Chinese manufacturer of drones, gimbals, and camera stabilizers — market leader in professional aerial systems.
The DJI Inspire 2 reaches speeds of 108 km/h with a maximum flight time of 27 minutes and transmits 1080p video over 7 km. The flagship Matrice 600 Pro carries cameras like the RED Weapon 8K and utilizes a 6-rotor design with a 15.5 kg payload. The in-house Zenmuse gimbals offer 3-axis stabilization with ±0.02° accuracy. Professional systems use the Lightbridge transmission protocol with 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz dual-band technology.
Frank Wang founded DJI in 2006 in Shenzhen, focusing on flight control systems. In 2013, the Phantom series revolutionized the drone market, followed by the first Inspire for professional applications in 2014. The breakthrough in Hollywood came in 2015 with the Zenmuse X5 camera, which adapted Micro Four Thirds lenses to drones. By 2018, DJI had achieved a 74% market share in the global drone market and established itself as a standard in the film industry.
"Skyfall" (2012) used early DJI prototypes for the Istanbul chase scene, while "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013) realized establishing shots of Manhattan with the Phantom 2. TV series like "Game of Thrones" used Inspire 2 drones for wide-angle shots in Northern Ireland. Standard workflows integrate DJI footage via Log profiles directly into Avid and Premiere Pro. The low vibration also enables macro shots with 100mm lenses.
While Freefly Alta 8 and MoVI systems offer higher payloads up to 9 kg, DJI dominates through its integrated ecosystem of hardware, software, and gimbal technology. Autel Robotics and Yuneec offer comparable systems but do not achieve DJI's market penetration. For high-end productions, specialized helicopter rigs compete, while DJI has defined the mid-range between €5,000-€50,000 budgets.
DJI has introduced the RS 5 Combo, a new premium gimbal for professional camera work, aimed at videographers and filmmakers. The established DJI RS 2 remains a valued tool in film production, praised for its smooth pan and tilt movements and inertia-following motion. Both gimbals are increasingly combined with specialized accessories like the Tilta Hydra Arm Pro V2, which offers active damping for stabilized handheld rigs.
Ich schätze die Zenmuse X7 wegen ihrer Super 35-Sensor und der nativen 6K-Aufnahme in CinemaDNG RAW – das gibt mir dieselbe Farbtiefe wie meine Hauptkamera. Die automatische Horizontkalibrierung spart mir 20 Minuten Setup pro Drehtag, und das Follow-Focus-System über die Fernsteuerung ermöglicht präzise Schärfenverlagerungen auch bei 100 Metern Entfernung.
Ich nutze DJI-Drohnen für emotionale Reveals, bei denen die Kamera von Nahaufnahmen in extreme Totalen zieht – das erzeugt eine Verletzlichkeit der Charaktere, die mit Kränen unmöglich wäre. Der ActiveTrack-Modus folgt Schauspielern automatisch durch komplexe Bewegungen, sodass ich mich auf ihre Performance konzentrieren kann statt auf technische Koordination.
Eine DJI Inspire 2 kostet 8.000 Euro und ersetzt Helicopter-Drehs für 15.000 Euro pro Tag – bei 12 Drehtagen amortisiert sich die Anschaffung bereits. Das integrierte System reduziert mein Crew-Personal um zwei Techniker, und die 27-Minuten-Flugzeit ermöglicht drei Takes pro Batteriewechsel ohne teure Standzeiten.
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The Lexikon is part of the Filmfarm ecosystem — alongside budgeting (FilmBalance), an industry magazine (FilmCircus) and crew networking (FilmCall, CrewMesh). One shared vocabulary for the whole production.