Pulled the trigger on X5R

[Burlingtonfilms]

March/April release date is perfect.

We are going to see a huge jump in image quality for drones this coming season.

 

[apsussex]

Confirmed by an X5R beta tester:

"SSD can be swapped as quickly as an SD card."

really liking that ,

 

[Cyclops]

With the price rationalisation the X5R seems a real option to me. Whilst it increases both the weight and the amount of breakable equipment strapped onto the Inspire the increase in quality should be staggering.

I do wonder if my 27" IMac 5k will be able to cope with the files although I would plan to transcode to a more manageable file size.

 

[damoncooper]

With the price rationalisation the X5R seems a real option to me. Whilst it increases both the weight and the amount of breakable equipment strapped onto the Inspire the increase in quality should be staggering.

I do wonder if my 27" IMac 5k will be able to cope with the files although I would plan to transcode to a more manageable file size.

Your workflow can include transcoding to 400mbps ProRes on import if you prefer. That's my intended workflow and I intend to delete the RAW after import transcoding

 

[x5yo]

I won't be touching the X5R until I know its a big increase and its getting glowing reviews from you guys. And I see source files.
RAW is good in theory, but god knows what DJI are going to do with it.

In theory every frame of video should be the equiv of a 8mp photo taken from that very camera with some mild compression, but DJi missed the xmas deadline and lowered the price, most people are not happy with the X5, so DJI have work to do to rebuild their trust. They should start by improving the X5.

Or I'll sell, keep my money, buy a cheap drone to mess around with and upgrade towards the end of 2016, where you will inevitably see 4k@60 FPS.10 bit colour, 100MBPS, all nice and stabilized for inspire 1 x3 money.

I agree though there is good times ahead, this time next year I think we'll all be very happy with what we have, atm it feels like we're in a transition period between moving on from go pro footage, and getting us in line with the big boys. And possibly beyond.

 

[damoncooper]

I won't be touching the X5R until I know its a big increase and its getting glowing reviews from you guys. And I see source files.
RAW is good in theory, but god knows what DJI are going to do with it.

In theory every frame of video should be the equiv of a 8mp photo taken from that very camera with some mild compression, but DJi missed the xmas deadline and lowered the price, most people are not happy with the X5, so DJI have work to do to rebuild their trust. They should start by improving the X5.

Or I'll sell, keep my money, buy a cheap drone to mess around with and upgrade towards the end of 2016, where you will inevitably see 4k@60 FPS.10 bit colour, 100MBPS, all nice and stabilized for inspire 1 x3 money.

I agree though there is good times ahead, this time next year I think we'll all be very happy with what we have, atm it feels like we're in a transition period between moving on from go pro footage, and getting us in line with the big boys. And possibly beyond.

There will be no compression artifacts as the CinemaDNG uses lossless compression.

I bought based on feedback from a beta tester, frankly and his sample videos. I hear ya though. DJI has to deliver on this one.

 

[michael andrew]

There will be no compression artifacts as the CinemaDNG uses lossless compression.

I bought based on feedback from a beta tester, frankly and his sample videos. I hear ya though. DJI has to deliver on this one.

Is the current x5 unusable?

I may be getting one but now I feel like the results will be underwhelming

 

[damoncooper]

Is the current x5 unusable?

I may be getting one but now I feel like the results will be underwhelming

X5 is great for stills or if you need interchangeable lenses. For video right now I'd stick with the X3.

 

[michael andrew]

X5 is great for stills or if you need interchangeable lenses. For video right now I'd stick with the X3.

Ok that's what I was thinking, photos are great. Video is not much of an improvement.

To be honest the video from my phantom 3pro was fine for what I was doing. So as long as it's not any worse than that I can stomach it.

 

[Cyclops]

Ok that's what I was thinking, photos are great. Video is not much of an improvement.

To be honest the video from my phantom 3pro was fine for what I was doing. So as long as it's not any worse than that I can stomach it.

My own impression based on using the camera for a couple of months is that the video recorded by the X5 camera is considerably higher quality than the X3. I put that down to the size of the sensor and the addition of prime lenses.

However If I were making the purchase decision today I'd hold out for the X5R, the price has tumbled since the product was first announced.

However I have noticed a marked loss of performance whilst flying the Inspire since adding the heavier setup. That's both in battery life and general flying agility. This is not surprising when you consider the additional weight and how it is distributed below the craft.

 

[damoncooper]

I updated my order to remove the 15 mm lens as it seems to be the general consensus that the 12 mm lens is the one you want to have as your go to lens

 

[damoncooper]

Just keeping a log....I've decided on these items in addition to the X5R:

LENSES

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12mm f/2.0 Lens (Black) $599.00

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ Lens (Black) $199.00

Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 45mm f/1.8 Lens (Black) $299.00

LENS HOODS
(may or may not use em but figured I might need em at some point)

Olympus LH-48 Lens Hood for M.ZUIKO Digital ED 12mm f/2 Lens (Black) $59.95

Olympus LH-40 Lens Hood for Olympus M.Zuiko 14-42mm Lens $24.95

Olympus LH-40B Lens Hood for M.Zuiko Digital 45mm f/1.8 Lens $27.95

FILTERS

Polar Pro DJI Zenmuse X5/X5R Filter 3-Pack. $99.98

 

[x5yo]

I got the 45 today, I'll probably get the X5R, as long as its notably better than the X5.
I'm sure the next DJi cam will make use of these lenses too, so they are an investment.

 

[Burlingtonfilms]

I got the 45 today, I'll probably get the X5R, as long as its notably better than the X5.
I'm sure the next DJi cam will make use of these lenses too, so they are an investment.

It will be a massive jump in IQ. At 4K you will be going from a 8-bit, 4:2:0, 60/mbs to 12-bit, 4:4:4, 1.7/gbs files. I'm excited to run the X5R files through Resolve and see how far the image can be pushed.

 

[michael andrew]

I wonder if they will realease a non micro sd version (cf or sd card) that is capable of 100mbps. I don't need raw and in good light the gh4 is perfect at 8bit.

 

[InterMurph]

12-bit, 4:4:4, 1.7/gbs files.

Can you cite a source for the "12-bit" part of this? As far as I know, DJI hasn't said anything about the bit depth of the raw recordings.

 

[InterMurph]

I wonder if they will realease a non micro sd version (cf or sd card) that is capable of 100mbps. I don't need raw and in good light the gh4 is perfect at 8bit.

The MicroSD card is not reason for the 60 megabits/second bit rate. MicroSD cards can go much faster than that (The Fastest MicroSD Cards for Cameras / 2015).

The general understanding is that the SOC that DJI picked for this camera is under-powered; the processor isn't fast enough to do higher bit rates while it is also doing the Lightbridge video processing.

 

[michael andrew]

The MicroSD card is not reason for the 60 megabits/second bit rate. MicroSD cards can go much faster than that (The Fastest MicroSD Cards for Cameras / 2015).

The general understanding is that the SOC that DJI picked for this camera is under-powered; the processor isn't fast enough to do higher bit rates while it is also doing the Lightbridge video processing.

It appears that they are going to stick with the inspire platform, it would be interesting to see if any 3rd party companies can adapt a better camera system to the inspire natively. The x5 appears to take amazing photos and great video with crippling compression. For the money I think it's incredible what they have done. I still think they can do much better without needing raw. I have only seen compressed YouTube samples of the x5, but some of them have such horrendous compression artifacts and flickering I just don't know what to think.

 

[InterMurph]

I would love for Blackmagic Design to produce a camera for the Inspire 1. But their Micro Cinema Camera is not what we are looking for: while it has a Micro Four Thirds lens mount, it does not have an MFT sensor. Its sensor is Super 16 sized, which is substantially smaller. That means less detail, more cropping, etc. It also does not support 4K.

So maybe some day, but I think DJI is who we need to rely on for the foreseeable future. And if they deliver with the X5R, all is forgiven.

Edit: this camera was announced in April 2015, and still isn't shipping. And its list price is $995.

 

[gruvpix]

I would love for Blackmagic Design to produce a camera for the Inspire 1. But their Micro Cinema Camera is not what we are looking for: while it has a Micro Four Thirds lens mount, it does not have an MFT sensor. Its sensor is Super 16 sized, which is substantially smaller. That means less detail, more cropping, etc. It also does not support 4K.

So maybe some day, but I think DJI is who we need to rely on for the foreseeable future. And if they deliver with the X5R, all is forgiven.

Edit: this camera was announced in April 2015, and still isn't shipping. And its list price is $995.

Blackmagic is the worst, they will announce a product and then it will start shipping a year later... And have a million bugs. Their products are revolutionary... When announced, then the competition catches up while they work out how to actually do all the stuff they promised.
I was looking forward to seeing some test footage and reviews of the URSA Mini as that spec sheet is unreal for the price...
Then they started shipping - early reviews have been almost universally scathing.