52 Ways the Inspire 2 Betters its Predecessors

I. Improved Efficiency

Maximizes Active Shooting Time

In normal temperatures, the Inspire 1 RAW has a 12-minute effective shooting time, while the Inspire 2 with an X5S has a 21-minute effective shooting time, which is almost twice as long. Now you have more time to be creative as the Inspire 2 hovers, waiting for your commands. You can now complete multiple takes and shoot different scenarios using one set of batteries, maximizing active shooting time.

Shoots in Low Temperatures

The overall flight time and performance of the Inspire 1 Pro/RAW significantly lowers when flying in low temperatures. However, the Inspire 2's self-heating batteries perform well in cold weather environments by using self-generated heat, keeping flight performance and flight time almost the same as when flying in normal temperatures.

Quicker Setup

After inserting the batteries, press the Power button five times to exit transportation mode, then attach the gimbal and propellers. The Inspire 2 will be ready to fly within 30 seconds, a lot quicker than with the Inspire 1.

Charging Rate from the Remote Controller to your Mobile Device Has Increased to 2 A
When you fly an Inspire 1 more than twice in one session, you'll notice a sharp drop in battery power, meaning that you'll likely have to wait for the remote controller to charge your phone gradually again.

We've solved this problem in the Inspire 2 by increasing the charge current by 2 A so that the remote controller enables you to charge your phone without interrupting your flight.

However, this will shorten the operation time of the remote controller, but you can easily solve this by only charging the remote controller using flight batteries.

Quick, Easy, and Stable Firmware Updates

The DJI GO 4 app will remind you when firmware updates are available. You can download and update the remote controller and the aircraft's firmware directly from the app. Since the latest firmware stays in your aircraft, you can upgrade the gimbal and batteries with ease by mounting them onto the aircraft. All of these allow you to keep your Inspire 2 updated to the latest version in no time at all.

Battery Charging and Management

The Inspire 2 comes with a dedicated battery charging hub and an 180w charger. It just takes three hours to charge four batteries using the battery charging hub fully. There is a sound to remind you when the batteries are fully charged. The upcoming charging station will amaze you with its charging efficiency.

More Efficient Workflow

When using the Inspire 2 with the Zenmuse X5S to shoot videos in CinemaDNG, you can directly store recorded CinemaDNG videos on the CINESSD card and process them using mainstream post processing software without transcoding. The FAT32 file system is also supported, allowing fast copying of data directly from the CINESSD without additional software. The Inspire 2's creative workflow is the standard of modern filmmaking, outperforming the Inspire 1 RAW in almost every way.

FPV Camera

A 2-axis first-person-view or FPV camera has been newly added to the Inspire 2, reducing the severity of shake standard with FPV footage. It also allows you to control movements in the pitch axis.

II. Optimized Flight Performance

New Aircraft Design

For a quadcopter, the weight of the aircraft is the primary factor affecting flight performance and flight times. The lighter the aircraft, the larger the payload and the more battery power it can carry. The structure of the Inspire 2 adopts a brand new design, making the Inspire 2 roughly 10% lighter than the Inspire 1.

Precise Altitude Measurements

Inspire 2's altitude measurement performance is the absolute best among all DJI drones. It adopts dual barometers as well as unique altitude control algorithms to solve altitude measurement problems during high-speed flights. Air flow speed decreases the measurement accuracy of barometers so the maximum error can be up to 20 meters.

Downward Vision System

The Inspire 2's pair of ultrasonic sensors is significantly optimized compared to the Inspire 1, allowing the Inspire 2 to fly close to the ground seamlessly, convenient when shooting low angled footage.

However, when using the ultrasonic sensors for altitude measurement, the sensors themselves can be easily interfered by the ground surface. To tackle this problem, we have added dual cameras to the downward vision system, working together with the ultrasonic sensors in altitude measurement, achieving an altitude measurement range from 5 cm to 10 m. The Inspire 2 is now able to hover in place within this range.

Improved Control Accuracy

When controlling the Inspire 1 to maneuver small movements, the Inspire 1 sometimes doesn't respond accurately to your commands. However, this won't happen when flying the Inspire 2. We've made a lot of improvements to bring you a smoother more accurate control experience. Thanks to its robust and quick-respond propulsion system, you can see that the Inspire 2 responds instantly and correctly to your commands no matter how hard or how gentle you push the joysticks. But you'll only get to know how amazing the control experience is it when you fly it.

Improved Compass Error Tolerance

Compasses can be easily affected by the surrounding environment. However, the Inspire 2 can read corrupted compass data and resist data error, making navigation more accurate and reliable.

Improved Propulsion System

The Inspire 2's more than adequate power can account for its high maneuverability, flying up to 26m/s, which is double the power of flying at 22m/s. In contrast, the Inspire 1 Pro and RAW don't have such powerful maneuverability. Even when flying horizontally in normal temperatures, the Inspire 1 Pro/RAW will often activate power protection. In an environment with no wind, the Inspire 1 Pro/RAW can only fly at up to 17m/s. To ascend, the Inspire 1 Pro/RAW has to reduce its attitude angle to ensure enough ascension power.

Improved Flight Performance

The Inspire 2 flies at up to 58 mph (94 kph) faster when flying downwind, climbs at 6m/s and allows the Inspire 2 to excel in a broad range of shooting scenarios. Improved flight performance has made the Inspire 2 truly competitive, especially the 9m/s descent speed, which only DJI has realized within the drone industry in the present day.

Flying in a Straighter Line

It is sometimes difficult for pilots to fly in a standard straight line because of crosswind disturbance. The Inspire 2 has been added to the control algorithm to resist against crosswind interference so that the pilots can fly in a straighter line easily.

More Precise Hovering

Hovering and positioning is an important indicator to check the aircraft's sensor system, GPS system, control system, and propulsion system. The Inspire 2 performs better when hovering than the Inspire 1.

Gentler Braking

The Inspire 1's braking is a little hard, which can ruin your images on occasion. In this case, many users use the Altitude mode to avoid this problem. The Inspire 2 has made an elaborate adjustment in its braking. It can brake very gently, which is fantastic news for pilots.

Precise Shooting in Tripod Mode

Tripod Mode is a speed-control mode that dulls down your sticks so you can precisely control the aircraft's flight speed. The aircraft will fly at a constant speed when the sticks stay in a particular position. In this mode, the sticks' subtle shake will be removed, and wind disturbance lessened considerably, simplifying operations. Tripod Mode is designed for scenarios demanding high flight precision. Besides, users can further adjust the maximum speed in Tripod Mode according to their demands.

III. Unique Features

QuickSpin

When the gimbal is about to reach its rotation limit, the Inspire 2 will spin 360° in QuickSpin, offering more control space for the gimbal. Besides, users can also launch QuickSpin manually. During QuickSpin, the aircraft will continue to fly according to the joystick command. QuickSpin turns a gimbal with rotation limit into a gimbal with no rotation limit, providing more freedom for pilots and gimbal operators.

IV. Solo Pilot Friendly

Easy for Individual Pilots to Shoot

In the case of a meager budget, limited staff or assistants, a pilot might have to fly and shoot by all by himself. When a pilot is shooting alone with an Inspire 1, gimbal control may not be so intuitive so the aircraft might fly unsmoothly, making it difficult to operate accurately and shoot great footage. However, the remote controller of the Inspire 2 can directly control gimbal movement, and the aircraft will follow the gimbal's yaw, making gimbal movement accurate, similar when shooting with two people. Also, the Inspire 2 features Spotlight Pro, TapFly, and other Intelligent Flight Modes, which can help pilots execute complex shooting tasks alone.

Spotlight Pro

Spotlight Pro uses advanced visual tracking algorithms to lock on a subject during flight, regardless of the direction the Inspire 2 flies. Spotlight Pro will keep tracking your subject. Pilots can choose a tracking position preset and start tracking when the subject enters into position.

Spotlight Pro is available in many flight modes. If you use Spotlight Pro in TapFly, you can shoot incredible footage without using the remote controller. Spotlight Pro has been well received within the professional filmmaking community. When used with a 45 mm lens, the video effects in Spotlight Pro are truly stunning.

Tapfly

TapFly is a new function that first appeared with the Phantom 4. Users can control flight routes by using the touchscreen on their devices. In TapFly, all you have to do is tap the screen of your smartphone or tablet to fly where you want to go. You can also adjust flight direction and speed with the joysticks. The Inspire 2 expands Tapfly by allowing pilots to control gimbal movements via the joysticks. Users can now control gimbal movement and adjust flight direction, speed, and altitude through the joysticks. Solo pilots are now able to perform complex flight tasks with ease.

V. Improved Gimbal Performance

Slanted Gimbal Issue is Significantly Improved

Slanted Gimba is a specialized term in aerial photography. Due to inadequate gimbal sensor accuracy, the aircraft might take tilted footage when flying, which is a common problem faced by almost all gimbal products on the market, as well as being an issue for users when shooting. The Zenmuse X4S and X5S have substantially solved the problem of a slanted gimbal by adopting brand new gimbal control algorithms and system designs. Inspire 2 pilots will rarely, if ever, encounter this issue.

More Compatible Lenses

Balancing rings can be mounted on both the front and back of the Zenmuse X5S gimbal. Currently, the X5S gimbal supports eight professional lenses, including two zoom lenses, covering a focal length of 9 mm to 45 mm (the 35 mm equivalent focal length is 18 mm to 90 mm). Users can now swap lenses according to their specific needs for the best results.

More Precise Gimbal Control

A new generation of Inspire 2 gimbal control systems increases gimbal precision up to 0.01°, and are capable of carrying 45 mm lenses, which, in comparison, the Inspire 1 is unable to do unless it flies slowly.

Wider Gimbal Pitch Controllable Range

The controllable range of the Inspire 2's gimbal pitch has been increased to +40° ~ -125° when the Pitch Range Extension function is enabled. Moreover, the controllable range can be further extended to 50° when the aircraft is flying backward at full speed, or -135° when flying forward at full speed. Note: Results can only be achieved when roll and pan are both at 0°. Specific figures are subject to the aircraft's current firmware version.

More Adjustable Parameters

For different use habits and application scenarios, the DJI GO 4 app has made more gimbal parameters adjustable, including max gimbal pitch speed, gimbal pitch smoothness, EXP settings, and more. This is so the gimbal can adjust to the best situation according to users' needs.

VI. Better Camera and Image Processing Performance

Improved Camera Performance

Inspire 2 camera

The Zenmuse X4S gimbal camera uses a brand new 1-inch sensor with 20 megapixels and 11.6-stops of dynamic range — one stop higher than its predecessor, the Zemmuse X3. The SNR, signal-to-noise ratio and color sensitivity, are 1.5 stops greater than the X3, with a 12800 max ISO and image quality that's been improved.

The X4S is equipped with an ultra-compact DJI self-developed 8.8mm/F2.8-11 lens (the 35 mm equivalent focal length is 24 mm) with low color dispersion and image distortion. It has an 84° FOV, excellent resolving power, and the ability to shoot photos and videos. The Zenmuse X5S uses an upgraded M4/3 sensor with 12.8-stops of dynamic range, 20.8 megapixels, and a pixel size of 3.3m, far outperforming the Zenmuse X5R by being one stop higher in SNR and color sensitivity.

Easy, Economic Upgrades

Without the need to purchase new models, additional licenses are available, which makes the Zenmuse X5S able to record cinematic videos in formats most commonly used in the industry, such as CinemaDNG RAW and Apple ProRes.

Powerful Image Processing

The Zenmuse X5S can record videos at 5.2K 30fps CinemaDNG 12 bit, 5.2K 30fps Apple ProRes 422 HQ and 4K 30fps Apple ProRes 4444 XQ (no alpha), and videos in 4K 60fps using H.264 or oversampling video in 4K/30fps using H.264/H.265, both with a bitrate of 100Mbps.

Precise Focus Control

The new Peak Focus Optimization function helps users to better focus on targets by highlighting in-focus targets in red, giving users, even more, control for focusing when using DJI Focus. AutoFocus is also faster and more accurate.

New Waveform Function

It's difficult for users to control exposure when shooting in D-Log mode, which is just a lot easier to control with the new Waveform function.

New D-Log Mode

The new D-Log mode is more professional and takes full advantage of the sensor's wide dynamic range and recording image details.

VII. Safety

Although safety design makes a limited contribution to aerial photography, it can significantly help to avoid accidents during flight, protecting the aircraft and other private properties from damage. Each time a safety feature takes effect, your drone is better protected from potential damage.

Forward Obstacle Avoidance System

Equipped with a forward vision system, the Inspire 2 can detect obstacles up to 30 m away and prevent accidents caused by pilot mistakes during a fight.

Upward Obstacle Avoidance System

The Inspire 2 is equipped with an upward infrared sensing system and is capable of sensing objects within 5 m over the aircraft. In this way, the Inspire 2 can avoid crashes caused by hitting obstacles on top when flying through woods, tunnels, or indoors.

Intelligent Failsafe RTH

Aided by its obstacle avoidance system, the Inspire 2 can avoid obstacles when returning home after losing signal.

Descending Speed Control

When descending, the Inspire 2's downward vision system will automatically sense the environment 10 m below, and, if any obstacle is found, decelerate to avoid a collision. When the Automatic Landing Gear function is enabled, the Inspire 2 will stop landing but hover 50 cm above the ground instead until its landing gears fully extend so as to reduce the risk of an accident.

Terrain Detection

Terrain Detection is enabled during auto-landing or Tap to Land. With its two visual sensors, the Inspire 2 will detect the ground below to see if it is safe to land.

Dynamic Home Point

Dynamic Home Point is for when you're flying the Inspire 2 from a moving vehicle, like a tuck or a ship. In this case, pilots will need to refresh their home point manually because if the remote controller disconnects with the aircraft and the signal obstructed or interfered with, or even if the drone is out of transmission range, the aircraft will return to the original home point instead of where the pilot is now.

You can solve this problem by using the Inspire 2's GPS module for the remote controller or CrystalSky monitor to activate Dynamic Home Point. Dynamic Home Point allows the controller to know where it is more accurately and will send coordinates to the Inspire 2 every few seconds to refresh the mobile home point. As a result, the Inspire 2 will fly back to where the controller is at that time. Dynamic Home Point is the best solution for shoots requiring drone piloting from moving vehicles.

Dual Battery Design

Both Inspire 2 batteries are connected in parallel, meaning that if one fails during a flight, the other will be able to provide power for a safe return to home. A position sensor in the battery compartment also checks that the batteries are correctly installed.

Self-heating Batteries

The Inspire 2 has one of the most advanced battery technology systems in the business. Self-heating technology is built into its batteries, allowing it to fly in temperatures as low as -4°F (-20°C).

Propeller Locks

New propeller locks make mounting propellers that much easier. It also makes the propellers more reliable during operation.

Flight Data

The Inspire 2 can record more flight data than before. Therefore, when an accident occurs, it's easier for aftersales to investigate and analyze problems.

Flight Controller Redundancy

The flight controller of the Inspire 2 uses dual IMU modules. When an error occurs to one IMU, the other will take over without affecting the flight controller.

VIII. Design

Efficient

With new transformable landing gear, the Inspire 2's airframe is more compact and lightweight than the Inspire 1. Meanwhile, its ergonomic design means the Inspire 2 can accommodate higher payloads than before.

Modular

The Inspire 2's modular airframe is easy to mount and detach.

Improved Reliability and Stability

According to after sales statistics, it's the Inspire 2's software and hardware design, especially flight controller and propulsion system, that are responsible for the renowned reliability of the Inspire 2

IX. Accessories

CrystalSky Compatibility

Compatibility with DJI's CrystalSky monitor means that you're now able to film under bright light conditions easily. The CrystalSky comes with a many optimized designs, and in terms of heat dissipation, power system, ports, and low-temperature performance is the perfect Inspire 2 companion for users shooting outdoors.

Cendence Remote Controller

DJI's Cendence Remote Controller provides up to five analog control channels and over ten customizable buttons, helping you improve overall control efficiency.

DJI Tracktena

Tracktenna is a high-gain tracking antenna that improves the stability and anti-interference ability of the remote controller. It also helps to extend transmission range.

Battery Charging Station

The Battery Charging Station can charge up to eight batteries simultaneously. It also supports quick discharging. Users can choose different power ports, including a USB port, and controller charging port, etc. All these features make it the perfect choice for film shoots on location.

DJI Inspire 2 vs DJI Inspire 1

Conclusion

DJI continues to push the technological envelope with every drone release. The Inspire 1 is still an industry-leading aerial platform, but the crown goes to the Inspire 2 for now. The DJI Inspire 2 is a real game changer destined to be the aerial filmmaking solution for years to come. What other reasons do you need to buy it?