X5R in 2020 [upgrading from X3]

[Marsh_Creely]

Over the past month or so i was considering purchasing an X5R. I currently have an X3 on the I1 But want to know if its still worth the upgrade. Ive looked into buying an I2 and the fact it costs 10X as much has put me off dramatically. Ive found X5R's going for around $1500 some higher some lower. I just wanted to get your guys opinions on the matter. I should also note RAW footage isnt required for my work but will come in handy and judging off some videos the X5R is so much better compared to the X5.

Thanks.

 

[jpalamaro]

At the risk of being obvious and hopefully not insulting, I might ask your motive for upgrading the X3. I have the X5R on I1V2, X5S on I2, and Z3 on I1. If you are seriously into photography or videography, well, seems investing in the X5R an 'ok' move, but consider the life of the platform. But, if you are looking for the ability to say have some telephoto capability, obviously along with wide angle, you might consider the Z3. It gives you an infinite range of focal lengths within its limits controlled via the Go app, you do not have to change the mounting platform (upgrade for the X5R) and does a pretty decent job across its focal length and will not break your bank. I don't know the price now but as of a few months ago DJI dropped its price, NEW, to about 500 dollars (USD) ...I purchased one for my I1v1 But, if you are dead serious about purchasing a bunch of prime lens in the hopes it's going to give you the same results as say your Nikon 8XX, or Leica whatever, not gonna do it. When I just wanna screw around with some videography or captures (eg. recently took some captures of hiking trails I wanted to see ...) the Z3 with its telephoto and wide-angle did an admirable and acceptable job.

 

[SanCap]

In addition to what @jpalamaro said, consider the fact of a tedious, time consuming and data rich work flow of RAW video from the X5R. Be prepared to get more software, storage and possibly a faster computer.

 

[Marsh_Creely]

In addition to what @jpalamaro said, consider the fact of a tedious, time consuming and data rich work flow of RAW video from the X5R. Be prepared to get more software, storage and possibly a faster computer.

In response to both your posts. My inspire is a V2 so no upgrades are needed. Photography is pretty much irrelevant. I have recently been licensed for commercial drone use. And recently i've been doing small jobs just to boost experience (this is with the X3). Working with RAW isnt an issue. My work iMac Pro can handle 8k RAW and my home PC can handle RAW just fine. Same goes with storage, got that covered. In terms of what i need the camera for. 4K is a must. The X5 seemed like a good option but i feel down the line the low bitrate will come into affect with future jobs. Especially when i'm working with the RED cameras for work. Basically my dilemma is if i buy an X5R will I in 3 years be looking for an I2 or even an I3 whenever that comes along.

 

[jpalamaro]

In response to both your posts. My inspire is a V2 so no upgrades are needed. Photography is pretty much irrelevant. I have recently been licensed for commercial drone use. And recently i've been doing small jobs just to boost experience (this is with the X3). Working with RAW isnt an issue. My work iMac Pro can handle 8k RAW and my home PC can handle RAW just fine. Same goes with storage, got that covered. In terms of what i need the camera for. 4K is a must. The X5 seemed like a good option but i feel down the line the low bitrate will come into affect with future jobs. Especially when i'm working with the RED cameras for work. Basically my dilemma is if i buy an X5R will I in 3 years be looking for an I2 or even an I3 whenever that comes along.

...Basically my dilemma is if i buy an X5R will I in 3 years be looking for an I2 or even an I3 whenever that comes along. Since you are a seasoned user I think you may have answered your own question as we all face the inevitable vicious cycle LOL. Good luck. BTW, seems DJI pulled it off market, that is the Z3, but considering your latest response it's a moot point.

 

[SanCap]

In response to both your posts. My inspire is a V2 so no upgrades are needed. Photography is pretty much irrelevant. I have recently been licensed for commercial drone use. And recently i've been doing small jobs just to boost experience (this is with the X3). Working with RAW isnt an issue. My work iMac Pro can handle 8k RAW and my home PC can handle RAW just fine. Same goes with storage, got that covered. In terms of what i need the camera for. 4K is a must. The X5 seemed like a good option but i feel down the line the low bitrate will come into affect with future jobs. Especially when i'm working with the RED cameras for work. Basically my dilemma is if i buy an X5R will I in 3 years be looking for an I2 or even an I3 whenever that comes along.

Most likely YES, 3 years from now the X5R technology will be 7-8 years old. Actually I think it will be older than that.

 

[Jesseg138]

If you don't mind the post processing workflow that comes along with using the X5R than the footage is really high quality and rivals that from the I2/X5S. Definitely a huge step up from the X3 or X5 however you need to be realistic about price with the entire platform when it comes to lenses and SSDs. The 15mm lens that comes with the X5R has a diagonal FOV of 72 degrees(barely wide angle) in comparison to the X3 you are used to using which has a wide angle 94 degree diagonal FOV. Big difference that makes a huge difference when flying and capturing footage, most people overlook that. Lenses range from $150 to $500 or more each and the only one that can cover multiple focal lengths (Olympus 14-42mm), while it is cheap, doesn’t produce very sharp footage and will leave you wanting something better. I’ve spent well over $1500 on lenses to have adequate focal lengths(8mm, 12mm, 15mm, 17mm, 25mm, 45mm and the 14-42mm and 45-150mm). The good thing is that if you later upgrade to the I2 with the X5S the lenses will all work on that. The SSDs are also pretty expensive when you can find them and you really need at least 2 as each one only stores about 30minutes of footage at 4K. The biggest difference between the I1/X5R and the I2/X5S is flight time. Once you put an X5R on your flight time will drop to around 10 to 12 minutes while the I2 with an X5S will be around 20 to 24 minutes. That means having a lot of batteries for your I1 is a must(I have over a dozen). But like I said if you can deal with this type of stuff the footage is top notch.

 

[Donnie Frank]

I'll just quickly say that I tested a Z3 my neighbor was selling for half price. It took 30 seconds for me to determine is is NOT a cinematic camera. The movement of the gimbal was not smooth like the X5 or X3, and at full zoom the camera shook. That said, I think the Z3 would be great for inspection work, but I don't do that kind of work. So even at half price, I let the thing go.

D

 

[The Editor]

If it were me...... I would wait.

There will be quite a few new releases from DJI this year - all of them incorporating ADS-B, which will be a legal requirement going forward.
This has forced DJI to bring forward some of their hardware.

With the upcoming 1st July EASA regulations, DJI must and will stay compliant.
This will mean that all existing UAV’s will be legacy aircraft and will not be able to be retrospectively certified.

If you are not concerned about that, you will see a flood of used equipment (Both Inspire 1’s and 2’s) along with their corresponding payloads coming on the market as people upgrade.
You will also see many Mavics, Phantoms etc being traded for the same reason.

No - I will not say anymore than that!

 

[dmvara]

If you don't mind the post processing workflow that comes along with using the X5R than the footage is really high quality and rivals that from the I2/X5S. Definitely a huge step up from the X3 or X5 however you need to be realistic about price with the entire platform when it comes to lenses and SSDs. The 15mm lens that comes with the X5R has a diagonal FOV of 72 degrees(barely wide angle) in comparison to the X3 you are used to using which has a wide angle 94 degree diagonal FOV. Big difference that makes a huge difference when flying and capturing footage, most people overlook that. Lenses range from $150 to $500 or more each and the only one that can cover multiple focal lengths (Olympus 14-42mm), while it is cheap, doesn’t produce very sharp footage and will leave you wanting something better. I’ve spent well over $1500 on lenses to have adequate focal lengths(8mm, 12mm, 15mm, 17mm, 25mm, 45mm and the 14-42mm and 45-150mm). The good thing is that if you later upgrade to the I2 with the X5S the lenses will all work on that. The SSDs are also pretty expensive when you can find them and you really need at least 2 as each one only stores about 30minutes of footage at 4K. The biggest difference between the I1/X5R and the I2/X5S is flight time. Once you put an X5R on your flight time will drop to around 10 to 12 minutes while the I2 with an X5S will be around 20 to 24 minutes. That means having a lot of batteries for your I1 is a must(I have over a dozen). But like I said if you can deal with this type of stuff the footage is top notch.

I too am looking into the X5R. I have a matrice 600pro and it has been. A little frustrating trying to find a good setup with a Red camera. While I think they are pretty good cinematic cameras I have read where they have issues and it seems like a nightmare to acquire all of the hardware to even get it to work correctly. And they are expensive as hell just for the body and then I will still need lenses. Plus they are so heavy it makes flight time kinda stink. So I nixed that idea quickly.
In terms of simplicity it seems like the better option is one that is more plug and play like the X5R. I have the X7 on my I2 and I wonder if there will be a big difference between the two it can things be overcome in post editing. It’s a shame DJI did not make it possible for the m600 to carry the X5S or the X7. Does anyone have any insight on my search for the best setup to get my M600 up in the air? Is the X5R my best option In terms of simplicity? Thank you much

 

[niki]

In response to both your posts. My inspire is a V2 so no upgrades are needed. Photography is pretty much irrelevant. I have recently been licensed for commercial drone use. And recently i've been doing small jobs just to boost experience (this is with the X3). Working with RAW isnt an issue. My work iMac Pro can handle 8k RAW and my home PC can handle RAW just fine. Same goes with storage, got that covered. In terms of what i need the camera for. 4K is a must. The X5 seemed like a good option but i feel down the line the low bitrate will come into affect with future jobs. Especially when i'm working with the RED cameras for work. Basically my dilemma is if i buy an X5R will I in 3 years be looking for an I2 or even an I3 whenever that comes along.

Our company shoots with RED and I'm doing the drone work with x5r from the time it was released. Honestly the x5r raw files are much bigger and have much more dynamic range than the r3d files at 5k and 5:1 compression. BUT the size of the seonsor on the x5r is responsible for much more noise than the Red DSMC2 (this is mostly when shadows are underexposed), compared with older Red cameras x5r is better than them in post reviving and beautifying of the image.
Keep in mind that 512gb ssd gives you 38min of footage at 4k. 1h20min will take roughly 1tb. To avoid the workflow with making of proxy files and work directly with the raw footage you'll need hdd speed of 200mb/s and up, this is usually achievable with built in raid or nas connected to 10gb network. You'll also need nvidia 1070 and up. The same requirements if you are shooting with x5s or x7 on dng (raw).

Longetivity, this is a major factor. There are still some tb48 batteries out there but in all cases they are produced about 2 years ago so their life could be compromised even purchased as new. That is the only concern on that matter.
Second thing is what The Editor already mentioned about the new requirements for UAV. Technically all curent drones will be out of legal commercial use after 2022. I hope there could be released accessories to comply with custom made drones as many filming crews are building their own flying platforms or have the legacy alta(x) or m600 that can be easily upgraded instead of tossing them in the bin. Unfortunatelly inspire family is not made to be extended to anything else than what they are out of the box.
I'm still shooting with inspire1 raw and plan to do that for the next 2 years. I'm also using the x5r on m600pro which could have a bit longer life than the inspire 1 as they are still making batteries for it.
In short, going for x5r is the cheapest solution that produces cinematic quality raw footage and works well along with Red footage. Prepare to invest a little more than $1500 more for lenses (7.5mm, 25mm and 45mm are must to have with that setup).

 

[dmvara]

Our company shoots with RED and I'm doing the drone work with x5r from the time it was released. Honestly the x5r raw files are much bigger and have much more dynamic range than the r3d files at 5k and 5:1 compression. BUT the size of the seonsor on the x5r is responsible for much more noise than the Red DSMC2 (this is mostly when shadows are underexposed), compared with older Red cameras x5r is better than them in post reviving and beautifying of the image.
Keep in mind that 512gb ssd gives you 38min of footage at 4k. 120min will take roughly 1tb. To avoid the workflow with making of proxy files and work directly with the raw footage you'll need hdd speed of 200mb/s and up, this is usually achievable with built in raid or nas connected to 10gb network. You'll also need nvidia 1070 and up. The same requirements if you are shooting with x5s or x7 on dng (raw).

Longetivity, this is a major factor. There are still some tb48 batteries out there but in all cases they are produced about 2 years ago so their life could be compromised even purchased as new. That is the only concern on that matter.
Second thing is what The Editor already mentioned about the new requirements for UAV. Technically all curent drones will be out of legal commercial use after 2022. I hope there could be released accessories to comply with custom made drones as many filming crews are building their own flying platforms or have the legacy alta(x) or m600 that can be easily upgraded instead of tossing them in the bin. Unfortunatelly inspire family is not made to be extended to anything else than they are out of the box.
I'm still shooting with inspire1 raw and plan to do that for the next 2 years. I'm also using the x5r on m600pro which could have a bit longer life than the inspire 1 as they are still making batteries for it.
In short, going for x5r is the cheapest solution that produces cinematic quality raw footage and works well along with Red footage. Prepare to invest a little more than $1500 more for lenses (7.5mm, 25mm and 45mm are must to have with that setup).

Your information is truly helpful! Thank you very much. I do have an imac Pro so i should be able to handle the workflow in post.
So I see where you pointed out what the editor had mentioned. Will that also affect people who use drones as a hobby? I feel bad for those who have invested heavily in drones with the laws that are soon to be released. **** shame. Thanks for the insight and have a great day.