Civilian drones and camera technology specialist DJI has launched what it describes as “the world’s ultimate cine drone”: the all-in-one DJI Inspire 3, a full-frame 8K cinema drone to meet the needs of top-level movie productions.
Its integrated design, a 161° ultra-wide FOV night-vision FPV and the O3 Pro transmission and control system offers top flight performance and a full pro ecosystem that can be integrated into the biggest film sets. The Inspire 3 is DJI’s only cinema-grade drone, that supports both RTK-powered Waypoint Pro and omnidirectional sensing to perform flight missions more safely and with higher precision than ever before.
“The Inspire 3 is the professional-level aerial platform all filmmakers have been waiting for,” said Ferdinand Wolf, creative director at DJI. “It empowers users to fully maximize the potential of any shot as they can record in cinematic-grade image quality previously only available with large and clunky camera systems. We are looking forward to seeing how the Inspire 3 will push aerial cinematography to a completely new level.”
The DJI Inspire 3 is priced from £13,419 and will be available to purchase by the end of June.
Design
The Inspire 3 was completely redesigned and offers a lightweight, integrated body with a highly portable form factor and a rigid, robust and transformable frame. The FPV camera, visual sensors, positioning antennas, and storage card slot are integrated into the airframe.
The all-advanced design supports the newly added Tilt Boost as well as 360° Pan structures. When the landing gear is lowered, the gimbal supports obstruction-free 80° upward-angle shooting.
Its new hot-swappable TB51 intelligent dual batteries provide flight time of up to 28 minutes. The propulsion system brings a flight speed of up to 94km/h, 8m/s ascent and descent speed and even dive speed up to 10m/s.
Imaging
The Inspire 3 is equipped with the lightest ever full-frame Zenmuse X9-8K Air Gimbal Camera, which features DJI’s latest image processing system, CineCore 3.0, supporting internal recording of up to 8K/25fps CinemaDNG video as well as 8K/75fps Apple ProRes RAW video. In S&Q mode, X9-8K Air supports internal recording of up to full-frame 4K/120fps ProRes RAW video without cropping.
The X9-8K Air supports dual native ISO. At full-frame 30fps and below, it offers EI 800/4000, supporting the 24fps commonly seen in film productions and the 25fps used in commercial and television productions. At above 30fps, EI 320/1600 is available. This delivers ultra-clear footage for low-light scenes.
The X9-8K Air covers 14+ stops of dynamic range, which captures rich highlight and shadow details in complex lighting scenarios like sunrises and sunsets. High dynamic range also brings more possibilities for post-editing, retaining genuine colours even after significant exposure adjustments.
In order to offer cinematographers more creative freedom and inheriting DJI’s proprietary DL mount, the X9-8K Air is compatible with an additional 18 mm F2.8 full-frame ultra-wide lens and a new telephoto lens specially made for 8K aerial cinematography as well as full-frame 24mm, 35mm, and 50mm lenses for a premium selection designed with aerial filming in mind.
Building on DJI’s colour science and technology, the DJI Cinema Color System (DCCS) allows the X9-8K Air to retain authentic colours. This applies to natural settings and urban landscapes, and also accurately captures skin tones in different environments and lighting conditions. DCCS ensures colour matching between X9-8K Air and ground-based cinema cameras such as DJI Ronin 4D, delivering consistent colour style from air to ground to meet the needs of film-production post-editing workflows.
The included DJI PROSSD 1TB offers up to 1100MBps write speed and up to 900MBps read speed and can be connected directly to a computer via USB-C cable.
Flight system
Inspire 3 integrates high-precision RTK positioning technology already deployed in industries such as architecture and surveying to deliver centimetre-level accuracy. RTK not only makes flying more stable, but also flight-route planning more accurate.
The integrated 3 GNSS System (GPS + Galileo + BeiDou) is powered by built-in dual-layered ceramic RTK antennas and ensures precise flight maneoeuvres even in challenging environments. By activating the RTK network or setting up a D-RTK 2 Mobile Station users can achieve highly accurate positioning without mounting any additional modules. These also provide the Inspire 3 with internal orientation, eliminating the need for compass calibration in most scenarios.
Additionally, this feature enables the all-new Waypoint Pro function which enables flight-route and shot planning with a wide range of customised settings. Whether solo shooting or in a professional crew, Waypoint Pro masters even highly-complex scenes.
The Inspire 3 offers the following Waypoint Pro options:
- Repeatable Routes: It gives pilots the full control of precisely repeatable flight routes and maintains all preset parameters such as altitude, speed, gimbal angle, and camera settings. Repeating the same flight mission allows cinematographers to perform difficult one-takes, or to fly at different times in the same place to easily create long-duration timelapses that capture transitions such as day to night or season to season.
- 3D Dolly: It can simulate a crane, cable cam, or a dolly while going far beyond the limitations of those devices. This feature allows the users to create an aerial motion path where the pilot can move back and forward along the path with adjustable speed and full gimbal control according to the needs of the shot.
The new Spotlight Pro feature is based on powerful machine-learning algorithms and offers pilots single-object recognition and tracking, which allows them to entirely focus on the flight while the gimbal camera stays automatically focused on the subject. This enables them to shoot complex shots, even in single-pilot mode.
Sensing system
The Inspire 3 is equipped with nine visual sensors, which provide a robust omnidirectional sensing system that can detect obstacles in all directions and provide comprehensive protection for flying.
In addition, the Inspire 3 features a new customizable function to help ensure greater flight safety and more creative freedom. Horizontal, upward, and downward obstacle sensing can be enabled or disabled independently, and an obstacle alert range can be set manually to suit different scenarios.
When active avoidance is turned off, users can still view the distance from an obstacle on the navigation display in real-time and receive an audio alert when an obstacle is within a set range without the aircraft performing an automatic avoidance movement.
Night vision capabilities
The Inspire 3 offers an all-new 161° FOV ultra wide-angle FPV lens with a 1/1.8-inch night-vision sensor with 3μm pixel size and up to 1080p/60fps live feed that ensures a clear, stabilised, ultra low latency view for situational awareness and additional flight safety, day and night.
O3 Pro Transmission
Taking a generational leap in transmission distance, latency and overall stability compared to its predecessor, the Inspire 3’s new O3 Pro Transmission enables a transmission range of up to 15 km with one controller and up to 12 km in dual-control mode. The reliable, high-quality live feed of up to 1080p/60fps has ultra-low latency of 90 ms. For the first time, the 4K/30fps live feeds are also supported with a reduced 5km transmission range to satisfy the need for an ultra-HD output and livestreaming on set.
With the enhanced dual-control mode, two remote controllers can now receive transmission and control links from the drone independently, so the pilot and gimbal operator can be at different positions on set.
The Inspire 3 comes with the DJI RC Plus with a 7-inch 1,200-nit high-brightness screen to operate even in strong sunlight. The internal battery provides up to 3.3 hours operation time, and extends to 6 hours with an external hot-swappable WB37 battery. It also features an HDMI out port, along with customizable buttons and dials on the front, back, and top, which enable fast and intuitive operation. The installed DJI Pilot 2 app for Inspire provides users with a fast startup time and an intuitive user interface with easily accessible functions like the built-in health management system.
DJI Pro Ecosystem Integration
A major focus of the Inspire 3 is its seamless integration into professional film sets. It features Timesync Support through a 3.5mm jack for high-precision control on set. When dealing with abundant footage from multiple cameras, timecode sync makes the editing process significantly more simplified and efficient.
The Inspire 3 can be paired with one RC Plus and one High-Bright Remote Monitor. The monitor becomes a link to the DJI Pro Ecosystem, offering compatibility with products such as the DJI 4D Hand Grips and DJI Master Wheels. This type of gimbal control experience is on par with DJI Ronin 2 to meet the operating habits of cinematographers.
The DJI Three-Channel Follow Focus can also be connected to the RC Plus to enable Remote Focus and Iris Control on the Zenmuse X9-Air camera.
