To buy or not, input appreciated.

[unimakpass]

Thinking of making a jump into the inspire level equipment. Was looking into x7 and possibly wating for inspire3, typical hand wringing.

Anyhow saw this add and talked to the guy, seems legit. Was wondering if I should just jump in and do this because it's actually a good deal or stay confused and frustrated for a little longer?

He will take 6,000 cash. In alaska so it's fairly handy for me, no shipping. Getting ready to take a vessel to Kodiak with some fantastic opportunity for good footage. All I have now is a xstar pro.

Is this a good deal?



-We're selling a Inspire 2 with Pro package. It includes the X5S Camera capable of revording in up to 5.2K resolution with both CinemaDNG (14Bit RAW) or ProRess (12Bit and 10Bit). The camera also comes with Lieca 15mm, Olympus Premium 45mm, and Panasonic 14-42 Digital Zoom lenses. Also included is the CineSSD Station and the 1TB CineSSD, Controlet, Chargers, Hard Case, and extra Props.

Everything is in like new condition and well taken care of. The drone and camera are still under warenty for 8 more months with DJI. This entire setup costs about $11,000 new.-

 

[ROne21]

Sounds like a good deal to me. If I had the cash, I would jump on it to avoid being confused and frustrated any longer. Inspire 3 is like a unicorn right now...it doesn't exist. Who knows how long you have to wait for it. Announcement for it hasn't even been announced yet. And there's the usual wait time for availability... then the actual delivery.....then all the kinks that go along with the DJI's new product.....you know how that goes.....and this Inspire 2 still has warranty.

 

[unimakpass]

Sounds like a good deal to me. If I had the cash, I would jump on it to avoid being confused and frustrated any longer. Inspire 3 is like a unicorn right now...it doesn't exist. Who knows how long you have to wait for it. Announcement for it hasn't even been announced yet. And there's the usual wait time for availability... then the actual delivery.....then all the kinks that go along with the DJI's new product.....you know how that goes.....and this Inspire 2 still has warranty.

Thanks for the reply. Waiting for the I3 could be unproductive. Have been looking over prices of new equipment and wondering if a person should just jumpy straight to a x7 camera. Might be less frustrating to a novice to use the x5s from what I've been reading but perhaps the quality difference is worth it?

I'm in country that people pay good money to fly to to for photography opportunities and decided that I should just jump in and do this. Easy to get cold feet though.
Was involved with running a vessel at Unimakpass, where i commercial fished for years, leased to a Japanese film company filming orcas attacking grey whales. We had a helicopter with a cineflex camera on it and it was wildly successful. Had a fantastic time and learned a lot about the effort it takes to get footage in remote locations with wild weather.

I'm already there and know the country, weather, and wildlife which is the biggest part of the game. Having a actual helicopter on a vessel is a nightmare in many ways not to mention a impossible investment for mortals.
To not have a I2 with a x5s or x7 onboard to simply launch seems almost absurd all things considered.

Starting to ramble but the more I try to talk myself out of it the more ridiculous it seems not to do it.
I'm not that familiar with the tech to make this happen and won't have access to the internet that often so could turn into a bit of a nightmare. That part looks pretty intimidating right now but have to jump in somewhere I guess.

 

[tibook]

My opinion the X7 is only if you require the absolute best and you’ve already determined through experience that the X5s and M43 lens isn’t cutting it.

 

[unimakpass]

My opinion the X7 is only if you require the absolute best and you’ve already determined through experience that the X5s and M43 lens isn’t cutting it.

Thanks for the perspective.
Looking over some of the x7 footage is really motivating. If I could get that kind of quality I would like to start there. The question is would I be more successful using the x5s because of the learning curve and not being that savvy with the tech involved? Being less intimidated is more motivating to actually fly and shoot of course and hopefully improve.

 

[tibook]

Probably comes down to your editing skills and whether you shoot in very low light all the time

 

[tibook]

You’ll also suffer flight time with the X7 as it is heavier

 

[neilg]

The x7 isnt a world of difference from the x5s with some olympus lenses. if you've never shot in raw before you'll struggle to notice the difference.
the increase in quality you might be seeing between the x7 and x5s may also be down to the fact that the kind of people who would spring for an x7 know how to make footage look good.

If I was working on film shoots / commercials with a pretty solid booking schedule, the x7 would make sense. But i'm not. Pretty much it's entire point is to better aid in integrating drone footage alongside other filmed footage in an edit. Leave it for the guys making movies.
You may even find in that environment that the increased resolution and processing/lower flight time is a detriment to your goals.

 

[unimakpass]

You’ll also suffer flight time with the X7 as it is heavier

The flight time potentiality is a big factor, thanks for pointing that out. Hovering over a orca attack and having to return to replace batteries is a glitch in the drone scenario as it is.

What editing skills?
Starting off real basic but wondering if I got some incredible footage opportunity that would always make me wish I had the x7. Probably getting ahead of myself here but this is why I appreciate being able to get perspectives from people with experience.
Was looking at the phantom 4p with 1" censor but the gap between it and I2 is just to much.
At this point the x5 is perhaps is all the jump I can handle and will outperform what I could do for quite sometime.

Shooting in low light is almost the norm and one reason I'm frustrated with most drone cameras I see on the market. Comparing image sensor size is a big reason I've really bin looking hard at the x7.

Looking at this 12mp camera specifically for that, but of course it can't fly.

Sony A7S II Is The New King Of Late Night

 

[neilg]

What editing skills?
Starting off real basic but wondering if I got some incredible footage opportunity that would always make me wish I had the x7.

Unless you are shooting in cinemaDNG and pushing the footage incredibly hard in post, you will not be able to see a difference.
I would put money on the table for a bet that you will probably try this once, realise that it takes hours just to process a single shot and that for what you do, you cannot justify the process and will switch back to prores. you don't need the x7.

 

[unimakpass]

The x7 isnt a world of difference from the x5s with some olympus lenses. if you've never shot in raw before you'll struggle to notice the difference.
the increase in quality you might be seeing between the x7 and x5s may also be down to the fact that the kind of people who would spring for an x7 know how to make footage look good.

If I was working on film shoots / commercials with a pretty solid booking schedule, the x7 would make sense. But i'm not. Pretty much it's entire point is to better aid in integrating drone footage alongside other filmed footage in an edit. Leave it for the guys making movies.
You may even find in that environment that the increased resolution and processing/lower flight time is a detriment to your goals.

I think your getting to reality vs fantasy here. I'm definitely not making commercials. X7 could be a hindrance at this point.

 

[unimakpass]

Unless you are shooting in cinemaDNG and pushing the footage incredibly hard in post, you will not be able to see a difference.
I would put money on the table for a bet that you will probably try this once, realise that it takes hours just to process a single shot and that for what you do, you cannot justify the process and will switch back to prores. you don't need the x7.

I'm starting to get the picture here and you are accurate in your assessment.
Many times a person wished they got the best equipment the first time instead of buying twice but the principle doesn't apply in this scenario.
I don't mind pulling the trigger on a x5 but the nagging thought it might not be the best option could take some of the fun away.

 

[shust]

Boy, shooting in AK would be lots of fun. Agree with most here, the I2 is an incredible bird. X5S with Olympus glass and your image is pretty compelling. Staying away from the X7 due to propriotary lenses will save you 5k, just not worth it for the purchase for me. If I have a client that wants one and that extra bit of quality, I rent it. I have matched RED & Arri with the X5S when properly exposed shooting in raw.

The only thing we will see on the new side from DJI is the P5 and finally the Osmo to support the X5S & X7. They have too much invested in the airframe for any I3 talk yet.

Good luck!

 

[Paul Nordin]

They have too much invested in the airframe for any I3 talk yet.

Maybe yes, maybe no. I could see them coming out with an I2 Pro or Plus model that has an updated/faster/more capable image processing brain before they go full I3.

 

[Ftolino]

If I were you I'd go with the X5 s and get used to that instead of dropping 7 extra thousand on something at you really won't notice

 

[SteveFPV]

To pay that much for an X7 resulting in image quality difference you very very likely will not notice compared to X5S may not be of interest to most people.