Auto raising is ok and convenient. But auto lowering not. It doesn't always lower at the same height. Sometimes only inches above the ground. Also, with the Inspire1, lowering the gear makes the barometer read a different pressure, causing the Inspire to drop another 3 feet. Raising causes it to rise 3 feet (which is seldom a problem since you're taking off and ascending anyway.
Flying low, the gear could come down unexpectedly, lowering the altitude unintentionally, which can cause your bird to catch tall grass or weeds with the gear, causing it to crash.
I always have auto gear turned off. Except for the occasional testing to see if everything still works.
Besides, I enjoy to determine when and how. Having a retractible gear is an extra feature you can control and decide about. Automating everything is taking fun away, at least for me.
Several users lost their Inspire1 or crashed the camera because they descended all the way to the ground, while the gear wouldn't go down. "but it should have come down, it says so on the side of the box....".