so this has been bugging me for a while. i know the Inspire 2 is basically built around the Zenmuse lineup and DJI keeps it pretty locked down, but ive been asked by a client about mounting a thermal sensor thats not the XT2. third party thermal with better resolution for an infrastructure inspection job.

i looked into some third party payload adapters and the info out there is all over the place, some people say you can get something working with the DJI Payload SDK but i honestly dont have a dev background and im not sure how far down that rabbit hole i want to go. anyone actually done this or is it more trouble than its worth and i should just rent an XT2 for the job

payload SDK route is doable but yeah its a real project, not a weekend thing. we looked into it for a similar inspection contract and ended up just partnering with a company that already had a certified XT2 setup because the timeline didnt justify us building something custom. for a one off job just rent the XT2 or find a local operator with one, the resolution is honestly fine for most infrastructure work unless your client has a very specific reason they need something higher res

the XT2 gets kind of undersold imo, people always want to chase the higher res thermal sensors but for inspection work the XT2 + visible light fusion workflow is actually really practical in deliverables. depends what your client is measuring i guess but ive done cell tower and bridge work with it and nobody has complained about the resolution so far. the real limitation is wind handling with heavier custom payloads anyway, i wouldnt trust a janky adapter bracket on an I2 in anything over like 20 knots