4K or 1080 P?
- Thread starter FP-C Medic
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The P3 is really far ahead of any P2 so that's a no brainer. I bought the P3P and I love the 4k video but as others have said, the files are big and if you don't have a modern powerful computer and know how to use it, you might not get much out of 4k. You should see the footage on a 70" 4k screen though - awesome. You also get faster charging (no big deal) and support in the SDK. So there are a bunch of apps that are coming out that may not support the P3A. If you care about that, that could be pretty compelling. In the end, it just comes down to your preferences and budget.
Negative, the 4K is better. It can be downscaled to 1080P and it looks better than straight 1080P.
Don't get the P2V. For what you'll spend on it is about the same as a P3A but the P3A has a better camera and many cool features that the P2V does not.
I went back and forth on this for weeks. I finally thought about it - would I miss the $260 dollars? Not likely. It would have no impact on my life. Would shooting 4K make a difference? I looked at the attached image. I then went through hundreds of videos on youtube. The 4K videos look so much better (even viewing at 1080p). I got the 4K model. I haven't shot anything in 1080P. The 4K looks incredible.
Now with the P3P, extra batteries, cases, etc I have $2,000 tied up in this hobby. The jump from 1080P to 4K was only an extra 15% of this cost. Negligible.
Now with the P3P, extra batteries, cases, etc I have $2,000 tied up in this hobby. The jump from 1080P to 4K was only an extra 15% of this cost. Negligible.
Not true. Most that shoot in 4k don't export the final video file at 4k. 4k is helpful in post editing. You can crop the video and still export a full 1080p file.
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4K Video is about 2X the resolution of standard HD video. This means you can zoom in 200% and still have perfect video while in 1080p in your editing app. So zooming in is the real advantage of 4K. If you need to zoom in or warp stabilize, that is important.
The problem with it is compression artifacting and processor loading. For instance The video capture of the Phantom 3 Pro is rated at 60 Mbps in 4K - which is 7.5MBps. That means there is much compression in the fine details - trees, grass, anything with fine detail will be fuzzy compared to the same image shot in HD mode (1080p - read less compression). When the 4K is downconverted to HD it may still remain in the image as aliasing or be reduced by the scaling. It's all about the amount of compression visible to the human eye.
For instance, Apple's ProRes 422 format in 1080p30 is 330 Mbps. A movie industry standard. So on the P3P we are starting with 60 Mbps at 3840x2160.at 30fps. That is a larger image with much more H.264 compression. So the comparison we need to look at is with a 1080 30p movie compressed to 60Mbps or a 3840 30p compressed to 60Mbps movie. It's a matter of shooting both and comparing the results
The problem with it is compression artifacting and processor loading. For instance The video capture of the Phantom 3 Pro is rated at 60 Mbps in 4K - which is 7.5MBps. That means there is much compression in the fine details - trees, grass, anything with fine detail will be fuzzy compared to the same image shot in HD mode (1080p - read less compression). When the 4K is downconverted to HD it may still remain in the image as aliasing or be reduced by the scaling. It's all about the amount of compression visible to the human eye.
For instance, Apple's ProRes 422 format in 1080p30 is 330 Mbps. A movie industry standard. So on the P3P we are starting with 60 Mbps at 3840x2160.at 30fps. That is a larger image with much more H.264 compression. So the comparison we need to look at is with a 1080 30p movie compressed to 60Mbps or a 3840 30p compressed to 60Mbps movie. It's a matter of shooting both and comparing the results
The PHOTO quality is the same, the VIDEO quality is better at 4K when scaled down to 1080p to match the P3A native resolution. Both cameras use the same sensor to take 12MP (4000x3000) .dng photos
Agree with this ^^
I've the p3p but film mostly in 1080p 60frames as it plays very smoothly on hd tv (which most people have)
My desktop pc approx 2yrs old - quad core, 8gb ram, decent graphic card, can't cope with 4k - hd tv doesn't support 4k resolution etc etc...still on 1 battery after 3 weeks.
1080p & 4k both amazing.
