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DJI Phantom 3 vs DJI Inspire 1



Recently DJI announced DJI Phantom 3.
The new quadcopter is available in two versions: Professional - video with 4K resolution (30 frames / s) and Advanced - Full HD (60 frames / s). The “fish eye effect” has been removed in the cameras.

What are other news:

Promotional video for DJI Phantom 3:
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Under the cut comparison DJI Phantom 3 vs DJI Inspire 1

in April, impatient fans have suggested how the novelty will look


Translation of the article by Cory Smith, a freelance filmmaker, co-founder of MyFirstDrone.

Why buy Inspire 1 when you can buy a Phantom 3 for less than half the cost of an Inspire?

image Just for reference, in this article we will keep in mind only Phantom 3 Professional, since this particular model can be compared with Inspire 1.

When Inspire 1 was just announced, it was a big step in innovation, there was nothing comparable to this on the market. The ability to transfer real-time HD video directly to your smartphone over a distance of more than 1.5 km, as well as record video in 4K resolution - no company has offered (and still does not offer) this as a fully operational system.

But, now there is a new “kid” in the line - the new quadrocopter DJI Phantom 3. Also with the ability to transfer HD video and record 4K, at an incredibly low price, which makes the new Phantom 3 an incredible miracle of engineering art.

When you look at the price of Phantom3, the question arises - why would anyone pay more than $ 3000 for DJI Inspire 1? While you can buy 2 Phantoms for this amount. What makes Inspire 1 worthy of this money?

In this article we will try to find the reasons why it is worth buying Inspire 1 instead of Phantom 3. I will start with the most fundamental functions, and then we will consider less obvious. This is not a comparison of technical specifications. If you need a comparison - they can be found on the DJI website.

Control two pilots
image Being able to buy Inspire 1, you will have to hire someone to work with the camera, in my opinion this is one of the biggest differences between Inspire 1 and Phantom 3. It is possible to fly with one camera looking only ahead , but it is often much more comfortable to fly forward and turn the camera to the side or even back. Scheme together is just more fun than flying alone.

The only reason why you don’t have to worry about Phantom 3 is that it will eventually be removed. With Inspire 1, you are addicted to the person who is shooting, it can be very difficult to tell the operator what you want to do, how to take off during the flight. This is not really a problem, but it is something that is worth spending extra time to plan everything.


Removable camera

image Although Inspire 1 and Phantom 3 both have almost identical cameras and lenses, there is one very big difference between them. Inspire 1 camera is removable.

Although the Inspire 1 has a removable camera, it is useless right now, since there are no devices for the “Inspire 1 mount” to be sold, but this does not mean that you should not think about it in advance. Shooting video from the air is only one aspect of the cinema, and in the future there will probably be other possibilities that enhance the functionality of Inspire 1.

However, it is possible that accessories for Inspire 1 will be available soon, DJI also hinted that they want to release other extensions in the future. I would not be surprised if a new camera appears in the next half a year, which is significantly better than the Phantom 3 cameras.


Flight capabilities

image The new Phantom 3 flies great, in fact, you probably won't notice the difference between the Inspire 1 and the Phantom 3 in a hang. Engines of new design and optical stabilization are the easiest way to control a drone, almost without controlling it.

The Inspire 1 is also easy to fly, but it is bigger and more dangerous. It has much more powerful engines, larger propellers and a 6S LiPo battery, but at the same time, the Inspire 1 is very fast, agile, stable can work with a stronger wind without sacrificing video quality.

Think of the Inspire 1 as a Lamborghini among unmanned aerial vehicles. A minibus can accommodate more at a much lower price, but this does not mean that the Lamborghini does not make sense.

I have already said that the lighting of the Phantom 3 can be seen quite well at night, but during the day it can be quite a difficult task to fly even in direct visibility, this largely depends on the location of the flight lights. With Inspire 1, it is much easier - the lights are visible from afar, they are located on vertical racks, and you can clearly understand where the front part is, and where the back part is. The lights themselves are brighter and face out, not down, like the Phantom 3. All this makes the Inspire 1 more enjoyable to use, no matter what time of day you fly.


Transforming design

image You may think that the transforming design of the Inspire 1 is just so that you can turn the suspension around and the chassis will not fall into the frame, but in fact there is another advantage when the camera is pointing forward.

Propellers are your worst enemy when it comes to shooting videos, especially when using GoPro. Have you ever thought why some frames are cropped to super wide proportions? Usually, phantom pilots (including me), as a rule, either cut their videos or fly mostly in the opposite direction. We do this because the screws constantly come across at the top of the screen and spoil the video (especially when flying forward).

Thanks to the rising propellers, Inspire 1 simply does not have this problem in most cases. That is, basically no part of the copter falls into the frame. It really allows you to shoot in different ways, which will make your video more interesting and popular. Of course, trimming these unpleasant elements during post processing is not difficult, and sometimes even useful and makes your video more cinematic. However, when combining frames from the ground and from the sky, this can be a problem — it will be difficult to stitch different proportions of frames from the ground and the sky into one video sequence.


You will look more professional with Inspire 1

image Sometimes, looking presentable is just as important as doing a good job. If you are paid for the shooting, you need to not only do the work, but also make a good impression.

I actually talked about this in a different article before, but in fact this should also be taken into account. When I fly my Phantom, most people won't even notice. But in the case of Inspire 1, every time I take it out of a case and lay it out, people watch and take pictures. As soon as you start flying, crowds sometimes gather to just watch. As if you just pulled a piece of alien technology.


No HDMI output

image As you can clearly see, the Phantom 3 does not have HDMI outputs. This means that you can not broadcast live what you are shooting (for example, you cannot output an HDMI signal to a video switching device for live news broadcasts), you cannot record with HDMI in real time, you cannot use a higher-quality non-glare monitor for those sunny days, you can not connect it to the TV. The average person does not do any of these things, because in reality the Phantom 3 was designed for the average consumer. I should also mention that Phantom 3 and Inspire 1 both have the ability to broadcast via Youtube.

My conclusion
Phantom 3 is also great as Inspire 1. I would say that Inspire 1 is overvalued, thanks to one of those. characteristics that in reality have no application at present.


Test Flight DJI Inspire 1 in Moscow
Test Flight DJI Phantom 3 in Moscow

PS
Svezhak video from DJI Inspire 1. DJI Stories: Live Broadcast From a Volcano:



Long movie about DJI Phantom 3:



more videos about DJI Phantom 3















PPS Pilot Girls:

Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/374899/

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