Does DJI’s New Drone Hit the Target Market?

This post also appears in sUAS News ‘The Market‘.

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I think it’s futuristic – the drone that is. The camera, on the other hand, is another story.

The drone

For a guy like me who not only follows the commercial market for drones but is also an avid photography and multirotor enthusiast, the new DJI Inspire 1 is, well, inspiring. It’s chock full of features I wish I had four years ago when I first started mounting GoPro cameras on quadcopter kits -- things like ease of use, a simple interface, controller ergonomics, telemetry, a 3D-axis gimbal, integrated HD video downlink, optical flow for indoor flying (how cool is that!?).

Much has already been written on the Inspire 1 T600 (like here and here) so I won’t repeat it. The question for this post is: Did DJI hit the mark for the target market? For that answer, we need to go beyond the drone itself and look at how professional photographers and videographers use drones and cameras.

Oh, the target audience will be hit. This bizarre contraption will appeal as a toy to semi-rich children of any age who know little or nothing about r/c, multirotors, photography, or cameras. It looks like a Sentinel Robot from Doom 3, definitely an expression of form before function, designed to be all shivery and mysteriously techy but "cool."

Buyers will be: the same people who buy huge overpowered $50K agricultural implements called "pickup trucks" and drive them to Walmart; the same people who buy $800 "phones" that barely fit through a car door; The same people who spend $5K to get jammed together with 6000 of their closest friends on a "cruise ship" to nowhere; the same people who pay thousands to sit in an Ikea-class recliner on an 8-hour flight; the same people who spend thousands on clocks for their wrists; the same people who spend $8K for a glorified go-kart called an "ATV" that they use to haul firewood for 200 yards. And so on.

This is what happens when marketing people make design decisions to instill desire in people for things they have no need or use for. It's what drives the wheels of commerce, folks!

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Comments

Terry November 19, 2014 at 8:01am

I agree. It will sell because it looks cool but how many consumers and even prosumers need 4K or have the facilities to handle it? Also the unnecessary complexity won't handle the inevitable crashes very well... Oh well this won't matter to the target customer. :o)

The big plus I see is it will drive the adoption of technology ahead for all of us.
F. C. Bearsch November 18, 2014 at 1:47pm

like the commentary Chim!
Chim Xotox November 18, 2014 at 10:44am

In case anyone missed the reference to Doom 3:
Cliff Dearden November 18, 2014 at 8:21am

Very well put Chim!
Chim Xotox November 18, 2014 at 8:03am

Oh, the target audience will be hit. This bizarre contraption will appeal as a toy to semi-rich children of any age who know little or nothing about r/c, multirotors, photography, or cameras. It looks like a Sentinel Robot from Doom 3, definitely an expression of form before function, designed to be all shivery and mysteriously techy but "cool."

Buyers will be: the same people who buy huge overpowered $50K agricultural implements called "pickup trucks" and drive them to Walmart; the same people who buy $800 "phones" that barely fit through a car door; The same people who spend $5K to get jammed together with 6000 of their closest friends on a "cruise ship" to nowhere; the same people who pay thousands to sit in an Ikea-class recliner on an 8-hour flight; the same people who spend thousands on clocks for their wrists; the same people who spend $8K for a glorified go-kart called an "ATV" that they use to haul firewood for 200 yards. And so on.

This is what happens when marketing people make design decisions to instill desire in people for things they have no need or use for. It's what drives the wheels of commerce, folks!
Giuseppe Persechino November 18, 2014 at 2:26am

@ Colin

The Sony A7s have a Full Frame Sensor and the Panasonic GH4 a Micro Four Thirds Sensor.

The Inspire camera have only a EXMOR 1/2.3” .

Sony use this type of sensor for the entry level compact camera.
F. C. Bearsch November 17, 2014 at 5:08pm

I have not touched one as of yet, but from what I see it looks like a slam dunk. I think americans especially the many that are ready to graduate from a phantom are ready and think it will be a big hit, and at the very least a gage if the market is really what all who have vested hopes think it is...
Colin Snow November 17, 2014 at 2:15pm

I hope the raw images are better than the P2V+ I have never gotten the same kind of results from it like I get from my Sony RX100 II or a6000 (which I put on a CineStar 6 hex) – especially night shots or lighted buildings at dusk. To me the DJI camera on this drone should be at the current spec of the most popular prosumer mirrorless cameras like the Sony a7S and Panasonic GH4.
Colin Snow November 17, 2014 at 10:43am

A link to the EOSHD review was in Gary's post and worth sharing here: http://www.eoshd.com/2014/11/dji-inspire-1-hollywood-calibre-drone-...

In that review was this link to the draft User Manual: http://www.eoshd.com/uploads/dji-inspire1-manual-draft.pdf
Moderator

Gary Mortimer November 17, 2014 at 4:45am

Weight is an issue and don't forget that the Vision + still can't be used commercially in the UK as the 5.8 control frequencies has not yet been approved. http://www.suasnews.com/2014/06/29689/5-8ghz-as-a-suas-control-freq...

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