Yesterday, I spent the entire day shooting progression videos with the Inspire 3—so impressed with how everything turned out! Redirecting...
Such a beast of an aircraft.
Hayes said:
Such a beast of an aircraft.
I literally get anxiety flying it too… need to get comfortable with this drone haha.
Hayes said:
Such a beast of an aircraft.
I literally get anxiety flying it too… need to get comfortable with this drone haha.
Flying high is usually the safest overall. You get great reception, especially over water. The only real risk is a big bird grabbing the drone, but that’s pretty rare and depends on where you live.
@FlightFocusFinn
Yeah, I know. I’ve been flying drones since 2015, but when your drone is a 3-ft prop-to-prop machine weighing 15 lbs and costing as much as it does… small risks suddenly feel huge. Most real estate or architecture shots are no more than 30 feet above the roofline. For example, yesterday’s job was shooting the progression of window replacements—being even 200 feet up would’ve been pointless.
I regularly fly my Mini 4 Pro in 20-30 mph winds, and even that small drone handles it well. Even with hyperlapses, I get an occasional wind warning, but I ignore it unless the winds get crazy—like 40+ mph.
Much riskier doing that type of work close to the ground. You really need to have your game face on and scout the area before flying. You already know all of that, obviously. Many new flyers are afraid of going ‘too high’ when that’s actually the safest option.
@FlightFocusFinn
Yeah, exactly. Above tree lines and buildings is usually best. My Inspire drones never get bothered by birds, but my Mavic 3 does a lot haha.
I once put my Mavic 2 Pro up in 45-50 mph winds to capture ocean waves crashing into the local fishing pier during a tropical storm in Palm Beach County, Florida. I only went straight up and hovered for 2-3 minutes before bringing it down, but it handled it like a champ!
@Ellery
I’ve flown my Inspire 2 in 55 mph winds before… definitely a way to get gray hairs lol.
I’d certainly hope it would do well lol.
Yeah, I would be terrified.
The problem I always have with wind on my Avata 2 is the annoying camera tilt. Wish it could gimbal to level out.
Is it worth the $16k?
Campbell said:
Is it worth the $16k?
Depends on your needs! If you’re shooting high-end productions and films, absolutely! But if you’re just making videos for social media, then no. For me, it’s 100% worth it. I have five films to shoot this spring and summer, so I also got the DJI Ronin 4D 8K. That way, both my aerial and ground cinematography have the same settings. The Ronin 4D 8K costs $14k, and people ask me if it’s worth it too. Same answer! If you were working in Hollywood, the Ronin 4D 8K would probably be the bare minimum, considering they use $40k cameras—without lenses! And their drones? They usually mount those same $40k cameras onto heavy lifters.
Campbell said:
Is it worth the $16k?
Short answer—yes. I spent $22k on mine, not including the lens. I added a second controller, another high-bright monitor, and the progression licensing. Still worth every dollar.