DJI CineSSD Thunderbolt 3 vs. USB 3.0 Review - Inspire 2

We tested out the USB 3 and Thunderbolt™ 3 versions of the DJI CineSSD Station for Inspire 2.

This video was one of our earliest, and we didn't yet have a grasp on making sub-10min videos, sorry! Skip to the results here: 7:00

iMac Pro Specs:
- Intel 2.7GHz 8-core Xeon W
- 32 GB RAM
- Radeon Pro Vega 56 Graphics Card
- 1TB Internal RAID 0 SSD

Transferring 102.24 GB via Apple Finder Drag & Drop:
USB 3.0: 3m 30s (3.89 Gbps)
Thunderbolt™ 3: 1m 31s

Transferring 102.24GB via ShotPutPro6:
USB 3.0: 4m 22s (3.8 Gbps)
Thunderbolt™ 3: 1m 32s (One second slower than Finder, even including checksum verification) (16.35 Gbps)

Spot the bloopers: Stating 102.24GB twice, calling the iMac Pro a MacBook Pro

CONCLUSION: If your computer has Thunderbolt™ 3, you can expect this new reader to be 130% faster, or take about 43% of the time of the USB 3.0 reader.

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[askyellowhouse]

What other Inspire 2 accessories would you like to learn more about?

[JM-xlij]

Hope this helps others who have a UG1 or UG2 - they are the same speed. The cable is the bottleneck. I bought a new UG2 and the cable made my transfers faster but not as fast as the one above. 102Gb for me took 5.75s using an Apple Usb-C to USB-A Adapter. Looks like I need find a direct Thunderbolt to USB-B cable.

[JM-xlij]

I bought a 2nd hand Inspire 2 which came with a DMAG READER - also called the UG1 I think the - even to an M1 Max Mac - it takes 50 mins for a 150Gb file. I wonder if it is faster with a UG2? The TG3 is not even available from DJI for a month.

[sebastiangeorger]

I know this video is older, but I have just pulled the trigger on an inspire 2 with the X5S. I have got the 120Gb SSD and USB 3 but no ProRes or CinemaDNG licence. Is there any improvements in having the SSD over an SD card without the licenses?

[marctronixx]

Dumb question commeth: I’m in a PC world but use these cinessd‘s. I’m correct to ASSume the thunderbolt version is ONLY for Apple/Macintosh computers yes? I’m also ASSuming my 3rd gen iPad Pro 1tb LTE SG is NOT thunderbolt compliant yes? Again I’m an android /pc guy so pardon the ignorance.

[stephenopiah]

Can i transfer files from thunderbolt to a DJI copilot hard drive ?

[ghostlyvlogs]

Hey!, I just bought the pro res license for my inspire 2 and x5s today. I've got the 240gb SSD and the UG1 reader. I tried transferring like 50gb of footage from the SSD onto my desktop (Windows) and I'm having some serious problems. It starts at like 200mbps for like 3 seconds then completely drops off to 0mbps for like 10 seconds then goes back up to 200mbps or so then dips down again(Continues until done transferring all 50gb). Is there any fixes for this issue?

[marctronixx]

One more curious question, if you’re still listening . Ever heard of the DJI LaCie Copilot? If so, let me explain. I’m using the cinessd 3.0 to offload data from 480GB DJI SSD to the Copilot. It DOES have 3.1 type C, but the hard drive internally is a 2.5 SATA (2TB). Do you think I can SEE a bump in speed with the TB3 version of this cinessd station into the Copilot or is it not worth the effort? I know the weakest bottleneck in this chain will be the spinning hard drive. This is strictly in the field, no computer around to offload hence why I am asking such a specific scenario. Thanks boss!

[VickersDoorter]

A very useful comparison in helping gauge which to go for. My 2017 4.2GHz iMac has a 1TB Fusion drive, do you think a Fusion drive would be fast enough to take advantage of the Thunderbolt reader vs the USB version?

[beribear]

I didnt realize there were 2 different readers and got the 3 that now doesnt fit to my older macbook pro. Going to try and find an adapter now Thunderbolt 3 to 2

[logananderson]

Iv been having issues with my cinessd. When I try to download my work onto my computer, it will not make a video file. It will only make 1 file with close to 1, 000 pictures of the video I shot. But when I watch my footage on my phone, Its perfectly fine. I'm on PC with the normal CineSSd usb. with Any ideas on whats going on?

[chriscarter]

Hey can you tell me if there is a DIY camera that I can run on the inspire 2 instead of spending all that money on the ones they recommend ? Thank You