Advice needed on Image Quality

clpix · Jul 29, 2014

I am trying to decide between buying a P2V+ and a P2 with a Gopro Hero 3+. I would be grateful for any advice. I have no experience with quadcopters.

Image quality is foremost for me. I am a retired professional photographer and intend to use the machine for stills as much as video. The ability to shoot camera RAW (.dng) with the P2V+ has great appeal. However, most people seem to think that the Gopro is a better camera. That said, I would have to spend much more to include FPV.

I have tried to find a website from which I could download a full-size .dng file to inspect before buying. Maybe some kind soul on this forum could email me a couple of images?

In any case, if you care about image quality and helping me out, I would appreciate your advice.

nintendrone64 · Jul 29, 2014

clpix said:
I am trying to decide between buying a P2V+ and a P2 with a Gopro Hero 3+. I would be grateful for any advice. I have no experience with quadcopters.

Image quality is foremost for me. I am a retired professional photographer and intend to use the machine for stills as much as video. The ability to shoot camera RAW (.dng) with the P2V+ has great appeal. However, most people seem to think that the Gopro is a better camera. That said, I would have to spend much more to include FPV.

I have tried to find a website from which I could download a full-size .dng file to inspect before buying. Maybe some kind soul on this forum could email me a couple of images?

In any case, if you care about image quality and helping me out, I would appreciate your advice.

It's a pretty complicated answer, but to put it short and sweet:
The GoPRO Hero 3+ Black will take some phenomenal video for you. In fact, it's video is unparalleled by the Vision+ camera.
The Vision+ Camera however takes STUNNING photographs. With a true 14MP RAW image capture ability, the Vision+'s photo capabilities surpass the Black's photography capabilities.

So there you have it. Are you looking for quality pictures? or quality video?

D_Tshudy · Jul 29, 2014

https://www.dropbox.com/s/alqvhs0bdqz1v8k/DJI00072.DNG
and the jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cyrcdlas6ml99cs/DJI00072.JPG

4wd · Jul 29, 2014

Also the P2V+ gives you full control of when the 'shutter' is pressed, and you can change settings while in the air.
Not sure that is realistically possible with gopro, you just have to start it off in timelapse mode I think - then land to change things, since you can't have the wifi turned on.

srandall25 · Jul 29, 2014

exactly... the FPV integration out of the box with the Vision+ made it a no brainer for me... yes, i've heard that the GoPro Black addition may be a little better in some respects, but the advantages of the FPV and app control with the Vision+ along with the video/photo quality make it an easy choice...

Mpower60195 · Jul 29, 2014

If you're planing on doing some 4K quality videos then you might want to go with the Gopro package.otherwise PV+ is the way to go.Just the fact that everything in the vision+ package works together and not having to adding extra stuff to you quad.I've got mine 2 weeks ago and I'm very pleased with it.Just keep one thing in mind that the camera and gimbal on the vision+ is very very fragile so keep it protected from the bottom.You can either make one or buy one.

srandall25 · Jul 29, 2014

Mpower60195 said:
If you're planing on doing some 4K quality videos then you might want to go with the Gopro package.otherwise PV+ is the way to go.Just the fact that everything in the vision+ package works together and not having to adding extra stuff to you quad.I've got mine 2 weeks ago and I'm very pleased with it.Just keep one thing in mind that the camera and gimbal on the vision+ is very very fragile so keep it protected from the bottom.You can either make one or buy one.

very good point... the Vision+ is nice for now, but not exactly upgradeable... a similar setup with a GoPro could be easily upgradeable once the GoPro Hero 4 is released. Having said this, there are very creative people like DroneExpert.com that are working on a 'quick release' solution to enable an easy swap out of the native Vision+ camera while still retaining FPV off a third party camera like the GoPro or even a mirrorless Sony... Now, this solution will surely not be cheap... I personally am enjoying the Vision+ as is and using it as a nice trainer platform before jumping up to something more professional later. I'm looking at upgrading to a S800 Evo. In the meantime, I purchased a Panasonic GH4 4K camera that I plan to use with the S800... I want to learn the camera and practice with a Vision+ prior to putting a $2500 camera on a $2500 gimbal hanging off another few thousand dollar drone..

it's all about risk vs. reward and your ultimate intentions.. so many ways to go about it. but I do love the technology...

clpix · Jul 29, 2014

You folks are amazing. Thanks for the advice. Another question: If I get the P2V+, which I think I will, is it easy to remove the camera/gimbals while I learn to fly? Thx again.

cahutch · Jul 29, 2014

clpix said:
You folks are amazing. Thanks for the advice. Another question: If I get the P2V+, which I think I will, is it easy to remove the camera/gimbals while I learn to fly? Thx again.

Yes and no. It's not terribly hard to remove the camera and gimbal, but if you do, other things stop working.

You won't have the WiFi link at all, so no "Find My Phantom", no Flight telemetry at all and no ground station.
And with the recent firmware update you won't have the smart battery flight time indicator.

If you're worried about learning to fly first, I'd, recommend buying a small indoor/outdoor flyer like the Blade 180QX or similar, and learn to fly that first.
That's what I did and I'm very glad I did.
You'll want to be comfortable flying in Atti mode in case you lose GPS lock on the Phantom while you're flying.

The Blade 180 (and similar) has "Stability mode" that make it self leveling and self stabilizing, but just like Atti mode on the Phantom, it has no GPS and will drift with the wind.
If you can learn to keep it where you want it while oriented the way you want it and get semi proficient at that, you'll have no problem with the Phantom.

The smaller flyers like that are not only less expensive to replace if you do make a big mistake, they are far more durable. I've dropped mine out of the air from >100 feet and even slammed it into the side of my house at full speed and there was Zero damage. You almost can't break 'em.

EyesofCanadaGoose · Jul 29, 2014

clpix said:
Another question: If I get the P2V+, which I think I will, is it easy to remove the camera/gimbals while I learn to fly? Thx again.

As far as I know, not easy.

As for .DNG photos - they are on DJI.com website, just not easy to find http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-2-vision-plus/actual-footage. IMHO, image quality of P2V+ camera is acceptable, but not "amazing". Video quality is better. Again, all subjective.

EyesofCanadaGoose · Jul 29, 2014

cahutch said:
If you're worried about learning to fly first, I'd, recommend buying a small indoor/outdoor flyer like the Blade 180QX or similar and learn to fly that.

+1. I flew before getting my hands on P2V+ and still enjoy flying little Blade Nano.

cahutch · Jul 29, 2014

EyesofCanadaGoose said:
cahutch said:

If you're worried about learning to fly first, I'd, recommend buying a small indoor/outdoor flyer like the Blade 180QX or similar and learn to fly that.

Click to expand...

+1. I flew before getting my hands on P2V+ and still enjoy flying little Blade Nano.

++1. I still fly mine a lot because it's usually more fun to fly than the Phantom. I'm very careful with the Phantom due to the cost and durability but with the Blade I can fly fast and reckless. Try out tricks and push the limits of my flying skills which helps improve those skills.

locoworks · Jul 30, 2014

fair amount of barrel/fisheye effect with both the P2V+ and gopro so a bit of editing is required, much easier in RAW than a jpeg apparently. but you can get a lens upgrade for both cameras that alters the field of view and looses the barrel/fisheye effect, for a price!! the P2V option looked cheaper last time i checked for the mod kit. your best friends google and youtube should help with finding the info as might a search of the forums

z10m · Jul 30, 2014

clpix said:
You folks are amazing. Thanks for the advice. Another question: If I get the P2V+, which I think I will, is it easy to remove the camera/gimbals while I learn to fly? Thx again.

yes it is easy.
all you have to do is to remove two ani drop pins, then four vibration absorbers, unplug three cables and unscrew four screws holding gimbal mount
thats it. takes maybe five minutes.
you can reuse anti drop pins if you remove them properly
I've done a video to show how to do that http://youtu.be/2iqLA7HBfNs

Meta4 · Jul 30, 2014

Removing the camera to learn to fly is plain dumb.
Why would you want to cripple the telemetry and FPV?
The Phantom is dead easy to learn to fly just as it is and it's going to be easier with all functions intact.