NEED HELP - BUYING INSPIRE 2

[Zach Zach]

Hi all! I posted this in my welcome message as well as I'm a new member for those who read that already.

I always try to give more than I take. Thus, I apologize in advance for coming right out of the gate with an urgent "ask" of everyone. Once the dust settles, I will begin contributing a ton, as well as sharing in my journey.

Please let me know if "Certified UAV Pilots" is more appropriate.

I've been flying for almost three years professionally. Through pounding the pavement, working tiny jobs and practice flight time, I've booked my first truly high-end job. I'm feeling very excited. But, honestly nervous and need a community of people. It's a four-figure job over two weeks with travel, room and food for a feature film. Needless to say, I can't enjoy it because the stakes are high and I'm feeling overwhelmed in the humble presence of some of you professionals.

I need an Inspire 2. I'd like to think they hired me because they saw my reel and saw I had the aerial skills - despite not having the picture quality - and the professionalism, as well as experience working on film sets and the post-production needs of filmmaking (e.g., ProRes requirements, CinemaDNG, color grading, matching RAW footage to high-end cinema cameras, etc.)

RIGHT NOW I HAVE TWO SHOPPING CARTS FILLED. I HAVE A 10% EDUCATIONAL DISCOUNT FROM DJI, BUT IM NERVOUS TO ORDER FROM THEM BECAUSE I DONT QUITE THINK THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS QUITE AT THE LEVELS WE EXPECT HERE IN North America WHEN SINKING $$$$ INTO A BRAND AND A PRODUCT. THE TECHNICAL HELP EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN HORRENDOUS. I ALSO DON'T HAVE THE TIME AND ENERGY TO SEARCH FOR THE BEST DEALS OR WHAT DEALS EXIST FROM PRIVATE RETAILERS.

If anyone can point me in the right direction, I have a little under three weeks to order the Inspire 2 and get the bird in the air and learn how to fly it. I suspect my skills as a pilot will translate as well as some similarities in DJI interface. This is the job I've been praying for as a "go ahead" to pull the trigger and go into some debt for an investment in my future.

Thank you so much for reading and being patient in advance.

Sincerely
Zach

Prospective purchase:
- Inspire 2
- Cinema DNG and ProRes license (client requires it)
- 2 CineSSD cards (honestly, an extra just for backup)
- SSD Reader
- X5S (no lens)
- M Zuiko 12 f2
- M Zuiko 17
- M Zuiko 25 1.8
-M Zuiko 45 1.8
- All necessary balancing rings
- 8 Batteries
- Charging Hub
- Carrying case (preferably Pelican)
- UAS Landing pad

 

[NickU]

Why not buy your gear from one of the vendors on here instead? Advexure, Florida Drone Supplies to name two of them.. I've no connection with any of them (as I'm in the UK and never bought from either of them), but I will say that buying from a local dealer would be better than direct from DJI - your local guys will be a lot more willing to help you make choices and give you advice and support... all things that are missing from dealing directly with DJI at the moment .

I purchased my kit from a DJI dealer (Heliguy) near to me in the UK and I can't fault them on their support.

From what I've seen of the couple of US dealers active on this forum, you'd get good service from them...

 

[Advexure]

Good morning Zach, our team here at Advexure would be most happy to assist you and most importantly provide you our top tier level of support which we are best known for in the industry. ALL components you've listed are in stock and ready to ship (except for the lenses). We'll shoot you a PM and would be happy to have one of our specialists jump on a call with you this morning to further discuss Advexure's service offering and what kind of Pro Package we can put together for you. We look forward to working with you.

@NickU Thank you for the shout out. As a sponsor and large contributor to InspirePilots we enjoy being able to serve our fellow IP members.

– Dan

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

@NickU: Thanks for suggesting us. We are committed to support this forum both financially and with our time to support all the Inspire pilots out there.

@Zach Zach: We would also be happy to help you with your Inspire 2 package and have a variety of configurations for you to choose from. We will send you a note on some of the details and you can reach us anytime at (855) 8-DRONES.

Thanks!

Michael

 

[Zach Zach]

Thank you Nick. I reached out to a couple of the vendors this morning.

 

[AeroMirage]

I have dealt with Florida Drone Supply and can say from firsthand experience that they are a good old fashioned business.
Professional and proper. I have bought an Osmo+, Inspire 2 with X5S and Heliengadin folding CF props, A Spark and a Crystal Sky from them.
No problems with any of the gear. Still waiting for the CS, but that isn't their fault. DJI needs to let them go!!

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

I have dealt with Florida Drone Supply and can say from firsthand experience that they are a good old fashioned business.
Professional and proper. I have bought an Osmo+, Inspire 2 with X5S and Heliengadin folding CF props, A Spark and a Crystal Sky from them.
No problems with any of the gear. Still waiting for the CS, but that isn't their fault. DJI needs to let them go!!

Thank you for the nice comments, we are here for the long term for all of our current and future clients.

 

[rhyantaylor]

I bought my gear from Florida Drone Supply. I’m in CA so that helped with tax. They were great. Use them if you are ready to spend the money. But I think you should rent my kit! Let me know where you’re shooting, your email, and I’ll send you more info. And I have a custom self made landing platform that’s under 8 lbs and it’s backpackable and levelable. I have all the gear less a few of the lenses. You’re about to spend a lot of money with little time to get it all ready I think.

 

[Bilat]

I can speak highly for both of the mentioned vendors. They both always chime up on various threads on the forum. I would definitely NOT but directly from DJI for the reasons that you mentioned. Good luck and congrats on the high profile job!

 

[mpaerial]

Can highly recommend the guys at @Advexure. Service is imperative with DJI stuff. Buying in state or out of state should not matter if you are operating as a business as you'll either have to pay sales or use tax. Having local help from guys that know their stuff inside and out is very helpful for us in time sensitive situations. Good luck with your gig OP

 

[jborden]

I can only add don't forget ND filters (at the very least ND4, ND8 and ND16) 46mm thread and a 37 > 46mm step up ring. You are also likely to find that the balancing rings don't balance that well by the time you add an ND filter (especially on the 17mm) so you might need to experiment there.

If you haven't don't much film work (can't tell from your post) you will have quite a steep learning curve to get through over the next few weeks and get your workflow sorted.

Wish you the best of luck with the job!

 

[Zach Zach]

Why purchase this lens then? Is this a common problem I haven't researched yet on the forum and the internet? The purpose of purchasing the balancing rings is to stabilize the gimbal. You can't accomplish that with this particular lens and balancing ring?

Can you clarify what you're referring to specifically when you say get workflow sorted out? I'm not sure if you're referring to literal work flow of capture to post production (E.g., CineSSD-DNG/ProRes capture > Card reader/ingestion > Cataloguing and filing, etc.), working with Camera department and DIT's on the technical front of things, or if you're referring to learning the actual system.

 

[Advexure]

Can highly recommend the guys at @Advexure. Service is imperative with DJI stuff. Buying in state or out of state should not matter if you are operating as a business as you'll either have to pay sales or use tax. Having local help from guys that know their stuff inside and out is very helpful for us in time sensitive situations. Good luck with your gig OP

Thanks for the recommendation. We appreciate that.

 

[jborden]

The 17mm is a great lens and one that I use most of the time. However the balancing ring sold by DJI is just too heavy. I ended up having to use the one fo the DJI 15mm lens with a UV/ND filter and a 3D printed adapter. The 25mm lens balances with a 37> 46mm adapter and UV/ND Filter and the 45 balances with just a UV/ND filter. Obviously mileage may vary depending upon brand of filter. Just something to be aware of.

As for workflow, I was just generally referring to getting comfortable with settings, capture, offloading and processing. Something that is best being well committed to memory (and practiced) so that you don’t get flustered under the pressure of a big job.

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

I bought my gear from Florida Drone Supply. I’m in CA so that helped with tax. They were great. Use them if you are ready to spend the money. But I think you should rent my kit! Let me know where you’re shooting, your email, and I’ll send you more info. And I have a custom self made landing platform that’s under 8 lbs and it’s backpackable and levelable. I have all the gear less a few of the lenses. You’re about to spend a lot of money with little time to get it all ready I think.

Thanks for the recommendation @rhyantaylor