It’s out… Are they nuts?

[Dougcjohn]

When the Inspire 1 first came out, it cost $3000 with one battery and only flew for about 18 minutes and that was probably about 8 years ago. It sold and became pretty popular really quick.

The Inspire 1 is the oldest consumer drone still flying, active and service supported. Released in late 2014, and had 2 additional version updates ending with I1 Raw & X5R.

One of the few that had model updates, not replaced.

New technology has a premium price... PS2 IBM and Apple IIe computers were also hugely expensive... "new" technology is very low cost in comparison.

Nothing breaking new technology on M3P... new design with current technology.
Little pricey in my opinion.

 

[Dougcjohn]

DJI is well known for scalping prices when opportunities allow... not being critical, good business. The Inspire 2 CineSSD cards are extremely overpriced... a 480GB Samsung 9xx series NVMe card in a housing costs about $900, a 1TB costs $1600... USB 3 reader $380. Grossly overpriced, closed proprietary made & produced to maintain high price.

 

[Emanáku]

DJI is well known for scalping prices when opportunities allow... not being critical, good business. The Inspire 2 CineSSD cards are extremely overpriced... a 480GB Samsung 9xx series NVMe card in a housing costs about $900, a 1TB costs $1600... USB 3 reader $380. Grossly overpriced, closed proprietary made & produced to maintain high price.

The SSD would be overpriced for sure. But I think there also higher costs for the infrastructure for handling the bigger amounts of data and stay under the 900 grams of weight....

 

[Czechvar]

The higher prices also have to factor in profit margins…

 

[Dougcjohn]

The higher prices also have to factor in profit margins…

Agreed, and those would be huge profit margins!
Fully understandable to take advantage of additional profits due to position in market.
If you hold a company that has the majority of a "nitch" market... something the sUAV Consumer/Prosumer was for many years, routinely introduces new technologies... some risk product, and maintains a high reputation of stable & reliable products. Capturing what the market will bear is good business... and DJI has done well on that measure.
Last several years, those profits demanded to be at a higher bar.

But that said... some have been extremely high price that now aren't as justified. Others continue to be high priced not due to the technology but the closed proprietary design. As a prime example: The CineSSD cards & Readers. Demanding $1600 for a 980GB Samsung NVMe housed in a proprietary case with a "chip" to prevent NVMe card replacement and to require interface with proprietary Reader when a standard USB 3.1 or Thunderbolt Reader could easily be used and that provides higher performance extraction speeds. A Samsung 970 / 980 1TB retail price is way below $300 Retail price of 1 quantity. The price of Lightbridge 2 Radio ($850), A3 Pro Control module ($2200), etc are extremely over priced for older technology no longer utilized in newer platforms.

The justification of higher bar profits than competition in market is getting more challenged. If Autel can produce a Kit with a similar exceptional craft and provide mulitple payloads, attachment options (RTK, Light, Speaker, etc) that provides greater flexibility at a lower cost. The Brand loyalty Buyer will begin to question worth.

The M3P is a exceptional craft... but it's limited in flexibility and options at a higher cost compared to competition... including previous model the M2P. The MFT sensor focused on Cinematography is lacking without additional lens options and the embedded CineSSD for ProRes is limiting... if not swappable to allow flights to continue it's limiting and won't meet several situations that request ProRes, the lack of CinimaDNG also limits the platform compared to the current standard: the Inspire 2. Not to mention the S35/FullFrame X7 payload now more common on cinematography environments. I don't see the M3P Cine replacing the Inspire 2, thus it's primary focus as Cinematography is questionable. It's more of a M2P replacement, which I feel is over cost.

 

[frozenpenguins]

Yeah, I use mine commercially, and was planning on selling my M2P ... but then when I saw the specs... ummm, no. Still 20mp... and having to ditch my smart controller and go back to a something that likes like my mini-2 controller unless I drop 6 grand Canadian for the Cine.... No thank you sir. Funny, cause I would absolutely have done it if there was a decent jump in spec.

 

[CanadaDrone]

Yeah, I use mine commercially, and was planning on selling my M2P ... but then when I saw the specs... ummm, no. Still 20mp... and having to ditch my smart controller and go back to a something that likes like my mini-2 controller unless I drop 6 grand Canadian for the Cine.... No thank you sir. Funny, cause I would absolutely have done it if there was a decent jump in spec.

If you're concerned about the sensor resolution, I assume your main use is still images. If so, why would you be looking at a Cine model? The only thing that gets you in terms of performance is an Apple ProRes license and a built in SSD fast enough to handle the ProRes bitrate. There is essentially no reason to buy the Cine model unless you specifically want to shoot ProRes. If it's the RC Pro you're after, that is available separately.

I am also in Canada (you may have guessed haha), and you can get the drone ($2669), 2 extra batteries ($518 for both), and the RC Pro Smart Controller ($1249) for ~$4400. Grab some third party filters, a proper charger, and some extra props and you're probably looking at $4700 or so. That is what I plan on doing anyway. I paid around $3500 for a similar M2P combo, so in my view that is a pretty reasonable cost for what is mostly the extra flight time and significant bump in sensor size and video resolutions/framerates.

 

[globetrotterdrone]

You can't buy the RC Pro only unless you are willing to directly order it from DJI, at least in Europe. So, the Cine version is the only pack you get so far. Comparing ease of return I would however rather accept Amazon.

But you are right, there is no benefit for stills in investing into the Cine version at this point.

 

[CanadaDrone]

You can't buy the RC Pro only unless you are willing to directly order it from DJI, at least in Europe. So, the Cine version is the only pack you get so far. Comparing ease of return I would however rather accept Amazon.

But you are right, there is no benefit for stills in investing into the Cine version at this point.

In Canada they are available from regular drone stores as a standalone product, for example here:

DJI RC Pro

Pre-order. Offering powerful performance, DJI RC Pro is designed for professional-level aerial photography. Thanks to the next-generation processor and increased storage capacity, DJI RC Pro works more stably and smoothly. It comes with the powerful O3+ video transmission technology and supports...

droneshopcanada.ca

Interesting that it's different in Europe. In theory anyway, any store should be able to order them from DJI just like they do the drones themselves. Not sure why it's like that.

 

[globetrotterdrone]

@CanadaDrone
I've checked at launch, and no reseller had them listed (no flagship store or authorized dealer here in Austria).
Now I see, that in EU a couple of them have it in their assortment but not in stock. So I guess, it all depends on availability and most likely, DJI rather sells them directly for now and the rest is most likely for more important markets like North America and China.

With some time, I am pretty much sure, they will show up on Amazon too.
Thanks for telling me.

 

[Czechvar]

Tonight I ordered the TriplTek 8” Pro with Mavmount. No SC2 for me…I’ll keep my SC1 for now. If I can run my M2Pro with the Controller that came with my M3, then I have no need for a SC. A non-proprietary $800 8” heavy duty 1200 nit screen with a 12,000mah battery makes more sense to me…

 

[Paradigm]

What use is digital zoom on that platform?

Same use it has on the Air 2, which added zoom via firmware, iirc.

I would love to do a la carte and build my own combo without the $300 dollar bag and $180 dollar ND filters.

If I could walk into a Best Buy, or any brick and mortar, and build my own a la carte combo, I would have done that yesterday. But I can't, because they're prioritizing profits. That is their right and arguably the main purpose of a corporation.

However, until this release, I have never felt that DJI was maximizing profits at our expense.

 

[sar104]

Same use it has on the Air 2, which added zoom via firmware, iirc.

The M3 is definitely a different target use than the A2. And you didn't answer the question anyway.

However, until this release, I have never felt that DJI was maximizing profits at our expense.

Of course they are trying to maximize their profits, both short term and long term. And they have demonstrated, over and over, that they know how to do that, which includes maintaining a necessary level of customer satisfaction.

 

[Macinfo]

Same use it has on the Air 2, which added zoom via firmware, iirc.

I would love to do a la carte and build my own combo without the $300 dollar bag and $180 dollar ND filters.

If I could walk into a Best Buy, or any brick and mortar, and build my own a la carte combo, I would have done that yesterday. But I can't, because they're prioritizing profits. That is their right and arguably the main purpose of a corporation.

However, until this release, I have never felt that DJI was maximizing profits at our expense.

You can do ala-carte easy... perhaps not how you want it... Get the base and add whatever accessories you need, you know the extra batteries, and perhaps less expensive filters, couple extra props. And you'd still be under the Fly more cost.. and news flash, tech companies exist to make money so they can try and make more new things for you to spend money on... its "your" choice whether you want to spend it..

 

[CanadaDrone]

However, until this release, I have never felt that DJI was maximizing profits at our expense.

That is the primary goal of every corporation - to maximize profits for themselves and their investors, and this is done at the expense of whoever they are selling to. In fact they have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of their investors. DJI isn't forcing anyone to buy anything, anyone who buys a DJI drone does so at their own free will and with all information to evaluate

As by far the most successful drone manufacturer with more than 50% of the global drone market, they seem to understand this better than most.

It looks like it's going to be easy to build your own Fly More combo if you want. Even the RC Pro is available as a standalone product. DJI's bundles are a good deal relative to DJI's individual prices, that has always been the case. If you're looking in the secondary market to save some money (which is what I do as well), it will always be cheaper.

 

[Paradigm]

The M3 is definitely a different target use than the A2. And you didn't answer the question anyway.

Of course they are trying to maximize their profits, both short term and long term. And they have demonstrated, over and over, that they know how to do that, which includes maintaining a necessary level of customer satisfaction.

What use is digital zoom on the platform? I don't know, whatever people decide to use it for. DJI certainly thought the coding for it had a use case, otherwise they wouldn't have done it, no?

You can do ala-carte easy... perhaps not how you want it... Get the base and add whatever accessories you need, you know the extra batteries, and perhaps less expensive filters, couple extra props. And you'd still be under the Fly more cost.. and news flash, tech companies exist to make money so they can try and make more new things for you to spend money on... its "your" choice whether you want to spend it..

I can't do it because they didn't release just the drone at Best Buy, at least not at launch. Seems like it's shipping now, though. I know that they exist to make money, I said it's arguably their purpose. I'm not knocking them for that. I am knocking them for releasing their flagship drone, and due to price or whatever reason, people are hesitating to buy it.

I was expecting people to go "Instant buy! It's so good I can't wait" instead of "Oh wow, it's expensive." Maybe I was expecting more...

That is the primary goal of every corporation - to maximize profits for themselves and their investors, and this is done at the expense of whoever they are selling to. In fact they have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of their investors. DJI isn't forcing anyone to buy anything, anyone who buys a DJI drone does so at their own free will and with all information to evaluate

As by far the most successful drone manufacturer with more than 50% of the global drone market, they seem to understand this better than most.

It looks like it's going to be easy to build your own Fly More combo if you want. Even the RC Pro is available as a standalone product. DJI's bundles are a good deal relative to DJI's individual prices, that has always been the case. If you're looking in the secondary market to save some money (which is what I do as well), it will always be cheaper.

The market share isn't surprising. The lack of competition is, though.

 

[sar104]

What use is digital zoom on the platform? I don't know, whatever people decide to use it for. DJI certainly thought the coding for it had a use case, otherwise they wouldn't have done it, no?

Except for utility platforms like the M2EA, digital zoom is mostly for users who can't be bothered to do it in post processing. That's clearly not the target demographic for the M3.

The market share isn't surprising. The lack of competition is, though.

What has surprised those who have attempted to compete is just how difficult it is to do it well. That's why the competition is limited.

 

[CanadaDrone]

The market share isn't surprising. The lack of competition is, though.

I don't think it's very surprising, and there are countless other examples we can look at where exactly the same thing occurs. It's the same reason you don't see new airplane manufacturers popping up all the time to compete with Airbus/Boeing, and it's the same reason only 4 or 5 smartphone manufacturers own ~80% of the industry. It's the same reason Intel/AMD own basically 100% of the x86 CPU market, and the same reason Nvidia/AMD own virtually 100% of the PC GPU market. There are endless examples.

It's incredibly difficult to break into a market that is basically a monopoly, or dominated by a small handful of major players, typically multi-billion dollar companies with high levels of existing brand awareness and enormous marketing budgets. Imagine the risk and startup capital required to even have a chance at success. It becomes even more difficult when those big companies have the resources to under-cut the price of the newcomer, even if it means operating at a loss for a period of time to stifle them out. R&D, tooling, hiring the appropriate talent, manufacturing, distribution, etc. is extremely expensive and not something one can just wake up one day and decide to do.

 

[jb.]

In fact they have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of their investors.

That's a myth.

Corporations Don't Have to Maximize Profits - NYTimes.com

www.nytimes.com

 

[sar104]

In fact they have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of their investors.

That's a myth.

Corporations Don't Have to Maximize Profits - NYTimes.com

www.nytimes.com

It pays to read articles before you cite them. That article specifically describes how the "best interests" of shareholders is not necessarily the same as maximizing profits.