Interested in a new P4, should I buy one?

This thread had been very helpful. I just bought a P4 and then saw the Mavic online. For what I want to do, I think the Mavic is what I want. I'm taking the P4 back to bestbuy and pre-ordering the Mavic Pro.


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We live in a time where the next model of silicon chip based products has ALWAYS serious advantages over the last one. (Provided your designers know their job) This will only continue to increase exponentially. So prepare for even more frequent and bigger decision stress in the future. After my P2 I bought my P3P September last year. I bought my second P3P just one month before the P4 was launched. That was not funny. So this time I ordered my Mavic in advance. 3 Generations in just over one year. And sure as hell 24 processors are going to do a better job to command and control the Mavic over any of its predecessors. Indoor flying has always been my biggest pain to name one. Until we all have our own drone with FPV connection directly stimulating the visual cortex and controlled by the brain you can always wait for the next model that will sure as hell be better. The question is what are we going to fly in the meantime?


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I say go for it unless you want to wait for the P5.
But the P4 has been nothing but good to me
 
There is a rumour in the mill that the phantom5 should be here soon
DJI has never released two new Phantom models in the same year, so soon probably won't really be until at least March 2017.
 
This thread had been very helpful. I just bought a P4 and then saw the Mavic online. For what I want to do, I think the Mavic is what I want. I'm taking the P4 back to bestbuy and pre-ordering the Mavic Pro.


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I posted this a few days back on another thread with my thoughts on the Mavic vs P4.... might be another thread where it has an element of relevance including to the OP:

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Camera is excellent and the subtle difference in how it is embedded and motor height means less prop in shot and no legs in view either.

The motor height you reference as a benefit is a myth. The motors are identical in height when you set P4 and P3 side by side. What you'll notice though is the camera is 9mm higher on the P4, making props appear in the view MORE than with P3, slightly. As great as DJI is you can't believe everything they print, like the 28min flight time for the P4, HAH!. [emoji12]
 
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The Price decay that the Mavic Pro has caused on used Phantoms is pretty significant and only going to become more pronounced when the Mavic Pro actually ships. Waiting for the Mavic Pro to come out then deciding on what to do is the prudent choice.
 
If size is not a factor I would get the P4 just because it is a sturdier craft and so far with all the miles and hours we fly them they seem to be pretty dependable. All the folding points and bending wires will eventually be problematic in the mavic. Some of these problems are starting to show in the H. (sputew)
 
If size is not a factor I would get the P4 just because it is a sturdier craft and so far with all the miles and hours we fly them they seem to be pretty dependable. All the folding points and bending wires will eventually be problematic in the mavic. Some of these problems are starting to show in the H. (sputew)

Definitely some good points. For what I want to accomplish I think the Mavic is the better choice. Most of what I want to do is capture emergency vehicles "in action". With the Mavic I should be able to park the drone 20 feet off to the side of the vehicle or in front of the vehicle and capture the action at up to 30mph for my business. It should make for some great shots in creating videos for YouTube and Facebook. So the drone won't get enough use to worry about wear at the joints or wires breaking. And the ability to fly inside will be a huge benefit for getting shots in our shop which has a 30' ceiling.


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Definitely some good points. For what I want to accomplish I think the Mavic is the better choice. Most of what I want to do is capture emergency vehicles "in action". With the Mavic I should be able to park the drone 20 feet off to the side of the vehicle or in front of the vehicle and capture the action at up to 30mph for my business. It should make for some great shots in creating videos for YouTube and Facebook. So the drone won't get enough use to worry about wear at the joints or wires breaking. And the ability to fly inside will be a huge benefit for getting shots in our shop which has a 30' ceiling.


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P4 flies great inside as well, nothing to envy from the Mavic but portability which its only real and substantial innovation can't be beaten for sure...


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lol, much valuable input there.

Yes sir, absolutely.
Short and sweet into the point.
The Mavic is better all around.
Smaller camera, smaller footprint, better sensors, better stability, quieter, you name it.
It even has the ability to allow you to pick what you focus on instead of having a flat focus camera like the P3 or the P4 series.
More distance too. Amazing battery life, I can go on and on.

I think if you're going to spend C$1400 you might as well spend it on the new Mavic and not the older P4


But don't get me wrong, if you already own a P4 then be happy because it's still bleeding edge and still bloody awesome.

What I'm saying is if you're going to buy a new one and you don't have one yet then you might as well opt for the newest version because it's better in every way.


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Yes sir, absolutely.
Short and sweet into the point.
The Mavic is better all around.
Smaller camera, smaller footprint, better sensors, better stability, quieter, you name it.
It even has the ability to allow you to pick what you focus on instead of having a flat focus camera like the P3 or the P4 series.
More distance too. Amazing battery life, I can go on and on.

I think if you're going to spend C$1400 you might as well spend it on the new Mavic and not the older P4


But don't get me wrong, if you already own a P4 then be happy because it's still bleeding edge and still bloody awesome.

What I'm saying is if you're going to buy a new one and you don't have one yet then you might as well opt for the newest version because it's better in every way.


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I don't know about that, Ive seen some photos taken by both the P4 & mavick. side by side you can tell the quality of the images the maverick is taking are lacking.
 
The P4 is marvelous. My first was the P1. Rumors around of a P5 next spring. No idea of features or price. Should you wait? No idea. But, I truly love my P4 and the camera.
 
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I totally agree with all of you, the P4 is an amazing drone with an amazing camera.
I have also seen those side-by-side videos and what people were doing was taking out of focus video with the Mavic because they did not realize that there was a tap to focus feature that DJ I had introduced.

Another difference and it's a big one is that the P4 by default has sharpness settings all the way up so the image is super crisp and super sharp.
If you adjust the mavics sharpness settings you will achieve the exact same quality.

I think you're watching the videos done by digital rev and Casey Neistat.

Both of those videos neglected to mention that there was a top to focus.
If you look at some of the more recent videos and side-by-side comparisons you will see that a lot of people have figured this out and the more recent comparisons look pretty good.
Either way, with either drone, you can't lose.

My point was though that if you're going to spend the cash, then you might as well get the newest one.

I have seen the P4 still on sale for about 1349-$1500.

Another note is that of course guys a lot of this is fact but some is my opinion as well and should be taken with a grain of salt.
[emoji106][emoji6][emoji16][emoji385]



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Definitely some good points. For what I want to accomplish I think the Mavic is the better choice. Most of what I want to do is capture emergency vehicles "in action". With the Mavic I should be able to park the drone 20 feet off to the side of the vehicle or in front of the vehicle and capture the action at up to 30mph for my business. It should make for some great shots in creating videos for YouTube and Facebook. So the drone won't get enough use to worry about wear at the joints or wires breaking. And the ability to fly inside will be a huge benefit for getting shots in our shop which has a 30' ceiling.

Let's address a few of the topics raised here. You asked what the best air frame would be to do what you're attempting to do.
  1. Have you flown any drone at 30 mph while attempting to film a moving subject? A larger and heavier the air frame will work better for stability in flight - Inspire would be your ideal choice for this, then followed by a Phantom. I've personally watched several Mavic test videos where the camera gimbal was already showing jello-effect at speed. This effect has nothing to do with tapping the screen to focus.
  2. I keep mentioning this but wind is a major concern. Wind can destroy beautiful shots, especially when you only have one chance to capture them. The Mavic is the smallest and lightest of the air frames by far. I'm pretty confident it will not handle wind very well - time will tell.
  3. Any DJI quadcopter can be flown indoors. The Mavic seems to do this well, but a Phantom can equally do this well. This is much more about pilot skill than relying on the technology.
  4. Screen size. For me, falling back to using a 'phone' screen to frame professional shots is not really an option. I rely heavily on having a larger tablet. This is a personal opinion or preference, but an important one when entering the realm of commercial work. Bigger IS better when it comes to FPV screens and framing shots.
These are just my opinions based on experience. Ultimately, I would advise you to wait until many people have their hands on the Mavic to provide unbiased reviews of its short-comings. It is, hands-down the best ultra portable drone currently available. I'm not sold on anything else yet.
 
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