Phantom 4 or Inspire?

Rob Wettengl · Mar 15, 2016

I've learned all I can from my practice drone and ready to purchase either Inspire or Phantom 4, I love the option of dual remotes but the price and features of the new Phantom 4 are very attractive. Part of my decision will be based on the following: I will be travelling across the country so travelling case ease of set up, handling windy days super important, because I won't be able to pick my flight days.

I'd hate to get the 4 only to regret not going for the Inspire.

Any advise would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Rob

go fast · Mar 15, 2016

Obviously two different platforms I have an Inspire and a phantom , I will say for ease of transportation and ready to fly out the case the phantom is quicker.

ATU · Mar 16, 2016

Since handling windy days is super important to you, I would have recommended the Inspire despite the longer set up time. However, with the introduction of the Phantom 4 which is capable of 20m/s vs. Inspire's 22m/s, I'm guessing the P4 will be able to handle more wind than it's predecessor (P3 16m/s) and be almost as "wind resistant" as the Inspire. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

fei8820 · Mar 16, 2016

well i do recommand inspire for you sinces you already know how to fly...
if it was urs 1st ever drone i would recommand u get p4....

anyway... in advance u can get upgrade a Dji X5 .. in the future...
i using my inspire 1 T600 almost every week ... and i got paid with the i1 work with some of the company...

travel around since p4 would be the best options...
if flight performance / stabilities / picture or video of cause i1

flight time / portable / user friendly / go for p4

Caldwell6191 · Mar 17, 2016

I signed up for this forum just to ask this very question. I had a phantom 2 with h3-3D gimbal/GoPro hero 4. The footage was ehh. It didn't bother me that I had to run the camera the entire time, but not having a transmitter and fpv was quite bothersome.

I thought about investing in the fpv setup, but I decided to upgrade instead. I could only sell the quad for $300. Ouch, talk about degradation.

Anyway, I was dead set on the p4 when I came across the inspire at an event. I wanted to get it until I saw the price tag. Used models seemed to be the best alternative.

Portability is a big concern, even though the I1 doesn't focus on that. Image quality is the top characteristic for me. Battery life isn't important to me, you can do a lot with a well composed flight plan. I've read a lot of statistics and specs. It doesn't substitute for people who've been there.

So my question to more experienced pilots, i1 or p4?

fei8820 · Mar 17, 2016

check this out... there is a small issue of ....

the drone it self shutdown and fell from the skies

DJI Forum|Phantom 4 suddenly lost power and fell out of sky...

and a picture... i dunno what happen...

and some ppl complaint ...

DJI Forum|Should I return my phantom 4 (motor bearing issue )

and battery VERY TOUGH TO REMOVE...

DJI Forum|Battery is EXTREMELY hard to take out of P4

as for me i would recommand for better improvement before purchase the p4

and as the video n picture on p4 it was great.. but u will still have the props inside ur video n photo sometimes...

ChadAustin · Mar 17, 2016

I got the following footage during a tornado watch last month with my Inspire 1. I assure you the wind gusts were above 20mph... more like 35+. This is not my best footage at all- but it shows that the Inspire can withstand some wind.

fei8820 · Mar 17, 2016

nice video.... and crazy haha... yeah if come with fight with the wind i have full confident always to get my job done

go fast · Mar 18, 2016

Yep you can't beat the Inspire for that...

James Munro · Mar 18, 2016

Well put me down for someone who upgraded from an Inspire (X3) to the Phantom 4. I'll go over the key points of why I chose to sell my Inspire after a few flights with the Phantom 4.

Stability in wind - I've had my Inspire in some pretty strong wind to the point where it's on a really high angle just to stay in place... which is impressive to see and fly but unless you're taking photos or static video shots it's not useful for getting good shots. I haven't tried the Phantom 4 in strong wind and I don't expect it to perform as well as the Inspire but I imagine it would be close enough to be usable.

Setup Time - Not even close, 30 seconds from backpack compared to the 5 minutes if I rush on the Inspire

Hand Launch/Landing area - I haven't been comfortable hand launching the Phantom 4 yet as its idle motor speed it crazy high and I'm worried it will try and flip if I hand launch. I may or may not figure it out but having a much smaller landing area really helps where I hike/fly... either way I can easily hand catch the Phantom 4, I'm not going to hand catch an Inspire.

Camera quality - I did a side by side comparison and the Phantom 4 IS better than the Inspire X3. It's real close and not as big as the difference between the GoPro and Inspire X3 but the Phantom 4 definitely is better. Wether it's the 3D noise reduction or the sharper glass?

Weight - Once again not even close... I've hiked 27km with the Inspire + 3 batteries + Osmo handle. The Phantom 4 is a fraction of the weight.

Speed - On paper this seems pretty close or with the Inspire slightly faster... Having flown both I believe the Phantom 4 is much faster than the Inspire with Sport mode... it is crazy fast and crazy fun and since it still uses GPS it's fun to have it swoop up at the end and stop.

Build quality - The Phantom 4 is kinda slippery with its new finish but it feels solid and sturdy. My Inspire has always had a bit of wobble in one of the arms and I've had to blow the dust out of the "guts" of the Inspire a few times, the exposed wires also may rub against other parts and I always had to check to make sure they weren't wearing down. Even the styrofoam case with the Phantom 4 is better built than the Inspire case.

Props in shot - Yes the Phantom 4 occasionally gets the propellors in shot... at the same movements that my Inspire got the landing gear in shot. NOT AN ISSUE

Range - I assume they're similar or the same with distance (I rarely go beyond 1k) but the extra ~10 minutes flight time makes a difference.

Battery - Not even close... almost an extra 10 minutes from my TB48's

360 camera - Okay this one is closer than you guys think. I heavily used the Focus Mode on the App AutoPilot (I think it's great and DJI should have their own). If you've got a dedicated camera operator then the Inspire wins hands down but with Focus Mode you set the camera to point at a spot and no matter where you fly the camera is always locked on that spot. Well... I'm happy to say that ActiveTrack does this too. Maybe not as well but it's close enough. BTW I've seen a lot of guys testing ActiveTrack by using it as an advanced Follow Me. I did a comparison between Follow and ActiveTrack and once you know the limits of the tracking then it's great.

X5/R camera - Here in Australia the X5 camera costs more than what I paid for my Inspire (don't even want to look at the X5R). All the footage I've seen shows marginal improvements over the X3. For me it's the piloting/movements/light which have the biggest impact on footage. Since the Phantom 4 camera is between the X3 and X5 and still allows ND filters it's good.

Collision Avoidance - Where/how I fly I don't have a huge use for it but I'm sure it will come in handy one day.

As sad as I was to sell my Inspire I'm very happy with the Phantom 4 and glad I was able to sell my Inspire for twice the cost of the Phantom 4.

fei8820 · Mar 18, 2016

Well got to knw you chose a craft that suitable for u...

Setup time i agree with that...

But image quality on x3 i would not sure... but i belive the photographer play the biggest role here... sinces is the same spec... inspire only have 1more extra lens element while p4 have 8 n x3 got 9..

P4 is great machine and is really depend on individual perferences...

As a photographer for decade.. i will still stick with my i1.. x5 may expensive.. but if u use for professional work... no double u have abilities to have optical zoom.. and abilites to adjust the apature. Which is very very important for us..

James Munro · Mar 18, 2016

fei8820 said:
Well got to knw you chose a craft that suitable for u...
Setup time i agree with that...
But image quality on x3 i would not sure... but i belive the photographer play the biggest role here... sinces is the same spec... inspire only have 1more extra lens element while p4 have 8 n x3 got 9..
P4 is great machine and is really depend on individual perferences...
As a photographer for decade.. i will still stick with my i1.. x5 may expensive.. but if u use for professional work... no double u have abilities to have optical zoom.. and abilites to adjust the apature. Which is very very important for us..

Yeah, I'm retired but if I was doing it professionally the the Inspire looks way more impressive and with better glass on the X5 it's the way to go.
Here's a peep at the comparison with the X3, same time/place. I was going to do a comparison video but it's so close it's not worth it.
I see more compression on the Inspire X3 and more dynamic range on the Phantom 4 but it's so slight.

Screen-Shot-2016-03-19-at-10.17.57-AM.jpg

Caldwell6191 · Mar 19, 2016

Has anyone ever tried to carry-on an i1? I know the dimensions aren't conducive of the airlines regulations, but I've seen some questionable bags get through on airlines. Can anyone weigh in?

slim.slamma · Mar 19, 2016

Caldwell6191 said:
Has anyone ever tried to carry-on an i1? I know the dimensions aren't conducive of the airlines regulations, but I've seen some questionable bags get through on airlines. Can anyone weigh in?

Your off thread topic.
Yes and no. Tsa jacked me for 4 or 6 tb48 and 1 47.
But that was on my return flight. I was sick!
The i1 suitcase fits but they gone tell you it doesn't. Works for some but want work for all, all the time. Mail your batteries and HAND carry your I1 or risk the unknown as far as carry on. They can tell you No your not special. 2nd or 3rd boarding group where you gone put it? Under the plane where it gets destroyed. First class you stand a good shot.

Caldwell6191 · Mar 19, 2016

That's my biggest concern is trying to go small so I can sneak by on carry on, but hen be forced to check a inadequately protected i1 because I got busted. Any thoughts on this idea? The backpack that the i1 attaches to the outside of. I would attach the thin nylon "waterproof" shell to the outside of it to keep it semi protected.

Caldwell6191 · Mar 19, 2016

slim.slamma said:
Your off thread topic.
Yes and no. Tsa jacked me for 4 or 6 tb48 and 1 47.
But that was on my return flight. I was sick!
The i1 suitcase fits but they gone tell you it doesn't. Works for some but want work for all, all the time. Mail your batteries and HAND carry your I1 or risk the unknown as far as carry on. They can tell you No your not special. 2nd or 3rd boarding group where you gone put it? Under the plane where it gets destroyed. First class you stand a good shot.

I'm not too off thread topic. The debate is between p4 and i1. Portability being a huge concern for lots of shooting opportunities. If I can't consistently carry on an I1 I'll most likely go with p4

slim.slamma · Mar 19, 2016

Caldwell6191 said:
That's my biggest concern is trying to go small so I can sneak by on carry on, but hen be forced to check a inadequately protected i1 because I got busted. Any thoughts on this idea? The backpack that the i1 attaches to the outside of. I would attach the thin nylon "waterproof" shell to the outside of it to keep it semi protected.

Hand carry it on
People gone look but your good no other 100% route
Lets say it how You want to hear it.
I had a f up night and I have the authority no you can't take it on period now what are going to do. Nothing
Then it's been other situation no problems. Anyways the case is ify the bird itself the can't say no. Does it fit yes is it safe yes. Do I look strange walk in the airport with it
Batteries another subject your committing a crime smuggling lipos on but they don't know if you don't tell. Also I don't want you on my plane with 10 freaking dji smart batteries.

slim.slamma · Mar 19, 2016

stick to the kiosk but you can't check a bag. I could be the only person that got booked for an i1 by the tsa.
But I know what reasons they can legally tell you no. So now I use it against them. Just get a common sense lipo safe bag when you travel for the batts

ringolong · Mar 19, 2016

Get both so there are no regrets!

I went through this same dilemma when I purchased my inspire. I just knew I would end up regretting it in the future if I had purchased the p3 first.

I do have a p4 on the way so we will see which one I end up flying more.

mazza · Mar 19, 2016

The phantom problem for me is the frame. It´s too old and obsolete. You have very restrict camera angles, oherwise you record a landing ski, props, motors, amrs, and most of time, props shadow. Inspire1 have free video footage.