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X5 Sample Images and Video

Joined
Nov 8, 2013
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28
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Location
Santa Cruz
Website
www.phillima.com
I had the opportunity to shoot with Barry Blanchard's X5 for a couple of evenings this past week and thought I would share some of the results here. Overall, I'm extremely excited about the X5, it's an amazing camera and as good or better than my GH4 that I fly on my S1000 rig regularly. Having full manual controls of the camera including aperture from the ground is a serious game changer. The image quality is stunning and a massive step up from the X3 camera. The increased dynamic range is evident the instant an image appears on the tablet. When shooting stills, I didn't feel the need to do AEB as the dynamic range in a single shot from the X5 seemed to have more detail than that of a triple AEB shot combined to an HDR from an X3. The ability to change lenses between the 12mm and 15mm is huge, we tested it out with both and got some amazing results. The difference in focal lengths may not seem like much, but it's definitely noticeable and gives a very different feel from the air. Both lenses are very clean and look great straight out of the camera for both photos and video. The low light capabilities of the camera are also outstanding and worth noting, being able to open then lenses up and push the ISO allows you to shoot quality video in almost no light. The overall stability of the gimbal is rock solid, I was able to capture 3+ second long exposure stills with no motion blur even in 10MPH+ winds. The standard inspire(not a pro) handled the extra weight of the X5 without issue and it flew no differently than it does with the X3, even in fairly heavy winds and being pushed quite hard by me.

DJI X5 Vertical Pano by Philip Lima, on Flickr

DJI X5 Sunset by Philip Lima, on Flickr

Here is a quick video I put together... Please keep in mind that we did not shoot this for the sake of making a video, we were doing lens test and comparisons, but since the footage turned out so nice I thought I'd post some of it so people can see a small sample of what the X5 is capable of, even when you're not trying that hard. Please don't judge the compression of the camera based on this video, Youtube compresses the video well beyond what is done in camera. This is just the first of many videos we'll be putting together in the near future with the X5. We are also working on doing a side by side flight with the X3 and X5 so that everyone can clearly see the massive improvement in dynamic range.

 
Was there much difference in flying time given the extra weight of the X5, how long did your batteries last compared to the X3?
 
Great!! Thanks for sharing!!! :)

Is there any chance you upload a non processed clip straight from the X5?
It would be great to have it without the youtube´s compression.


Thanks again!!
 
This is very encouraging. Did you use any filters on the camera? I ordered 3 B&W filters for the X5 and want to confirm that the unit will work with these filters...I'm assuming filters would be considered in the overall calibration tolerance. I am very happy to hear of your results. Thanks,
 
Can not wait to get one in my hands. Would also like to see some footage straight off the camera.
 
Thanks for your efforts and sharing, looks great even with youtube compression.
In your opinion does the X5 go some way to helping the X3 mid-tone "strobe/artefact" effect?
 
Was there much difference in flying time given the extra weight of the X5, how long did your batteries last compared to the X3?
I can't remember exactly, it is shorter, but not noticeably. I would say we lost between 1.5-3 minutes of flight time on a TB48 with the X5 vs the X3. It's hard to say though because we were flying in strong winds and were not just taking it easy.
 
This is very encouraging. Did you use any filters on the camera? I ordered 3 B&W filters for the X5 and want to confirm that the unit will work with these filters...I'm assuming filters would be considered in the overall calibration tolerance. I am very happy to hear of your results. Thanks,

Filters will definitely work well on the X5. The unit I used came balanced for a filter and came with an empty filter ring to balance it out if you wanted to fly with nothing attached at all. As long as it's a 46mm filter, it should screw right on and be good to go.
 
Does anyone else see a strobing effect? Like what you get when you put a 30p clip in a 24p timeline without adapting it.
 
Does anyone else see a strobing effect? Like what you get when you put a 30p clip in a 24p timeline without adapting it.

Well, not sure about the framerate strobe effect, but what i do see is the inter frame bumps (b frame/flickering issue), per example in the top of the cliff (00:28- the area i marked on the screenshot) It´s very noticeable in the vegetation.... :-/ Do you see it?
 

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Retina 27" iMac. Looks almost like a drop frame. Youtube does many things but I've never seen it introduce that kind of temporal issue.
 
Well, not sure about the framerate strobe effect, but what i do see is the inter frame bumps (b frame/flickering issue), per example in the top of the cliff (00:28- the area i marked on the screenshot) It´s very noticeable in the vegetation.... :-/ Do you see it?


That is because of the youtube compression. Which is why it's completely silly to pixel peep on a compressed for youtube and shot with a pre-production camera :)

Also, if compression issues are a concern for you with the new camera, get the X5R and you won't have to deal with any compression at all. If you have the kind of clients that need that kind of detail the extra cost is irrelevant.
 
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Does anyone else see a strobing effect? Like what you get when you put a 30p clip in a 24p timeline without adapting it.
There is one clip that was shot at 30p and edited with the rest at 24p. It's the opening shot. We were testing things, so I hadn't had a chance to reset the camera settings. After we cut that clip I went through and double checked and found it to be at 30P and changed it. You have a good eye to spot that :)
 
That is because of the youtube compression. Which is why it's completely silly to pixel peep on a compressed for youtube and shot with a pre-production camera :)

Also, if compression issues are a concern for you with the new camera, get the X5R and you won't have to deal with any compression at all. If you have the kind of clients that need that kind of detail the extra cost is irrelevant.

Might be silly, thats why i asked you if you could share with us a small clip straight from the camera.

Also... i´m sure you´ll understand that, between X3 compression and X5R compression, there is a world of options...

The extra cost of the X5R is not only the camera itself but the whole workflow. I mean, all the extra TB in hard drives (storage, backup,...), etc...
 
Might be silly, thats why i asked you if you could share with us a small clip straight from the camera.

Also... i´m sure you´ll understand that, between X3 compression and X5R compression, there is a world of options...

The extra cost of the X5R is not only the camera itself but the whole workflow. I mean, all the extra TB in hard drives (storage, backup,...), etc...

Since this a pre-release camera the RAW files cannot be shared. Things are likely to change between the preproduction model I used and the one that is going to be shipped to the masses.

I completely understand, however I think that the compression of the X5 is good where it is at. Just like when RED released their DRAGON sensor upgrade everyone realized that with the better sensor they could easily shoot in a far more compressed ratio and get stellar results. If you start with a better image, good things happen. With the DRAGON sensor you can shoot 8:1 and get an extremely clean image that would of required a 5:1 or less compression ratio with the MX sensor and still would not of looked as good. If you start with a cleaner image the compression becomes less relevant.

It's true that the X5R is on a different level when it comes to cost of workflow, but if you(or your clients) require the RAW DNG option for your projects than you more than likely already have the workflow in place.
 
I had the opportunity to shoot with Barry Blanchard's X5 for a couple of evenings this past week and thought I would share some of the results here. Overall, I'm extremely excited about the X5, it's an amazing camera and as good or better than my GH4 that I fly on my S1000 rig regularly. Having full manual controls of the camera including aperture from the ground is a serious game changer. The image quality is stunning and a massive step up from the X3 camera. The increased dynamic range is evident the instant an image appears on the tablet. When shooting stills, I didn't feel the need to do AEB as the dynamic range in a single shot from the X5 seemed to have more detail than that of a triple AEB shot combined to an HDR from an X3. The ability to change lenses between the 12mm and 15mm is huge, we tested it out with both and got some amazing results. The difference in focal lengths may not seem like much, but it's definitely noticeable and gives a very different feel from the air. Both lenses are very clean and look great straight out of the camera for both photos and video. The low light capabilities of the camera are also outstanding and worth noting, being able to open then lenses up and push the ISO allows you to shoot quality video in almost no light. The overall stability of the gimbal is rock solid, I was able to capture 3+ second long exposure stills with no motion blur even in 10MPH+ winds. The standard inspire(not a pro) handled the extra weight of the X5 without issue and it flew no differently than it does with the X3, even in fairly heavy winds and being pushed quite hard by me.

DJI X5 Vertical Pano by Philip Lima, on Flickr

DJI X5 Sunset by Philip Lima, on Flickr

Here is a quick video I put together... Please keep in mind that we did not shoot this for the sake of making a video, we were doing lens test and comparisons, but since the footage turned out so nice I thought I'd post some of it so people can see a small sample of what the X5 is capable of, even when you're not trying that hard. Please don't judge the compression of the camera based on this video, Youtube compresses the video well beyond what is done in camera. This is just the first of many videos we'll be putting together in the near future with the X5. We are also working on doing a side by side flight with the X3 and X5 so that everyone can clearly see the massive improvement in dynamic range.


Thank you very much for sharing your awesome aerial work with us. Your first Inspire video, published around one year ago, was really inspiring and it was one of my first videos shared on Inspire & DJI forum. Looking at your recent work with Zenmuse X5 makes me more unpatient, looking forward to fly soon with X5 installed on my Inspire :)
 
Thank you for your generosity in sharing these videos and the information.

Did you have a chance to use the log color profile? I am very curious about this, mostly because it took Panasonic about 18 months to release V-Log support in a firmware update, yet DJI is there with their log mode at release time.

I often use the log mode on teh S3, and I am generally able to correct it in Premiere Pro. But I am wondering if the X5 has a true log mode, or whether it's more of a low-contrast, low-saturation mode.
 
These are great...there is also now a brand new X5/X5R user group on Facebook....hoping to see as much activity there as we do in the other Inspire Facebook groups.
 

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