More Than Just a Toy
If you are ready to graduate from the beginner drones and move into the heavy hitters with serious imagery and flight capabilities, the Inspire 1 is the multi rotor drone of choice among experts.
It’s no surprise that my #1 drone also comes from the highly advanced lab of DJI technologies. The company leaves practically no room for errors in their higher end products and that quality is seen instantly upon flying any of their multi rotor drones.
As with my other reviews, I’ll run through the specs on the drone first.
Inspire 1 Specs
- Maker: DJI Technologies
- Flight time: 18 mins
- Camera capabilities: Yes
- Resolution: 12.4 megapixels
- Video capabilities: Yes
- Live feed: Yes, 4K @ 24-30 fps, or 1080p @ 24-60fps
- Flight range: 450-550 yards (varies quite a bit)
- Max speed: 72 feet/second
- Climb rate: 16 feet/second
- Additional features: Carbon fiber arms give you the strength to maneuver in the air and they transform, moving out of the camera’s way at the flick of a switch. With a full 360⁰ unobstructed view, you now have the freedom to capture shots independent of the direction you are flying.
- Experience level: Expert+
What Makes the Inspire 1 Multi Rotor Drone Exceptional?
Quite a bit of features make this one of the top of the line personal use drones. Just a few of the many perks of the Inspire 1 are:
Pros
- Vision Positioning System. A feature to aid in stabilization and remain in position in the absence of a GPS signal. It uses a camera system and sonic waves to hold position or navigate indoors.
- Computing Capabilities. The Inspire 1 packs a powerful battery cell with extensive monitoring capabilities. The on-screen app lets you see the remaining battery life, the flight time, altitude, flight speed, historic flight paths, as well as multiple other flying metrics.
- Autonomous Fly. As with the other drones I’ve reviewed, you can also plot a course via your app and let it do the flying while you do the filming.
- Dynamic Home Point. Regardless of where you are the drone will find you and land. This is great for when you are on the move and want the drone to land with you and not where it took off from.
- 360 View. This drone has carbon fiber arms that lift up to allow for a 360 view for filming shots unrestricted.
- Dual Control (Optional). You have two options for purchasing this drone:
- You buy the package with one remote so you fly the drone as well as control the camera.
- The second option is to get the upgrade package with two remotes so that one person can fly while another operates the camera. The two controller option is great because it allows you to really take some high quality footage without worrying about crashing.
Cons
Even though this is my top drone of choice for those who are ready for it, there are some downsides to it.
- No GoPro. If you have a GoPro and were hoping to use it with this drone it’s out of the question. DJI built the Inspire 1 to accommodate only DJI cameras.
- Price. This multi rotor drone is the most expensive of those I’ve reviewed on this site. It comes in at $4,200 with 1 controller. Not something your beginner flyer would want to buy just yet. It make’s complete sense why it is so expensive due to all the features though.
- Experience. This isn’t a drone for those looking to get their first one. It requires a good amount of previous flight time to handle as well as some understanding of calibrating the system. I’ve seen some cases where less experienced flyers buying this have had ‘run-aways’ with it, resulting in a crash, and for the price it’s not something you want to wreck.
Conclusion
The video below is DJI’s overview teaser of the Inspire, all the footage for the video itself was shot with the Inspire 1. Shows you how great the camera capabilities are with this. Movie quality aerial capabilities for ~$4,000.
This multi rotor drone comes with all the bells and whistles but not without paying for them. If you’re looking for getting your first multi rotor drone I’d advise starting smaller and working your way up to this. I only say this because most don’t want to risk crashing a $4,000 drone while learning to fly.
If you are ready though to start taking amazing shots and/or creating your own films with this high quality drone then get ready to be blown away. Below is a link for you to get it direct from DJI.
Buy the Multi Rotor Drone – Inspire 1 (Recommended)
Or if you’re an Amazon fan and prefer to buy it there here you go.
Buy Inspire 1 – Amazon
Now for my review of the long anticipated DJI Phantom 3.
