ok so this might be a dumb question but hear me out. i have a client who wants aerial footage with a specific look that basically requires a particular lens setup that doesnt fit on any of the native DJI camera options. we're talking a rehoused vintage anamorphic, nothing crazy but its not light, probably around 900g with the adapter and support stuff. i know the Inspire 2 has payload limits and the gimbal is obviously designed around the Zenmuse lineup so im wondering if anyone has gone off the reservation here and tried to mount something custom.

ive seen some setups on the Matrice series where people build custom gimbal plates and use SkyView or Gremsy heads but those are way bigger platforms. is there any equivalent DIY or third party community around the Inspire 2 for this kind of thing or is it basically a closed ecosystem and im better off just renting a different platform for this one job.

the shot list isnt even that complicated, mostly slow parallax moves around architecture so i dont need crazy agility but the anamorphic thing is non-negotiable for the director

short answer is the Inspire 2 isnt really designed for third party payload work and the underbelly mounting situation is pretty constrained compared to the Matrice line. ive seen people do hacky stuff with custom plates bolted to the gimbal bay but you lose the stabilization obviously unless youre using a separate 3-axis head and then the weight stacks up fast and you're eating into your flight time significantly.

for anamorphic aerial work the more common approach ive seen is either a Matrice 600 with a Ronin or a dedicated cinema drone from someone like Freefly, the Alta series was built for exactly this use case. renting is probably smarter for a one-off job unless you want to go deep on a platform that might only fit a narrow slice of your work.

yeah we did something kind of similar about two years ago for a feature doc, ended up using an Alta X with a Movi Pro underneath and it was honestly one of the smoothest aerial setups ive worked with. the image from a proper cinema lens at altitude is just different, clients always react to it. but the logistics are a whole thing - you need a bigger crew, the setup time on site is way longer, and depending on where you're shooting the waiver situation gets complicated with a heavier aircraft.

if its just one job and the budget allows i'd source a local operator who already has that rig dialed in rather than building it yourself from scratch. the Inspire is great but its a different tool than what youre describing