The DJI Inspire 1 is the Best Drone I Have Flown

2/6/2015

Unboxing and Initial Software Issues

My Inspire 1

My Inspire 1 finally came. Saying I was excited to get it would be an understatement. My FatShark Dominator goggles also got here as well, but I have not been able to test them yet (more on this later).

Sitting on top of my box were some prop locks because apparently these have been kicking off props during flight under difficult conditions so I was thankful to have gotten these because I only fly in difficult conditions. This drone is very, very different from the Phantom as well as the S800 that I had. The carrying case was a nice touch and everything was laid out and the copter was in "travel mode." It came with extra props and a carrying case for the camera / gimbal combo. The biggest downfall I can see to owning the Inspire 1 after a day of messing with it is the issues around the DJI Pilot software. The issue is that you can not download it because it doesn't exist on the Apple app store. Below is the best way I found to solve the issue of DJI Pilot software.

Straight JPEG (not RAW)

How to get the DJI Pilot APP Installed on your iPhone

I saw some postings about using iFunbox and I could not get it to work. It was very involved and difficult. Here is a much easier way!

1) Download the file below (which is the DJI pilot app, 0.9.2 I think).
2) Go to Diawi.com and upload this file to create a link
3) Click that link you created on your iOS device to install it

[dji_pilot][i-funbox.com].ipa
File Size:	88319 kb
File Type:	ipa

Download File

DJI Inspire 1 and the Fat Shark Dominator HD Goggles

I finally gave in and ordered the Fat Shark Dominator HD goggles because my old dominators finally started to go bad. I had no idea what to expect and it turns out they will work, BUT you need a cord that no one sells yet (If you have found one on sale, please let me know). If you want to use goggles, you need a Mini HDMI to Micro HDMI cord.

First Quick Flight

My house in Ku'au on Maui

Once I got the software installed, I had to do a quick maiden in my backyard. It was windy and I have a small yard now so I was pretty careful. I was immediately impressed with the Pilot app. Plugging your copter into a computer to make adjustments, worrying about your camera settings, etc is all in the past. As an aerial photographer, I want to focus on getting the shots and action I want and not on equipment setup. Some people enjoy tinkering and building and adjusting and I used to be one of them. Now, I want my equipment to simply do exactly what it is supposed too and let me focus on flying and filming.

The Real Test Flight

This is hopefully what you have been waiting for. I have not seen an actual review that flies in real conditions and gives the details. So are some details I gathered from my first real test flight.

Actual flight time you could expect flying in difficult conditions: 12:56 minutes with 23% battery power remaining. I will be coming home around 12 minutes.
It max climbs at 5 m/s and drops at 4 m/s in both GPS and Attitude mode
I need to test this again with no wind, but the best forward speed I could get in GPS is 19 m/s and 25 m/s in attitude. Over 40mph in GPS? Sweet.
The battery indicator is really amazing. It shows it graphically and also the estimated time left
I took it about 650 meters away and it performed well. It had a bit of drop but nothing that made me nervous. I am rarely more than 600 meters away so this works well and passes my test.
Latency seems to be really low. I will keep you updated once I start filming fast moving dynamic subjects. Hoping to do a dirt bike test this weekend, so stay tuned!
The tilt wheel for the gimbal is amazing. No more jerky tilts.
Push to start for video and pictures is a simple luxury I will probably begin to take for granted until I go to fly my old Phantom.
Dual video mode. You can use your phone on the transmitter and output the video to your goggles. The transmitter IS YOUR GROUNDSTATION!

I really like this thing

Flight Media

I had my wife record me buzzing around close flying line of sight just so you could get an idea of how smooth and controlled this drone is. The video doesn't look that good when you fly around like this but that might be because you need a higher frame rate. 4k @ 30FPS is good for slow stuff but quick flying, probably not as much.

The 4k video from this while flying slowly into the sunset turned out amazing. I had no intentions of making anything cool or beautiful but this clip just blew me away. I am really excited to get my extra batteries in and start making art with this cool flying camera.

Conclusion - It is worth it

Ok, this currently costs $2899 directly from DJI and I have to say I am happy with my purchase so far. This makes shooting aerial pictures easy and makes anyone seem like a pro! Want to shoot real estate pictures easily? This is it. Want to make beautiful aerial landscape shots? OK. I am not sure yet if this is going to be able to replace my Phantom for surf photography and other action drone stuff but if I had to bet, I think it is going to exceed my expectations. If it has some quirks or nuances I have to learn then so be it. Considering I had one of the first s800s and it cost me around $6000+ and still involved a large amount of tinkering, this thing is a dream at half of that cost.

Comments