DJI Inspire 2 camera

( Video via DJI by Inspire 2 )

The Inspire 2 has a fixed, built-in camera that faces forward. It’s stabilized by a 2-axis gimbal, and its sole purpose is to provide a forward video feed to the pilot at all times. It is nestled in the front, in between the forward obstacle sensors. The camera that is actually used for video capture hangs underneath the body and is stabilized using a 3-axis gimbal.

The DJI Inspire 2 comes with a completely new generation of cameras, with both of them shooting at a resolution of 5.2K but featuring different sensor types.

The Zenmuse X4S is the standard camera attached to the drone.It uses the same 1-inch 20MP image sensor, 24mm f/2.8-11 lens, and mechanical shutter as the integrated camera used by the Phantom 4 Pro. Its fixed field of view covers about the same angle as a 24mm lens on a full-frame camera system.

The Zenmuse X5S is an optional add-on. It has a Micro Four Thirds sensor with 20.8 megapixels and a claimed dynamic range of 12.8 stops. The Zenmuse X5S supports 10 different lenses.

In the future, there will be a DJI Osmo handheld device that these cameras will be compatible with, to be used on the ground. The Zenmuse X5S, is available for videographers who require the flexibility of interchangeable lenses. The Micro Four Thirds format camera features a 20MP sensor and supports a total of 10 lenses, including some compact zoom options. Going with that configuration, which DJI has dubbed the Inspire 2 Combo, ups the price to $6,198, although there is a $5,999 promotional price that’s valid through the end of 2016. The Combo bundle also includes licenses for CinemaDNG and Apple ProRes.

Still images are supported in Raw DNG forma with either camera. Both pack about 20MP of resolution; it’s just the physical sensor size that differs. The X4S can be set to ISO 100 through 12800, while the X5S can be pushed further, to ISO 25600, a plus for video and imaging in very challenging light.

There is no question about it, the DJI Inspire 2 is an impressive drone and a testament to the irritatingly fast pace at which DJI is advancing drone technology way beyond the competition.

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3 Extreme Tests to Inspire 2 under -20℃

Not a drone, no matter big or small, can take off in the winder of Harbin without any insulating measure.

Every so called monster on the market becomes weak in low temperature environment:
You must push the control sticks gently, in case the drone falls due to a sudden voltage dip.
Flying with fear, before you hear the warnings to return to home after a few seconds flight…

Until the birth of Inspire 2, who claims its batteries can be self-heated and deal with temperature as low as -20℃.

So we buy one, bring it to the north of China and see whether the Inspire 2 performs just as how DJI claims.

Here are the results.

Performance test at ultralow temperature

In -20℃，hot water turns to ice immediately when spilt into the air

Battery Performance 

Before carrying out the test, there is a question needs to be answered:

Can Inspire 2 take off in -20℃ without protection?

Just so you know:

In -20℃，an iPad dies in 5 minutes after turning on, and hands will stick with the Inspire 2 controller.

So what happens when putting a fully-charged battery into Inspire 2 without any insulating measures, in -18℃ environment?

The recorded video clip has been speeded up

Screenshot of DJI GO app during test
When the temperature was -18℃, Inspire 2 Intelligence Flight Batteries automatically heated to 13-14℃.

The self-heating function is triggered at -18℃ （the yellow numbers on the right side of the screenshot means batteries are heating）,till battery cells’ temperature rises to 13-14℃. The heating process continues after take-off to keep the batteries at 14℃.

Our test showed that Inspire 2 can fly for 15-17min without being incubated before flight. The result has even better than Inspire 1’s 12min record at room temperature, without any accident like power failure.

Comment:

At the moment, even if some drones manage to take off in low temperature, most of them last no longer than several minutes, meaningless for aerial photography. But Inspire 2 successfully launched without any precaution and managed to fly with longer time and higher safety, making low temperature aerophotography a feasible thing, saving lots of troubles. It’s really a big surprise.

Maneuverability

Since Inspire 2 can perform normally in low temperature, it’s time to test its maneuverability.

How fast can Inspire 2 fly at -20℃？

High-speed flight is difficult for drones in such a condition, because if you push the control sticks too hard, battery voltage might dip and cause danger to the drone. But excellent maneuverability is not only about acceleration and max speed, but also includes braking performance. What’s more, a good drone need to fly with great stability, without visible shakes.

To meet the above standards, we operated Inspire 2 to go up at top speed, fly close to the ground, slam the brakes in front of obstacles, hover in winds and one thing few drones can do—dive at full speed.

1. Full-speed Ascending

Original images without any post-processing
Inspire 2 responded fast with huge propulsion at the moment of accelerating

Full ascending process, at D-Log, without post processing

DJI GO showed the flight speed rocketed to 40.8km/h at the moment of acceleration, with vertical flight speed up to 5.8m/s. The footage not only shows the great propulsion, but also the extraordinary stability of Inspire 2.

2. Low-altitude Flight

Original images without any post-processing
Inspire 2 kept the same altitude when flying forward at high speed.

Full process, at D-Log, without post processing
Inspire 2 reached 90km/h easily.

When flying 1.5m above the ground, Inspire 2 accelerated to 85km/h within 6 seconds, and once reached 90km/h during the whole flight.

3. Manually Brake during Full-speed Flight

Original images without any post-processing
Inspire 2 stopped stably in front of obstacles.

Full brake process, at D-Log, without post processing

Drones need to brake fast to ensure safety. The image above recorded by Inspire 2 is smooth and stable, showing a fast and stable brake done by the aircraft.

4. Hover in Winds

Hovering in strong winds is a good way to test a drone’s maneuverability and stability. But in the weather where snow are blew away brook-like by strong winds, what Inspire 2’s performance will be?

Original images without any post-processing
Look how stably Inspire 2 hovered in strong winds.

To make things harder, we let Inspire 2 rotate above the same spot.

Original images without any post-processing
Rotating in strong winds, Inspire 2 caused a small displacement.

5. Diving at Full Speed

The last-but-not-least test to show a drone’s comprehensive performance: full-speed diving. The first thing we want to find out is whether Inspire 2 can achieve max speed horizontally and vertically at the same time, and the second is how fast it brakes after accelerating. This is a very dangerous action, and few drones dare to try it.

Due to limited propulsion, when Inspire 1 is diving, its vertical speed increase, but horizontal speed keeps unchanged or even decreasing. And because Inspire 1 cannot successfully brake during high speed flight. It’s seldom used in shooting diving footages.

Now take a look at Inspire 2’s performance.

Original images without any post-processing

Original images without any post-processing

Full driving process, at D-Log, without post processing
Horizontal and vertical speed achieved the highest at the same time, and braked fast to ensure flight safety

When Inspire 2 is diving, its downward speed and horizontal speed are both increasing throughout the process. Horizontal speed keeps at about 90km/h (highest at 94.4km/h); vertical speed is about 9.0m/s (highest at 9.1m/s)

Both reached the official claim of 94km/h and 9.0m/s.

More importantly, Inspire 2 can brake fast and stably even at its highest speed, meaning its maneuverability is indeed greatly improved.

Full driving process, at D-Log, without post processing

Once again Inspire 2 shows its great maneuverability by keeping horizontal speed at 90.5km/h and descending speed at 8.9m/s. Except a temporary jello effect appeared, might be caused by the liquid in damping balls was frozen in such a low temperature, weakening the damping effect.

Last we found a small bug, which is, Inspire 2 took 7 seconds to lift its landing gears, longer than 4 seconds in room temperature. The reason is the lubricating oil used to lubricate screws frozen due to low temperature, and increased friction.

Original images without any post-processing

Comment：
1. The fact that one can push control sticks however he wants in -20℃ not only shows Inspire 2’s maneuverability, but more surprisingly, its resilience against low temperature.
2. There is no doubt a great improvement on Inspire 2’s acceleration and max flight speed, with higher stability and safety. “It feels great,” quoted one of our pilots.
3. Some small bugs did exist, but they didn’t affect the requirement of professional aerial photography in low temperature. Now professionals can use it to shoot faster and more visually impacted footages.

Spotlight Pro

How precise can Inspire 2 be in Terms of Image Recognition and Composition?

After going through the challenge of maneuverability in low temperature, let’s find out how its image processing system performs in the same situation.
The new Spotlight Pro in Inspire 2 mainly relies on VI technology and algorism, let’s see how they works in snowy weather.

First we tracked a static object.

Inspire 2 moves stably from the front of the house to its side. Though the house looks tiny on screen, Inspire 2 always recognizes it and keeps it at the same place.

Next we tracked a target that was difficult to recognize.

Despite the target horse barely moves, its color is highly similar to the background, plus there are so many horses just like the one itself, it’s difficult for Inspire 2 to recognize.

Let’s see if Inspire 2 will make a mistake.

Original images

Original images

You can see when Inspire 2 comes close to the target slowly, it becomes bigger, and the shape also changes largely. And a telegraph pole appears in the video, failed to interfere Inspire 2’s constant focus on the same horse, though the position of the horse in the screen changes slightly.

Now let’s track a fast moving object.

When shooting a fast moving object, it’s recommended to use one of the two modes: Composition Mode. It’s particularly useful when you don’t have the time to frame your target. In Composition Mode, select the subject and the tracking position. When the subject enters the preset tracking position, press C2 button on the controller to begin tracking.

A car is approaching at about 50km/h.

Inspire 2 managed to keep on tracking, despite the high speed and small size of the car.

Inspire 2 accelerated from 60km/h to 70km/h. Even though it kept changing directions, the target was still at the center of the screen.

During the tracking process, Inspire 2 came across some obstacles, including telegraph poles, but it still kept on tracking.

The car changed its direction, and its movement was not predictable. But Inspire 2’s VI function still worked well to lock on the target

Comment：
1. The recognition precision of Spotlight Pro is very high, capable of tracking static as well as fast moving objects, even on a background that is almost the same with the target.
2. Successfully keeps locking on target with obstacles in its way.
3. Stability of composition still needs to be improved. Target has small displacement on screen, so gimbal control is still necessary in professional shooting.

Verdict

Good points:
Unprecedented low temperature performance

Faster acceleration and flight speed, higher stability and reliability
Strong maneuverability in low temperature
High precision in recognizing objects in Spotlight mode
High photosensitive property, with enough ISO to take night shots.

Weak points:
Longer time to lift and extend the landing gears in low temperature
Performance of hydraumatic damping balls are weakened in low temperature
Composition in Spotlight mode needs to be more stable

All in all, Inspire 2 is undoubtedly a monster for professional aerial photography in low temperature.

The post 3 Extreme Tests to Inspire 2 under -20℃ appeared first on Drone Inner.

Drone to the Rescue, the platform of choice is…

Locating lost or injured people in hazardous and threatening environments continues to be a challenge for emergency services around the world. Earthquakes, wildfires, landslides, and similar environmental disasters are difficult for ‘on-foot’ personnel to navigate. Deploying helicopters and airplanes in these circumstances can prove costly and dangerous.

A variety of initiatives are taking place worldwide using drone technology to assist in search and rescue efforts. The platform of choice, most often, hails from drone specialists DJI.

For example, the European Emergency Number Association (EENA) has undertaken a year long project using DJI aircraft with the disaster response community, focusing on how drones can be effectively deployed to save lives in emergencies.

Initial data from the project found that the work of a traditional 5-man crew on foot that took 2 hours to complete could be achieved by a drone crew within 20 minutes.

“The project has been a real window into how remotely piloted aircraft systems are being used and may be used during emergency responses,” said Tony O’Brien, of the EENA.

In a separate initiative in the United Kingdom, the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (MAWWFRS) is using the DJI Inspire 1 to support operations.

“For us, this technology is a game-changer,” said Group Manager Steve McLinden.  The MAWWFRS is a trailblazer in Wales regarding the utilization of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s). They are one of only a few fire services in the UK to be licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority to operate drones professionally.

When the team first received their Inspire 1, Chief Fire Officer Chris Davies remarked, “the additional reconnaissance during search and rescue operations that the UAV provides could also be invaluable in being able to quickly locate any individuals or animals that may be trapped, and subsequently allow us to direct resources to them quickly.”

Although the complete range of DJI aircraft including the Mavic and Phantom 4 Pro can be useful in supporting search and rescue missions, the Inspire 1 including the X3 camera is a particularly popular option. The Inspire 1 is also compatible with the Zenmuse XT thermal camera developed by FLIR.

The XT camera provides high-sensitivity (50mK) thermal imaging at 640/30 fps or 336/30 fps depending on the camera model. This sensitivity provides accurate temperature measurements with clear imagery and 360 degrees of rotational movement. The XT can be controlled completely through the DJI GO app, providing a real-time view of what the camera is capturing and can be put into the air with the Inspire 1 in seconds.

DJI is making exceptional advances in the arena of aerial platforms and the Inspire 1 with Zenmuse XT may soon become the de facto standard for search and rescue missions across the globe as more begin to use the technology.

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Inspire 2 360°QuickSpin review

DJI Inspire 1 has become one of the must-haves for professional aerial photographer. Interchangeable lenses provide many possibilities for various scenarios.

In actual task, pilot and gimbal operator would each have on RC to focus on flight and gimbal respectively. With rotation limit, however, Inspire 1’s gimbal can only rotate ±320°. When gimbal spins too fast or it doesn’t spin along where the aircraft is heading, the camera view moves away before you can finish shooting.

We tested what happens when Inspire 1’s gimbal reaches rotation limit: (with one RC, in Gimbal Free mode)

Tip: You can define C1, C2 to control gimbal rotate/pitch.

You can see clearly: the gimbal stops rotating when it reaches mechanical limitation. If the drone keeps flying, camera also shifts away.

DJI lauched a new feature “360°QuickSpin” with Inspire 2 to tackle this problem, which can be opearated automatically or manually.

Automatic QuickSpin

On the interface of flight controller setting, choose ‘advance’,  then choose ‘automatic QuickSpin’;

The instruction on DJI GO writes:

When the gimbal is about to reach rotation limit, aircraft would go for a 360° QuickSpin. Please notice, this feature is only applicable when the drone is 3m or more above the ground.

The drone would spin clockwise if the gimbal was rotating clockwise.

In other words, QuickSpin doesn’t affect the direction of aircraft’s heading or how gimbal was rotating.

We tried it when Inspire 2 was hovering. Like Inspire 1, Inspire 2’s gimbal can only rotate ±320°. when the gimbal rotates over 270°, the Inspire 2 would automatically spin 360° in the same direction.

A pop-up information saying “When the gimbal reaches movement limit, the aircraft will rotate to release it” will also appear in the app.

We shot QuickSpin on ground:

Shot QuickSpin from above with another drone:

From GIFs above, you can see QuickSpin didn’t always go for a perfect 360° spin. My guess would be: if the pilot pushes the joystick during QuickSpin, the effect would show up when Inspire 2 stops the spinning. So the aircraft shifts and the spin doesn’t seem like 360°.

Manual QuickSpin

You can set C1 or C2 as Quickspin in RC setting interface. When the gimbal is about to reach rotation limit, you can manually order Inspire 2 to spin back. In manual Quickspin, there is no requirement for aircraft’s altitude.

We found: when gimbal rotates more than 120°, you can press C1/C2 to start Quickspin.

Shooting from ground:

Shooting downward:

See? Without pushing joystick, a perfect 360°spin.

When the gimbal reaches rotation limit, recenter the gimbal would ruin your footage. In QuickSpin feature only the aircraft rotates, so what you shoot won’t be affected. But would the spin affect footage fluency? Check two GIFs below:

FPV view shows how the aircraft spins quickly, meanwhile, when you press C1 button, you will see gimbal camera’s view is quite stable.

why？

During QuickSpin, the aircraft’s direction would be locked, ensuring zero shift of direction. In addition, the excellent dampening ability of Inspire’s gimbal helps to keep the video fluent.

Another QuickSpin GIF in twilight:

In conclusion;

1.“360°QuickSpin” is completely different from “recenter gimbal”. In the former, only aircraft rotates without disturbing shooting video, while in the latter gimbal spins.

2.We strongly suggest: shut the slide block of starting QuickSpin when you operate QuickSpin manually. In Automatic Quick Spin, it starts as the gimbal spinned 270°. If you wish to use QuickSpin again after 270°in manual operation, remember to shut down that slide block.

3.Lastly, we hope gimbal cameras can rotate 360°consecutively. Most 360°gimbals use slip ring, like that of zhiyun-tech, or DJI’s early Zenmuse GH4 5D A7R. But slip ring is costly and often needs maintanence. We are looking for new technologies to realize 360° spin!

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Inspire 2 Review- single/dual battery and flight time

Unlike Inspire 1 provides two kind of batteries to choose (TB47—4500mAh，TB48-5700mAh), Inspire 2 is equipped with only TB50—4280mAh. But with other improvements, Inspire 2 can fly longer. Above is our review video on flight time.(In review video: temperature- 20°C, altitude- 300m, breeze. Aircraft in GPS Mode, taking off with 95% battery)

X4S

GPS Mode is frequently used in actual practice, so we use it for tests, too.

First, we mounted X4S（which weighed 235g）. Taking off with battery level of 95%, Inspire 2 flied 22min 5 sec in GPS Mode. It landed automatically when iPad showed 10% battery left.

Official 27 minutes could be tested without wind and other interferences, and with most functions shut down.

We tried again with X4S and 100% battery.

We kept it in GPS Mode, ignore the low battery warning. When the battery run off completely, Inspire 2 stayed in air for several seconds before falling down to ground. With wind Final flight time is 25min 35sec

X5S

Then we tried X5S (weighed 461g). Inspire 2 took off with battery level being 97%. 19min 33sec later Inspire 2 landed as iPad warned 10% battery left.

Flight Time with One Battery

This time we only put one battery on Inspire 2 (with x5S gimbal camera). The aircraft kept in GPS Mode throughout test.  It landed automatically 13min 26sec later with 10% battery left. We tried many times, the average flight time is 13min 30sec.

Conclusion:

Inspire 2 costs more, and becomes heavier to carry around. But when you think of flight time, it is quite powerful if you want to get the work done.

When I was trying to capture some moments, low battery warning pops out very soon. It always upsets me.

Now Inspire 2 is much better performance in terms of flight time. Dual-battery design also improves reliability during flight.

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