Have you upgraded from P4 to P4P?
- Thread starter Cale262
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Personally... I was ready to upgrade for the P3 Pro to the 4 after about a year. So I bought a P4 from Best Buy. A week later, DJI Anjou does the P4P and I decide that for the extra $500 it's worth it. Back to Best Buy it goes...
The P4P is truly an amazing machine. But as a first drone? For value for money, I would recommend a P3 Pro. The prices have come way down on those (esp used) and they are themselves amazing machines. You don't need to get top of the line quality as a first or second drone imho. For 50% of the price you can get a bird that is 75% as "good" as the P4P
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The P4P is truly an amazing machine. But as a first drone? For value for money, I would recommend a P3 Pro. The prices have come way down on those (esp used) and they are themselves amazing machines. You don't need to get top of the line quality as a first or second drone imho. For 50% of the price you can get a bird that is 75% as "good" as the P4P
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In my experience early adopters of just about anything struggle more than others. Especially computers and software in which I have a lot of experience .
So having upgrade from the P4 to the P4P, I am one happy camper. In my opinion the camera alone is worth it. This camera is a huge step above the one that was on my P4, particularly when it comes to still images. From what I have seen the video is also better but I haven't tested that as much. But, beyond the camera, here are other things that I think were worth it on the P4P:
-The all around sensors and ability to detect objects. Specifically in tracking mode. On my P4 tracking mode worked great, except that I turned off going reverse in tracking mode since the drone had no sensors behind it. This means that if my subject turns quick or goes back the other direction, the P4 will lose the subject. If I'm filming my kids sledding or something outdoors I no longer have to worry about the P4P backing up into a tree while doing tracking mode since it has the rear sensors and allowing it to go in reverse while tracking means it is much harder to lose your subject.
-On that note, my P4 went about 21mph in "P" mode with OA on. My P4P goes 30mph with OA on. This was another huge difference, especially when tracking or getting faster moving shots. Plus if I wanted to fly out far I can do so more quickly without having to turn off OA (sport mode) and risk an issue on RTH because I turned off OA and had it in sport mode.
-The camera. Which I already touched on.
Once I had my hands on the P4P it was a no brainer. I bought my P4 at best buy for $1050 after tax, but took a risk and bought the P4P from aerial media pros for $1469 shipped - no tax. It was worth the $400, and my P4 went back to best buy last night.
-The all around sensors and ability to detect objects. Specifically in tracking mode. On my P4 tracking mode worked great, except that I turned off going reverse in tracking mode since the drone had no sensors behind it. This means that if my subject turns quick or goes back the other direction, the P4 will lose the subject. If I'm filming my kids sledding or something outdoors I no longer have to worry about the P4P backing up into a tree while doing tracking mode since it has the rear sensors and allowing it to go in reverse while tracking means it is much harder to lose your subject.
-On that note, my P4 went about 21mph in "P" mode with OA on. My P4P goes 30mph with OA on. This was another huge difference, especially when tracking or getting faster moving shots. Plus if I wanted to fly out far I can do so more quickly without having to turn off OA (sport mode) and risk an issue on RTH because I turned off OA and had it in sport mode.
-The camera. Which I already touched on.
Once I had my hands on the P4P it was a no brainer. I bought my P4 at best buy for $1050 after tax, but took a risk and bought the P4P from aerial media pros for $1469 shipped - no tax. It was worth the $400, and my P4 went back to best buy last night.
There are sometimes reasons why I might gamble on being an early adopter of new technology...mainly if that new technology provides capabilities or advances that might make it worth the risk of the likely associated hassles. In the case of the P4->P4P, that advantage isn't there for me. The P4 is a great drone and the P4P doesn't move that ball that much farther down the field for me.
Have been making several comparisons with many great comments here and youtube comparisons. Seems the 12mp to 20mp increase is somewhat misleading since it is more a case of moving to the larger 1" format. In the comparisons I have seen so far, it seems to be more an advantage of the "light sensitivity" allowing for greater f-stop functionality and not really an increase in the camera performance overall.
I'm looking more at the abilities of the Inspire. I have had the P3P in the past and I'm presently using the P4. I am one of those FAA licensed pilots who are looking to do this on a more professional approach. As such, the Inspire (and there are many Inspire 1 dual-controls hitting the used market) adds more flexability in allowing the operator to do a "dual operator" environment. While the "pilot" is concentrating on straight level flight, the "camera operator", with a second controller, can have full 360 degree control of the camera.
This to me, is a better use of a $1500 to $2000 investment in an upgrade to a used Inspire with an X3 camera (the equivalent to the P4 camera).
And as with Maverick, shows that it all depends on the desired application. You can stick with the tried and true P3P or P4, upgrade to a P4P with the improved camera, the Maverick for the portability, or the Inspire for the high performance video production ability. It's like buying a car.... you can buy a car, a mini-van, or a pick up truck..... it all depends on what you are using it for! Either way, DJI has the best options!
In my humble opinion I think you are underestimating the camera difference between P4/inspire and p4p.
Meta4
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There's nothing misleading at all.
The new sensor is larger and so is the resolution. Both make the camera on the P4pro much, much better then the P3/P4 cameras (and the identical Inspire X3 camera)
This shows the 4x increase in sensor size:
Add in having decent dynamic range, a functional aperture and mechanical shutter and you now have a real camera in the air rather than a mobile phone camera.
For anyone wanting to see how good the images from the P4pro really are the images, here are a few straight from the camera:
P4 pro Sample Images - Above & Beyond Photography
The P4pro camera is a game changer for me that allows me to get great images like this now:
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