DJI’s Strange Denial: Leaked Phantom 5 “Not Ours”

DP Review reported earlier this week on the drama surrounding leaked photos alleged to be a Phantom 5 with interchangeable lenses.  And what’s strange is that for the first time ever (that we can remember), DJI is denying a DJI rumor.

In the past, DJI rumors have always been ignored by the company, which makes this Phantom 5 rumor and denial that much more strange.  As Shakespeare would say, “methinks she doth protest too much.”

Shown above, the next generation gimbal sports a larger sensor and a series of 4 removable lenses for the aircraft.

Until now, drone enthusiasts have been speculating what features the yet to be announced Phantom 5 drone will have compared to the existing Phantom 4 Series.

We’ve covered this evolving story many times, and we do believe that a Phantom 5 drone is eventually coming from DJI.

Regarding the drone pictured in the image above, DJI now says:

“the Phantom 4 drone with interchangeable lenses sighted in some online publications is not a DJI product for public sale.  To clarify, this was a modified Phantom 4 Pro drone designed for an enterprise client to serve specific application needs.”

Twitter poster OsitaLV, who was among the first to share the photos, and who had correctly hypothesized about a Phantom series with interchangeable lenses has been silent on this latest update from DJI.

It’s a completely different story from the forums and facebook, where the majority of commenters are taking DJI’s position with a grain of salt, calling it “a smoke screen” and “fake news”.

The main reason DJI’s story is doubted by readers is the fact that making a custom lens mount, multiple custom lenses, a larger custom sensor and gimbal just isn’t believable based on development cost for a one-off, especially for a Phantom 4.

Why wouldn’t the alleged enterprise client just purchase an Inspire 2 with the Zenmuse X7 gimbal and lens system?

As is usually the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.  And we’ll keep hunting for it.  Have an opinion on the Phantom 5 with interchangeable lenses? Let us know what you think in the comments.