X5 Recap

Mark C · Nov 10, 2015

So its been a couple of months now since the release of the X5 and was wondering if the brave early adapters amongst us could recap on their opinions of the system for us still sitting on the fence.

The good and bad, much appreciated !

gruvpix · Nov 10, 2015

I'll tell you when I get mine in... Still waiting

doctordrone · Nov 10, 2015

I love the sharpness of the lens, but my X5 went to the DJI shop a week after I got it due to the auto exposure flickering issue. See X5 Flickering posts. Talked to DJI Pro Support yesterday and was told it's a known issue on a batch of X5's, and I will likely receive a new replacement in a week or so. Disappointed, but can't wait to get it back!!

keith whitehead · Nov 10, 2015

doctordrone said:
I love the sharpness of the lens, but my X5 went to the DJI shop a week after I got it due to the auto exposure flickering issue. See X5 Flickering posts. Talked to DJI Pro Support yesterday and was told it's a known issue on a batch of X5's, and I will likely receive a new replacement in a week or so. Disappointed, but can't wait to get it back!!

mine is doing the same. do we call dji? do they send an rma? whats the turn around like? and one last thing did they say what was causing it.. thanks

ianwood · Nov 10, 2015

Flickering is a firmware issue. Not hardware.

doctordrone · Nov 11, 2015

keith whitehead said:
mine is doing the same. do we call dji? do they send an rma? whats the turn around like? and one last thing did they say what was causing it.. thanks

Yes, give them a call, they'll email you a RMA. Ask for a prepaid fedex label too! They've had mine for 8 days, but it just got to a tech yesterday. Hopefully they box up a new one and ship it out this week. The guy I talked to was familiar with the issue but wasn't exactly sure what was the cause. He told me there was a "bad batch" with ISO problems from what he heard, but again, didn't sound positive in that explanation.

ianwood said:
Flickering is a firmware issue. Not hardware.

nice to know, but why is DJI requiring these units be sent back to them to be replaced when they could just provide a f/w update?

keith whitehead · Nov 11, 2015

doctordrone said:
Yes, give them a call, they'll email you a RMA. Ask for a prepaid fedex label too! They've had mine for 8 days, but it just got to a tech yesterday. Hopefully they box up a new one and ship it out this week. The guy I talked to was familiar with the issue but wasn't exactly sure what was the cause. He told me there was a "bad batch" with ISO problems from what he heard, but again, didn't sound positive in that explanation.

nice to know, but why is DJI requiring these units be sent back to them to be replaced when they could just provide a f/w update?

thanks for info

protorox · Nov 11, 2015

I've only owned the P3A and went to the I1 pro. Like a lot of people have stated here before, calibrating the lens is VERY important. This makes it to where you can pull it out and only worry about the lighting and not the focus. The still images are amazing. I am very impressed in the 4K quality (yes I have a 4K screen I edit on) The look of the x5 gives you a very professional look as well. People constantly say "holy S$#% look at the camera on that thing. I've never shot with the x3 but from what I've seen and what I like about the X5 it is an amazing camera for aerial shooting.

ianwood · Nov 11, 2015

doctordrone said:
nice to know, but why is DJI requiring these units be sent back to them to be replaced when they could just provide a f/w update?

Probably because their support people don't know that it's a firmware issue. They're working on a firmware update now.

doctordrone · Nov 11, 2015

doctordrone said:
Just bought the Inspire Pro from Drones Plus Silicon Valley after owning and loving 2-P3P's and a P2V+. Great bird to fly, but I was disappointed with the Auto Exposure mode on the X5. It doesn't have a smooth transition when the exposure changes. It jumps, almost flickers. We did some tests in manual exposure mode, and it did fine. We were hoping DJI had a firmware fix in the works, but when I talked to them yesterday, they told me to send it in so they can test it on the bench. He suggested it could be the ISO chip, or possibly an aperture problem. I understand they need to test it in a controlled environment, but after dropping $6k on the package less than 2-weeks ago (3 batts; gimbal operator remote; 180watt charger and charging hub), I hate to ship off the camera and be without its use for up to a month. Anybody else experience this flickering exposure?

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I just got word from DJI Support (I shipped it back to them on 10/30, they received it on 11/2, this message is from today 11/11):

We have received your unit in our repair department and have inspected the issue. We will be replacing your unit with a new X5 due to the malfunction on the camera. You will not be charged for this replacement. Unfortunately we do not have the x5 in stock due to the product being brand new. We are awaiting a large shipment to arrive but have not yet gotten an exact date. As soon as they arrive I will have your unit sent to logistics and shipped out immediately. I do apologize if this has caused any inconvenience to you. Let me know if you have any further questions.

I have two hopes; 1) The issue has been identified and fixed on new production; 2) The ship(ment) arrives tonight!

Meanwhile, I will use the "ole standby"... P3P. Shot this with it last week. I wonder what it would have looked like with X5!?!

Figbar · Nov 11, 2015

I upgraded a couple weeks ago...on my Inspire 1. I am extremely happy with the quality of the X5, and I'm just getting up to speed on it. Unfortunately, leaves are now off the trees, weather is cruddy, so I'm not doing as much flying. I do video for a living and am fairly critical. I had to work like crazy in post to get the X3 to be OK...the X5 looks great without any messing around. I'm not making movies, but I do broadcast work, and the X5 is more than acceptable in my view. I am now very confident in what I'm shooting. It does take more work and you actually have to think about what you are doing...I never use any auto function, especially auto iris. I highly recommend the X5.

FlyHighUSA · Nov 11, 2015

Hello all, as of today I just really got a grasp on the possibilities of this camera, for me the auto settings are not that great,but the manual settings once perfected are amazing. I am mainly shooting in 4k 24fps D log Raw and it is really great both video and stills. I struggled at first but after much tweaking I am overly happy with the total package. One quick question, I am still a little confused on proper calibration of the camera, I positioned the bird 150' away from a high contrast object and hit calibrate then touch the high contrast area for focus. Is that all you do and is that the end of calibration? Thanks for all of the support from all of you. Much appreciated!!

Ralph Rigdon
FlyHighUSA

Figbar · Nov 11, 2015

Ralph Rigdon said:
Hello all, as of today I just really got a grasp on the possibilities of this camera, for me the auto settings are not that great,but the manual settings once perfected are amazing. I am mainly shooting in 4k 24fps D log Raw and it is really great both video and stills. I struggled at first but after much tweaking I am overly happy with the total package. One quick question, I am still a little confused on proper calibration of the camera, I positioned the bird 150' away from a high contrast object and hit calibrate then touch the high contrast area for focus. Is that all you do and is that the end of calibration? Thanks for all of the support from all of you. Much appreciated!!

Ralph Rigdon
FlyHighUSA

I'm in the same boat as you...love the X5...but there is no real documentation about calibrating the lens. Nothing in the X5 manual that I could find.

I'm thinking what you have described is what you do...I guess if it does not calibrate a message may come up? I don't think there is an message that says calibration is successful. I was wondering if you should do the calibration when the unit is on the ground? So there is no movement? And I'm assuming you need to be in the AF mode to calibrate? This all may seem basic or stupid, but why is there not a simple, step-by-step document or video that tells us how to do this so we can be absolutely certain we are doing this properly?

Having said this, what I really like what I'm getting out of the camera...much better quality than the X3.

Steven Powter · Nov 12, 2015

doctordrone said:
I just got word from DJI Support (I shipped it back to them on 10/30, they received it on 11/2, this message is from today 11/11):

We have received your unit in our repair department and have inspected the issue. We will be replacing your unit with a new X5 due to the malfunction on the camera. You will not be charged for this replacement. Unfortunately we do not have the x5 in stock due to the product being brand new. We are awaiting a large shipment to arrive but have not yet gotten an exact date. As soon as they arrive I will have your unit sent to logistics and shipped out immediately. I do apologize if this has caused any inconvenience to you. Let me know if you have any further questions.

I have two hopes; 1) The issue has been identified and fixed on new production; 2) The ship(ment) arrives tonight! Meanwhile, I will use the "ole standby"... P3P. Shot this with it last week. I wonder what it would have looked like with X5!?!

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You will find flying FPV a whole new ball game with the X5 on board ....a much narrow'er FOV in 4K ..and... as crazy as it sounds a wider FOV when you use 48 and 60fps which is not available in 4K

The extra weight also has a impact on the way your bird flys... the Inspire is a much nicer to fly with the X3....

Djud · Nov 15, 2015

Do you guys use two remotes or just one doing it all by yourself? Especially due to having more concentration on manual settings and calibration. And also posibility to rotate camera around comparing it to the Phantom.

I have P3P and I´m not satisfied with the camera although flying experience is good enough. I didn´t expect camera to be perfect but issue with flickering, moire, strobe effect or whatever you call it, is just too annoying. I´m not sure about the diferences between Phantom 3 and X3 camera, but I suppose it is almost the same.
So I´m thinking about buying Inspire with X5 especially if other are so satisfied with it. My concerns goes to low 4K bitrate, and flickering mentioned in this thread.

doctordrone · Nov 15, 2015

Figbar said:
I'm in the same boat as you...love the X5...but there is no real documentation about calibrating the lens. Nothing in the X5 manual that I could find.

I'm thinking what you have described is what you do...I guess if it does not calibrate a message may come up? I don't think there is an message that says calibration is successful. I was wondering if you should do the calibration when the unit is on the ground? So there is no movement? And I'm assuming you need to be in the AF mode to calibrate? This all may seem basic or stupid, but why is there not a simple, step-by-step document or video that tells us how to do this so we can be absolutely certain we are doing this properly?

Having said this, what I really like what I'm getting out of the camera...much better quality than the X3.

You do get a message... I don't have mine in front of me, but when you calibrate, the inspire must be on the ground and the camera pointed at a house for example, 150 ft away. I used the roof line against the sky as the "high contrast" item. If it was too close, for instance the house across the street, the calibration wouldn't complete. I can't remember if the message comes when calibration fails, or when it succeeds, but it was obvious to me in both instances. I'm sorry about the vagueness, I will have my X5 back on Tuesday, and can check for sure.

The Editor · Nov 15, 2015

You may also find better success with calibration to do it in photo mode and open up the aperture to around f2.0.
If you try and do the calibration at say f8 or greater pretty much everything will be in focus (well to a point)
At the moment the process does seem a little hit and miss and three calibrations can give differing results. However once a good calibration is achieved the values are stored for future use of that lens (on the tablet....if you change tablet you will need to recalibrate.