Saw Inspire 3 at NAB (with photos)

[aviatrix]

Hi All -

Saw the I3 at NAB. Took some pics of the inside of the suitcase, as there were no pics online. Additionally, got some information from the reps there:

1. The only bits that will be compatible from the I2 to the I3 are the little batteries for the Cendence remote that will work in the new remotes and-
2. The lenses (but not the 16mm) will work from the I2 to the I3. You'll have to buy their new 18mm for a wide though.
3. They are NOT planning on making a battery charging case, there are no plans in the works either. They are assuming we'll all be happy with their little charging module that comes in the suitcase. I told them that sucks.
4. Currently if you route HDMI out (say, to a monitor or goggles etc) from the remotes, it will turn off the video. They ARE working on a software update fix for that currently. You cannot use an iPad as an alternate monitor, you're just stuck with the 7" (sort of bright) one they have.

I forgot to ask about Remote ID and what category the drone will be in. Need to figure out how to get it into Category 2/3/4. Wondering what a garbage fire that process will be.

I did pre-order it. So expensive.

 

[BlueCollarSky]

It's hard to tell from just pictures, but how nice was the case? Is it going to stand up to day in day out abuse like a pelican? The wheels look a little iffy.

 

[suspensionofdisbelief]

Geeesh, no reason for me to update. Cant use an iPad? I have the Crystalsky and that has always given me problems with Internet and getting LANC's through. Have had to use iPad first, then switch to Crystal Sky. Not banking on this new monitor actually fully working. And what is the deal with 16mm not working? Will the offbrand Laowa 9mm still work? Strange how only one lens wont be compatible. And HDMI out doesnt work yet? Sounds like they hurried this to production. NO THANKS! The upgrade to 8k and the better ability to see upwards in the image are definitely not a game changer IMO.

 

[Donnie Frank]

That battery charger situation is pretty much a deal breaker. Anybody who's worked on set or done any kind of back-to-back shooting knows how valuable a high-amperage parallel charger is worth.

D

 

[aviatrix]

It's hard to tell from just pictures, but how nice was the case? Is it going to stand up to date in day out abuse like a pelican? The wheels look a little iffy.

The actual case seemed actually pretty rugged. The wheels DID seem relatively shittay… but only time will tell.

 

[aviatrix]

That battery charger situation is pretty much a deal breaker. Anybody who's worked on set or done any kind of back-to-back shooting knows how valuable a high-amperage parallel charger is worth.

D

Agree. I think I’m just going to build out their 8-batt charger into a pelican. It’s also just helpful bc I mostly travel for shoots so keeping batts separate is efficient as well.

 

[aviatrix]

Geeesh, no reason for me to update. Cant use an iPad? I have the Crystalsky and that has always given me problems with Internet and getting LANC's through. Have had to use iPad first, then switch to Crystal Sky. Not banking on this new monitor actually fully working. And what is the deal with 16mm not working? Will the offbrand Laowa 9mm still work? Strange how only one lens wont be compatible. And HDMI out doesnt work yet? Sounds like they hurried this to production. NO THANKS! The upgrade to 8k and the better ability to see upwards in the image are definitely not a game changer IMO.

This is also my fear, that we will never get another Inspire but we’ll be stuck with these ancient monitors like we were with Crystal Sky.

HDMI - sorry I wasn’t clear enough - it works, it just will ONLY send video out if HDMI is plugged in, it won’t keep video also on the monitor, which is a nightmare. But they said they are actively working on that.

16mm - so technically the X7 is a S35 sensor and the X5s is MFT, so I originally thought none of the lenses would work since I3 is FF. But apparently the image circle is also full frame on the longer lengths, just not on the 16, which makes sense why you’d need to pop up to an 18, they couldn’t figure out how to get the image circle bigger on the wider lenses. Re: Laowa- if it’s a full frame lens I’d guess it will cover the image circle but you’d wanna look up the sensor size of the X9 and the image circle size of the Laowa and compare.

Yeah I feel like the real benefits are the new O3, which doubles connection distance, plus much better FPV. Dual ISO. The dolly setting but not sure if you need the extra RTK tower for that.

I feel like the missed the mark on:
- not foldable enough
- can’t use our iPad pros etc for flying
- HDMI out of course
- charging case for batts

 

[Tom4Inspire2]

16mm - so technically the X7 is a S35 sensor and the X5s is MFT, so I originally thought none of the lenses would work since I3 is FF. But apparently the image circle is also full frame on the longer lengths, just not on the 16, which makes sense why you’d need to pop up to an 18, they couldn’t figure out how to get the image circle bigger on the wider lenses. Re: Laowa- if it’s a full frame lens I’d guess it will cover the image circle but you’d wanna look up the sensor size of the X9 and the image circle size of the Laowa and compare.

And the 18mm of full frame is effectively wider than the 16mm on the X7 due to crop factor, so no real loss in terms of field of view.

 

[BlueCollarSky]

This is also my fear, that we will never get another Inspire but we’ll be stuck with these ancient monitors like we were with Crystal Sky.

HDMI - sorry I wasn’t clear enough - it works, it just will ONLY send video out if HDMI is plugged in, it won’t keep video also on the monitor, which is a nightmare. But they said they are actively working on that.

16mm - so technically the X7 is a S35 sensor and the X5s is MFT, so I originally thought none of the lenses would work since I3 is FF. But apparently the image circle is also full frame on the longer lengths, just not on the 16, which makes sense why you’d need to pop up to an 18, they couldn’t figure out how to get the image circle bigger on the wider lenses. Re: Laowa- if it’s a full frame lens I’d guess it will cover the image circle but you’d wanna look up the sensor size of the X9 and the image circle size of the Laowa and compare.

Yeah I feel like the real benefits are the new O3, which doubles connection distance, plus much better FPV. Dual ISO. The dolly setting but not sure if you need the extra RTK tower for that.

I feel like the missed the mark on:
- not foldable enough
- can’t use our iPad pros etc for flying
- HDMI out of course
- charging case for batts

I wouldn't plan on them "fixing" the HDMI out problem. They want to sell their High Bright monitor as a secondary monitoring solution. If I had to guess the HDMI blanking the remote screen was actually added at some point for this very reason. I hope I am wrong but this fits their MO

 

[srandall25]

Geeesh, no reason for me to update. Cant use an iPad? I have the Crystalsky and that has always given me problems with Internet and getting LANC's through. Have had to use iPad first, then switch to Crystal Sky. Not banking on this new monitor actually fully working. And what is the deal with 16mm not working? Will the offbrand Laowa 9mm still work? Strange how only one lens wont be compatible. And HDMI out doesnt work yet? Sounds like they hurried this to production. NO THANKS! The upgrade to 8k and the better ability to see upwards in the image are definitely not a game changer IMO.

The 16mm is not a full frame lens. It's Super 35. The other 3 lenses are full frame.

 

[Michael91]

Did you see it fly there? How stay was it in the air?

I've always found the i2 to be very unstable for hovering and slow movements

 

[srandall25]

And the 18mm of full frame is effectively wider than the 16mm on the X7 due to crop factor, so no real loss in terms of field of view.

The widest was the Laowa 9mm, so this effectively is a loss in terms of field of view.