Buying advice

[flightfan]

Looking for some input from standard owners. Planning on buying a phantom. Seriously considering the standard but I am a little nervous that I will have buyers remorse. Shying away from the advanced or the pro mainly because of price but I could do it if I stretched. Mainly interested in aerial photography.

Question is, if you, as a standard owner could do it all over again knowing what you know now, would you have spent the additional dollars, or are you happy with the standard?

 

[Blacka]

Purchased a P3S on Black Friday, wanted the pro/adv of course, but I was on a budget. Overall I'm happy just needed this as an addition to my set up for music video visuals. If you read around you can go pretty far with just a standard. If your looking to go really far out you may want to hold out and save up for a pro/adv , but honestly I don't think you'll regret the standard just depends what your trying to do.

 

[msinger]

The Standard is a fine choice if you're only planning on taking photos. I like the easily accessible buttons on the Advanced/Pro remote controller, but you can access the same functions from within the DJI GO app. As Blacka pointed out, the Advanced/Pro will give you much more distance. So, go with at least the Advanced if the extra distance is important to you. Photo-wise, there is no reason to get the Pro over the Advanced.

 

[RoyVa]

You'll want to do an evaluation on 1080p vs 2.7k. Vs the 4 k video. Determine what then meets your needs. Not a lot of call for 4 k video yet but will get there in the future.
Each step the price increases. For my personal needs and showing my friend etc. the High Defination of 1080 p is all I'll ever need. Research , research and make a determination.

 

[TheTanger]

I have the P3S and the only real regrets I have are the lack of comparable range and dedicated remote buttons. I am considering the DBS mod upgrade which adds $115 to the price. Considering I got it for $499 on BF, I do NOT regret it for the cost...which will be $615 total vs. $1200 for the pro (half the cost). I can see enjoying it for quite awhile. If I had to buy it for $699 though, I may seriously consider Advanced/Pro for the benefits of Lightbridge range, better GPS , better remote, nicer remote and more user base/mods.

That said, I am completely happy with this bird and with what kind of shots I can get with it. If you are getting into the hobby to check it out it's a great start and I can always sell it (probably for at least $450-500 at this time) and upgrade. Honestly, there isn't much this bird can't do that the ADV/PRO can for my purposes other than what I stated. Range is the #1 remorse but is it REALLY necessary for aerial photo? Depends on your case use I guess.

So the way I think of it is Standard feels like $699 + $115=$815ish to have like 90% of an advanced's functionality. If ADV is $999 you are still ahead...I don't think there's a huge camera difference now with the new upgrade to 60fps 1080p on standard (just higher bit rate on ADV).

 

[Timritchieblue]

Due to range of signal, i upgraded the standard with DBS mod, i could of just bought a advanced, and had better singal to begin with.

 

[John N Kronyak]

You made a good choice. If you ever decide to upgrade to a P3A or P3P, you'll have no problem selling it for a good price, or just keep it as a spare.

 

[N9344H]

I flew my standard yesterday 6174' unmodified and again 7752' with a 10-cent windsurfer cardboard and aluminum foil antenna. The latter flight would have gone further if I would not have chickened out. I don't think, at least for me, that the P3A/P3P have anything else I need, at least not right now.

 

[flightfan]

Wow, thanks everyone. I'm really surprised at how happy everyone is with the standard. That makes me feel more inclined to go with it first. The issues I'm reading about firmware upgrade problems kind of scare me. The distance issue also is kind of confusing. I see people posting all kinds of crazy numbers. Seems to be the one thing that for all I am reading there does not seem to be a consensus. Firmware problems aside, and all other things being equal, with no upgrade or mods, what is a good number for line of sight the standard will fly before it turns around and comes home.

 

[Scottfree]

Due to range of signal, i upgraded the standard with DBS mod, i could of just bought a advanced, and had better singal to begin with.

This right here. My standard was a gift but I would go on and upgrade if I knew then what I know now.