DJI, the world's largest drone manufacturer, announced two new high-end cameras for the company's Inspire 1 drone. The announcement was made at the InterDrone conference in Las Vegas on Sept. 10.
According to Engadget, DJI's two new cameras are the company's response to the rumored news that GoPro is developing its own unmanned aerial vehicle. The two new cameras are dubbed the Zenmuse X5 and the Zenmuse X5R.
The two new cameras from DJI are the first cameras to be released in the market that features Micro Four Thirds sensors. The two cameras are capable of capturing still images of up to 16-megapixel. Additionally, they can also record 4K videos with up to 24 or 30 frames per second refresh rate.
According to CNet, DJI joined the Micro Four Thirds (MFT) alliance in February. The MFT alliance was established by Panasonic and Olympus in order to promote the MFT camera system standard. DJI claim that its latest camera offering, the XR and X5R, are the world's first aerial cameras that adhere to the MFT protocol and standards.
The two cameras share the same sensor and three lenses. These lenses are the 15mm f1.7 ASPH lens from DJI made for the X5; the Lumix 15mm G Leica DG Summilux f1.7 ASPH lens from Panasonic; M.Zuiko Digital ED 12mm f2.0 and M.Zuiko 17mm f1.8 lenses both from Olympus.
While the XR and the X5R shares a lot in common, the two have a significant difference when it comes to shooting capabilities.
While both cameras can shoot videos in 4K resolution, the X5R can do it in CinemaDNG format and record it directly to the removable 512GB solid-state drive.
There is a big difference in terms of video bitrates. When recording in 4K, the X5R averages 1.7Gbps video bitrate while the X5 has a maximum bitrate of only 60Mbps.
The Zenmuse X5 is currently available for pre-order for $4,500, this already includes the Inspire 1 quadcopter and the DJI MFT 15mm f1.7 ASPHH lens. The Zenmuse X5R will be released in the latter part of the year and will cost $8,000.