Drones are what I call "Blue Skies & Green Grass" machines. What this means is most of the time, you will be shooting at a distance to where the added benefits of a high-end camera is lost. At 50-100 feet, a car or a person looks exactly the same regardless of which camera (X3 or X5) you’re using. In most cases you’re not going to be doing any close up work with a drone.
Possibly 98% of the guys using drones are shooting “Just Stuff” the other 2% are doing real work with their drones, so unless you fit in that 2% you’re pretty much wasting your money with the X5, I’ve compared the stills and video and I can’t see any difference at distances shot from a drone. Good shots from a drone are more on the creative side of setting the shot, lighting, contrast and post production.
The worst part is your Inspire will belly flop and crush your camera just the same whether its an X3 or X5, with the X3 you’ll cry a lot – where if you have an X5 - slitting your wrists might be less painful. With this in mind, the X5 on the Inspire for most of us is a waste of money and a much bigger risk for the dreaded inevitable crash.
While DJI will brag the X5 is light years ahead of anything else - the truth is the X5 is more for the pilot’s ego, or for showing off to the client than for performance. The mere fact you spent thousands extra on the X5 will brain wash you into thinking your images and video are better.
Bottom line - anything you can shoot on an Inspire with a X3 or X5, I’ll shoot on a Phantom 3P with identical results. There is nothing you can do with the Inspire with an X5 that I can’t replicate with the Phantom 3P. In addition, since I’ll only have a grand invested makes me a better flyer because I have less “Worry Factor”.
So unless you're doing high-end feature work or working in a low light condition, the Inspire X3 or a Phantom 3P will do the job. Keep in mind - no director is going to let you fly that close to the "principle’s face with a drone" to appreciate the extra quality of an X5, so we’re back to Blue Skies and Green Grass again!
Regards Mike