Just got my
P4P (no screen) today and took it out for one test run and then a sunset shoot. I got this thing primarily for still photography and had been waiting for improvements in the sensor and optics before buying. The
P4P ticked off all boxes on paper so bought it when announced.
As background, I do landscape photography in my town of Marblehead, Massachusetts and have been quite successful even though this is not my full time job. I shoot with a Canon 5D mk III and previously with the Canon 50D which I'll compare this sensor/optics to.
First, this thing is a blast! Lots of new compositional possibilities are now open which is huge.
Second, files hold up surprisingly well to work in Lightroom (shot in RAW) and Photoshop (Nik filters and some other edits).
Did a quick test of the front of my house with various apertures and will definitely be staying at 5.6 or less. f/11 was mushy from diffraction.
Oh and I used this with my iPad Air which handled it well. No bright sun to fight with the screen today and my hands were definitely sore after 15 minutes of flying so may look into an iPad mini when those get refreshed in March vs checking out the dedicated DJI remote with larger screen.
Noise is disappointing - easily seen without edits at 100% down to ISO 400. I would say up to ISO 800 is probably okay for sharing on web and print but wouldn't go higher than that without some aggressive noise correction in post.
Gimbal was a bit off. Need to try that IMU calibration everyone is talking about. I ended up compensating by making sure I composed with a bit of room to spare knowing I would crop a bit later to straighten the horizon.
Today was overcast at sunset so couldn't push dynamic range but got one shot earlier in front of house that seemed pretty good.
Images definitely hold their own when pushed a bit in post. Better than my Canon 50D files which had banding and just fell apart. Can't touch the 5D mk III but I wasn't expecting that.
Pretty sure my SD card is a fake (bought from BH photo). Had three corrupt images and one corrupt movie when pulled from SD card reader using adaptor and when pulled directly from drone via cable. It's a Sandisk Extreme 64GB which I'll open an RMA for tomorrow.
Overall, I'm pleased with the drone and it is shockingly easy to fly for a total newbie. The compositional opportunities are really exciting and I think if I stick to ISO 100-200 and apertures of 5.6 or less, it will do exactly what I had hoped.
Hope that helps...
E
Wednesdays in Marblehead - Photos of Marblehead