Comparison between the I1 Pro and the P4P

[RaptorMan]

OK, I've had the I1 Pro for nearly a year and think I understand the weaknesses in the platform, particularly the camera and the image processing that goes with it. I have just recently picked up the new Phantom 4 Pro and have had a total of 6 flights, not enough to fully understand but enough to get a feel for it. It's my opinion, underline opinion, that although the P4P has just one lens that can't be changed the 24mm effective focal length is just about the ideal choice for a lens that can't be changed and so far it's looking like the lens is pretty sharp.

The image processing is still riddled with poor DJI software, but it does appear to have a bit more DR and with the bitrate increased to 100Mbps versus the max 60Mbps of the I1 Pro the video to my eye looks noticeably superior. It will be interesting to see where the I1 is relative to the P4P.

Have a look at some test video I shot with the P4P -- video was shot using D-Cinelike as D-Log doesn't work well in my book for any number of reasons. Other settings were -1/0/-1 for sharpness, contrast and saturation as well as f/5.6, ISO100 and a shutter speed of 1/1000 for the entire video. In post I needed to boost the mid-tones a bit owing to the thin veil of cirrus clouds. Also note a close encounter early on with a private plane -- it looked to me that he was going at least 150mph and perhaps as much as 200mph.

The video is fairly long but I wanted to be a little informational...


Brian

 

[2nd2non]

Brian, what about still pics? I've heard the M43 lens on the I1Pro could still be superior (in terms of detail and clarity, not focal lens flexibility which is obvious). Would love to hear your perspective


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[RaptorMan]

Brian, what about still pics? I've heard the M43 lens on the I1Pro could still be superior (in terms of detail and clarity, not focal lens flexibility which is obvious). Would love to hear your perspective


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I have not as yet done any stills testing with it but the resolution has been increased from 16MP to 20MP. I plan on a trip next week and expect to take some still at that time if not before the trip. Getting a little cold here though...

One thing that's not good is high ISO, and by that I mean anything over about ISO800 or even lower. That's usually not a problem as I almost always shoot at ISO100 and use a slightly higher ISO only to control exposure in the fast changing lighting near sunrise/sunset.


Brian

 

[dgreen729]

Makes me a bit sick that I paid more than double the price of the P4P for the Inspire Pro but they put out video of the same level. Very impressed with the footage. Still, for inspection work the x5 is great. What are your thoughts overall regarding P4P vs I1Pro? If you intend to use the P4P commercially, what do you think are its benefits over the Inspire? I guess a primary one is stability, and maybe the prop-in-shot issue. I also think one of the main downsides, however daft it may sound, is that it looks far less professional than the Inspire which definitely matters on site.

Great video, cheers for sharing!

 

[RaptorMan]

I haven't gone the commercial route yet so can't really comment on the impression they would have to prospective clients though the Inspire would likely impress more. The P4P can have props in the shot and the video I linked show it a couple times, but if you have the camera tilted down a bit as you would tend to do and if you go a little easy on the sticks the props should stay out of the FOV for the most part.

So, at this point the quality of video edge goes to the P4P even as it is less versatile given the lens can't be changed. I found that most of my flight with the I1 Pro was with the Olympus 12mm lens and the P4P has essentially the same effective focal length so the lens should be useful most of the time. The two main improvement in the camera on the P4P over the I1 Pro is a bit higher DR and a much higher bitrate -- its the bitrate increase that I think is most beneficial.

If only DJI could get better at color profiles and image compression then we'd really have something.


Brian

 

[Darrel]

Brian, what about still pics? I've heard the M43 lens on the I1Pro could still be superior (in terms of detail and clarity, not focal lens flexibility which is obvious). Would love to hear your perspective


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I'd like to see some stills too!!!

 

[RaptorMan]

I'd like to see some stills too!!!

I hope to get a chance in a couple days to do one more flight session before the trip and if I do I will pay particular attention to stills. Interestingly, prior to getting into drones and getting more serious with video about a year or so ago I was really into stills photography and have a pretty nice kit for doing stills: 2x Nikon D800E's, Nikon D7200, Zeiss 21mm Distagon, Nikon 24-120VR walk around lens, Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 (old model), Sigma 150-600 Sport, Nikon 35mm, 50mm and 85mm f/1.4 lenses. I don;t even want to think of how much I've spent on gear in the last 20 years -- a fully zooted Tesla would be easy...

Anyway, if I'm unable to do any still tests befoe the trip then I'll try and post some from the road next week.


Brian

 

[Darrel]

I hope to get a chance in a couple days to do one more flight session before the trip and if I do I will pay particular attention to stills. Interestingly, prior to getting into drones and getting more serious with video about a year or so ago I was really into stills photography and have a pretty nice kit for doing stills: 2x Nikon D800E's, Nikon D7200, Zeiss 21mm Distagon, Nikon 24-120VR walk around lens, Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 (old model), Sigma 150-600 Sport, Nikon 35mm, 50mm and 85mm f/1.4 lenses. I don;t even want to think of how much I've spent on gear in the last 20 years -- a fully zooted Tesla would be easy...

Anyway, if I'm unable to do any still tests befoe the trip then I'll try and post some from the road next week.


Brian

Thanks - safe travels

 

[DigitalDrone]

I haven't gone the commercial route yet so can't really comment on the impression they would have to prospective clients though the Inspire would likely impress more. The P4P can have props in the shot and the video I linked show it a couple times, but if you have the camera tilted down a bit as you would tend to do and if you go a little easy on the sticks the props should stay out of the FOV for the most part.

So, at this point the quality of video edge goes to the P4P even as it is less versatile given the lens can't be changed. I found that most of my flight with the I1 Pro was with the Olympus 12mm lens and the P4P has essentially the same effective focal length so the lens should be useful most of the time. The two main improvement in the camera on the P4P over the I1 Pro is a bit higher DR and a much higher bitrate -- its the bitrate increase that I think is most beneficial.

If only DJI could get better at color profiles and image compression then we'd really have something.


Brian

Hi,

Do what do you think of the X5 raw camera vs the camera on the P4P? Would the X5 raw be on par or better than the P4P?

I just like the versatility options of the Inspire 1 because you can add a zoom lens.

 

[DigitalDrone]

OK, I've had the I1 Pro for nearly a year and think I understand the weaknesses in the platform, particularly the camera and the image processing that goes with it. I have just recently picked up the new Phantom 4 Pro and have had a total of 6 flights, not enough to fully understand but enough to get a feel for it. It's my opinion, underline opinion, that although the P4P has just one lens that can't be changed the 24mm effective focal length is just about the ideal choice for a lens that can't be changed and so far it's looking like the lens is pretty sharp.

The image processing is still riddled with poor DJI software, but it does appear to have a bit more DR and with the bitrate increased to 100Mbps versus the max 60Mbps of the I1 Pro the video to my eye looks noticeably superior. It will be interesting to see where the I1 is relative to the P4P.

Have a look at some test video I shot with the P4P -- video was shot using D-Cinelike as D-Log doesn't work well in my book for any number of reasons. Other settings were -1/0/-1 for sharpness, contrast and saturation as well as f/5.6, ISO100 and a shutter speed of 1/1000 for the entire video. In post I needed to boost the mid-tones a bit owing to the thin veil of cirrus clouds. Also note a close encounter early on with a private plane -- it looked to me that he was going at least 150mph and perhaps as much as 200mph.

The video is fairly long but I wanted to be a little informational...


Brian

Hi Brian,

I'm wondering myself on which drone to get (between p4p and IP. Whats your thoughts on getting the X5 raw?

I'll be mainly using my drone for commercial use such as inspections and would like the option of a zoom lens, something you can't get with the P4P, but like the price on the P4 better.

 

[RaptorMan]

Hi,

Do what do you think of the X5 raw camera vs the camera on the P4P? Would the X5 raw be on par or better than the P4P?

I just like the versatility options of the Inspire 1 because you can add a zoom lens.

Can't say from personal experience, but the X5R camera on the I1 is almost certainly better than either the X5 base camera or the new P4P camera. The X5R will have much higher bitrate with none of the compression issues endemic to the other DJI cameras though it may not have quite the DR as the P4P -- just don't know though I'd guess the X5R would be preferred on DR as well. The down side to the X5R is that it is HUGELY storage demanding whereas the P4P, limited to 100Mbps, will probably consume far less then half the storage of the X5R..

But, comparing the base X5 camera in the I1 Pro I'd say the advantage swings to the P4P except when you need a different focal length.


Brian