2 is in 2021. I have had mine for 4 years now and with the way the drone technology is evolving I feel like the Inspire 2 is rather old technology.
Granted the X5S camera and the new X7 are excellent cameras that cannot be beaten by a Mavic 2 Pro or other drones in the sub $2000 range - but with drones like the Mavic Air 2 being able to shoot HDR video and photos right out of the box it is hard to justify putting such an expensive drone into the air, especially with the very basic obstacle avoidance in the Inspire 2, short battery life etc.
Yes, if you work in movie business you will need this kind of drone and camera, and they don't want HDR. Unfortunately breaking into this part of the drone business is extremely challenging as I have tried....for everything else I think this drone is overkill. Waiting for the Mavic 3 Pro that will come out eventually and I am ready to let go of my Inspire 2.....Thoughts?

IMHO it’s still an excellent drone. But I too have been thinking about selling mine.

 

[MattMouraud]

I should also add that the Mavic 2 is not a bad drone at all! My use cases are: Site survey and dry runs, lower "tiers" of service, confined spaces, or when I need to get an aircraft in the air ASAP.

It is however fairly limited when winds pick up. The P4P is a beast in windy conditions and the camera still holds up perfectly. More robust all around.

 

[S White]

I have flown my I2 commercially on cinema projects since it was first introduced. I fly with a x5s, Crystalsky and Cendence. I have zero regrets and have no plans to change to another system. It does a great job. The bottomline for any decision to move to another bird, is basically 'is your present setup working?'. Too often we end up chasing the latest and greatest stuff. The one thing that can be an issue is support. I still have an I1 for a backup, and have plenty of batteries, but it something breaks I am stuck for sure. The I2 is a great unit. The one thing that will likely become a major issue is the Remote ID junk. If the FAA pushes this hard, then we will all have to deal with that needed technology. Not looking forward to those future days of decision.

 

[vertrider1]

I was late to the I2, bought a used one with X5s most Olympus Lenses and 8 TB50 plus Chargers in early 2019. Added a Cendence with Crystal Sky soon.

Before I flew Mavic Pro, P4P and Mavic Pro 2.

Today I fly Inspire 2 professionally 95% of my business time and Mavic Air 2 5%, scouting, and for fun. I fly in the Alps for Sports stuff as well as some documentary footage.

I added a X7 with all lenses last autumn, and it took me long to get to that decision.

From all the other DJI Drones the nearest in flying performance, optics, quality of footage was and is the P4P. Everytime I look at that footage from back in the days I am like, „****, that was a excellent drone, crisp, amazing 1“ footage“!!!
from a Drone that flew like a fighter jet, never let me down on any of 100dreds of flights.

I was not that impressed with the M2P, with it‘s Hass... ahem Sony Sensor, although 10 bit, but 28 mm sucked.

The Air 2 is quite similar to the P4P altough with much less low light capacity, and again, the P4P was a real workhorse. I‘d buy it again anytime today.

So finally the I2:
With both the X5s and X7 it‘s a from dusk till dawn workhorse. With 4 Sets of TB50 and good planning (scouting done with Air 2) you get a decent flying time.

6.2K CinemaDNG is still the very best Codec for Nature Docs and everything else. ProresRAW is great as well, fits fine with my Nikon Z6 with ProresRAW.

No, I won‘t sell the I2 in the near future.

8-Bit HDR on the Air2 is a mushy joke. The M2P wasn‘t that good with 10-bit, any X5s or X7 footage smokes it by far.

No, really. I don‘t see any real competition yet that does 6.2K CinemaDNG with the amazing quality the DL Lenses provide. These are beautiful, powerful, amazingly sharp lenses w/o Coma or Vignetting even wide open.

And for everything else there‘s Laowa jumping the Gap with special Lenses that work well on the X7 or X5s.

Plus - with Nolimitdrones you can get rid of the 500 m Altitude restriction - which is btw legal.
I crawl mountainslopes up and down mainly and obey the 120 m AGL in Europe anytime. nothing illegal here.



and you get shots, you‘d otherwise have to hire a heli. the I2 is a impressive drone with amazing cameras, for years to come. the footage is outstanding. CinemaDNG or ProresRAW from a drone that compact and easy to setup is yet unmatched.

cheers
C

 

[Four K Videos]

I was late to the I2, bought a used one with X5s most Olympus Lenses and 8 TB50 plus Chargers in early 2019. Added a Cendence with Crystal Sky soon.

Before I flew Mavic Pro, P4P and Mavic Pro 2.

Today I fly Inspire 2 professionally 95% of my business time and Mavic Air 2 5%, scouting, and for fun. I fly in the Alps for Sports stuff as well as some documentary footage.

I added a X7 with all lenses last autumn, and it took me long to get to that decision.

From all the other DJI Drones the nearest in flying performance, optics, quality of footage was and is the P4P. Everytime I look at that footage from back in the days I am like, „****, that was a excellent drone, crisp, amazing 1“ footage“!!!
from a Drone that flew like a fighter jet, never let me down on any of 100dreds of flights.

I was not that impressed with the M2P, with it‘s Hass... ahem Sony Sensor, although 10 bit, but 28 mm sucked.

The Air 2 is quite similar to the P4P altough with much less low light capacity, and again, the P4P was a real workhorse. I‘d buy it again anytime today.

So finally the I2:
With both the X5s and X7 it‘s a from dusk till dawn workhorse. With 4 Sets of TB50 and good planning (scouting done with Air 2) you get a decent flying time.

6.2K CinemaDNG is still the very best Codec for Nature Docs and everything else. ProresRAW is great as well, fits fine with my Nikon Z6 with ProresRAW.

No, I won‘t sell the I2 in the near future.

8-Bit HDR on the Air2 is a mushy joke. The M2P wasn‘t that good with 10-bit, any X5s or X7 footage smokes it by far.

No, really. I don‘t see any real competition yet that does 6.2K CinemaDNG with the amazing quality the DL Lenses provide. These are beautiful, powerful, amazingly sharp lenses w/o Coma or Vignetting even wide open.

And for everything else there‘s Laowa jumping the Gap with special Lenses that work well on the X7 or X5s.

Plus - with Nolimitdrones you can get rid of the 500 m Altitude restriction - which is btw legal.
I crawl mountainslopes up and down mainly and obey the 120 m AGL in Europe anytime. nothing illegal here.

View attachment 30735

and you get shots, you‘d otherwise have to hire a heli. the I2 is a impressive drone with amazing cameras, for years to come. the footage is outstanding. CinemaDNG or ProresRAW from a drone that compact and easy to setup is yet unmatched.

cheers
C

Fantastic photo and a great writeup on all of the reasons I will keep my I2 around for years to come. I don't want to go O/T but you mentioned lenses with the Laowa and in my opinion that's what allows the X5s (I have the ProRes license, not the DNG) to keep up with my Canon C300 Mark II's when I'm combining footage for corporate and commercial shoots. So what are your favorite lenses and which one do you find yourself using the most?

 

[seattlenativemike]

Same for me. X5s with longer lenses just really stands out. Anything beyond is hiring a helicopter. That being said, the mp2 is a lot easier to schlep into the backcountry...

 

[Keith Cody]

I hope so. I just bought one this week and I'm putting my I1 on eBay.

 

[mmarian]

IMHO it’s still an excellent drone. But I too have been thinking about selling mine.

I can see that you have the T-motor props installed. I am using the HeliEngadin. May I ask how much do they fold(move from the fully outstretched position) upon spooling down the motors? Mine move/fold between 15 to 30deg, each of the 8 are in slightly different position when the motors stop. Would you be able to take a photo of your I2 from top down to show the position of the props upon landing and spool down and post it here or send it to me via PM?

 

[WD192]

I bought my I2 with X7 late July 2021....even with the latest Mavic 3 Pro rumours, I still think the I2 will be the best option for clients...I will continue to use a Mavic 2 (or even a 3) as a back-up. From the $10k price tag, I only used $2k of my own money so I'm not just saying this to prove to myself that I didn't waste the money getting an I2 in 2021. It's a beast, fun to fly, turns heads and you get all around superb video and photo quality which I don't believe a Mavic (with a 4/3rd sensor) could even beat. The I2 will be the King Cobra for a few more years to come.

 

[MattMouraud]

I agree. I fly the hell out of my I2, and it still delivers 200%. I wish those bumf*cks at DJI would their fingers out of their butts and finally update the CS app, the copter fw etc, in other word support it. But other than that it really is an amazing tool, a true step up from my S900/GH4 combo.

 

[Dobmatt]

I bought my I2 with X7 late July 2021....even with the latest Mavic 3 Pro rumours, I still think the I2 will be the best option for clients...I will continue to use a Mavic 2 (or even a 3) as a back-up. From the $10k price tag, I only used $2k of my own money so I'm not just saying this to prove to myself that I didn't waste the money getting an I2 in 2021. It's a beast, fun to fly, turns heads and you get all around superb video and photo quality which I don't believe a Mavic (with a 4/3rd sensor) could even beat. The I2 will be the King Cobra for a few more years to come.

Did you post it to get a spiritual support from us, Inspire 2 happy owners ? Yes, I2 is the beast, the last of this kind in this price range. If she's delivering all the goods right from the open box, she will be a charm for years to come. If she isn't, however, she may be your worst nightmare ... I'm flying mine for pure recreational video and photography since day one and she never failed to amaze me.

 

[Keith Cody]

I have the full fleet (P4, MA2, I1, I2 and FPV). Probably going to pick up the MA3 Cine and sell the P4s and MA2. I'm keeping the I1 because I can fly it when I can't fly the others. I usually fly the I2 with X5S and drag the I1 along with X5. I use the MA2 the most. The P4s just sit.

 

[WD192]

I agree. I fly the hell out of my I2, and it still delivers 200%. I wish those bumf*cks at DJI would their fingers out of their butts and finally update the CS app, the copter fw etc, in other word support it. But other than that it really is an amazing tool, a true step up from my S900/GH4 combo.

Ya, it's outdated but the sensor and lenses still rock it ...but a firmware and app update would be nice from time to time. Hard to get parts and accessories for it now...yet no indication of an Inspire 3 coming anytime soon. Odd.

 

[MattMouraud]

Ya, it's outdated but the sensor and lenses still rock it ...but a firmware and app update would be nice from time to time. Hard to get parts and accessories for it now...yet no indication of an Inspire 3 coming anytime soon. Odd.

I don't think that there will be ever. DJI is an infuriating company at times and most of all their industrial strategy makes no sense at all, not unlike that of Apple actually who also has let people down (HomePod)...