DJI Inspire 1 Handheld Gimbal

Update: DJI Osmo released

DJI have now released the DJI Osmo, to learn more, see our DJI Osmo Hands-On Review.

How popular has the Inspire 1 been?

The Inspire 1 has taken the world by storm, it is DJI’s first product targeted at prosumers to use as an aerial photography platform. Professional photographers such as Phillip Bloom have rated it very highly and demand has outstripped supply around the world. At RC Geeks we have seen several new customers interested in this model, from professional photographers to police forces and surveyors. Since CES 2015 there has been a lot of talk about the Inspire 1 handheld gimbal, and it's sure to be immensely popular among Inspire owners. Being able to capture the same stabilised footage in the palm of your hand is sure to make for more fluid videos.

So who needs a handheld gimbal?

Launched at CES, shortly after news of the DJI Inspire, DJI was showing off its prototype of their new handheld gimbal for the Inspire 1 camera. It is made for ultra smooth, statbilised footage on the ground, in a small lightweight package. It attaches to the Zenmuse X3 camera that is fitted to your Inspire 1. Similar to the Feiyu Tech G4 gimbal for the GoPro, this could enable seamless air to ground video. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVj5ON2T4Sc[/embed]

Features

There are several cool features in the prototype that we really like. Being able to see a live view of your footage is something other gimbals do not currently do and will make a huge improvement on usability. This will most likely link to your phone via the DJIGO app, however a uniqie App may be created.

• Live view & Customisation

• Phone Holder

• Smart Control

• Microphone Support

• Battery Included

​What is the cost?

I think this will be very affordable, simply due to the fact you will already have the camera and gimbal from your Inspire to transfer over. The handle will need to include a battery, microphone, an IMU and WIFI hardware. I would expect this will come in 2 packages, one with the camera and gimbal for those users who do not have an Inspire and one for those with.

Will it be compatible with the Zenmuse X5 camera?

Only time will tell if the handheld gimbal that we saw back in January will be compatible with the new Zenmuse X5 camera from the Inspire 1 Pro. The Inspire handheld gimbal has been delayed somewhat, so perhaps it is being modified in some way and there is increased functionality over the prototype we saw at CES. Although we'd like it to be compatible with the X3 and X5 camera, it's hard to see how the larger Zenmuse X5 could attach to the gimbal handle we saw in DJI's videos, it is quite small in comparison. We're often pleasantly surprised by DJI at these events, and sometimes we think we know what is being released and they bring something out much better, the same could be the case here, we may have 2 gimbals, one for the X3 camera, and another handheld gimbal for the new Zenmsue X5.

Inspire 1 Handheld Gimbal Release Date

DJI have now released a teaser trailer for their "redefine creativity" event on Thursday 8th October. This event will be held in London, China and America, and we will be on hand at the London launch to see the release first hand. It appears from the video below that all the footage is actually taken from the ground, this makes it pretty clear to us that it will most likely be a handheld gimbal being released.

Inspire 1 Handheld Gimbal Availabilty

Once the handheld gimbal is released we expect it to be very popular, we will of course be stocking a large quantity of the gimbal and we are currently taking pre-orders for the Inspire 1 Handheld Gimbal.