I am sure that this topic has been posted before, but I am about to buy my second quad, and I wanted to ask the experts a few questions.
I am currently looking at the Phantom 3 Pro and the 3DR Solo. I have been leaning to the Phantom 3 for a few reasons:
1) I have a Phantom 2 and really like it
2) I like the extended range of bird and the lightbridge technology
3) The Phantom 3 seems to be very good value for the money
4) The remote is well designed and can handle my iPad Air
5) I like the wired attachment for the iPad vs using WiFi
6) My adult son has one, and loves it
On the negative side for the DJI Phantom
1) Poor customer service
2) Not made in the USA
3) Closed architecture
4) Design issues that seems to result in stress cracks. This may or may not have been corrected, depending on who you talk to.
I really like the Solo..
1) Made in USA
2) Supposed to have better customer support. But with the gimbel launch.. That may be debatable.
3) Open design. Much easier to mod as time goes by
4) Very good construction
5) Great flight modes
6) I have a GoPro 4 Black
The biggest issue that I have with the P3 is the stress cracking problem. Is this overblown, or has it been corrected?
Phantom 3 Adv or Pro is the choice hands down for the following reasons
1) Better Value / bang per buck
2) better more stable gimbal
3) No fish eye effect and full 2.7 or 4k video. Video
4) More proven and reliable flight controller. Solo has proven less than reliable.
5) Much Much better range with the Lightbridge system.
6) Visual Position system for more stable and hover when flying low enough and stable indoor flight.
Those are the top things I can think of off of the top of my head. And I'd say any of those reasons is enough to go with Phantom 3 over the initial release of the solo. This opinion may change with a 3DR Solo ver 2 but for now I'd highly advise going with the Phantom 3
P.S.
Things better on the Solo than Phantom 3.
1) No forced Geo Fencing / No Fly Zones.
2) No Forced Altitude Limit
3) More Flexibility in terms of Camera / Gimbal Options.
4) Better support should you loose your quad do to a malfunction or damage do to defect.
5) Easier to upgrade and Repair.
6) Accessory port on the bottom makes future upgrades possible and easy to do.
Even with all of that my decision above still stands. Better gimbal / camera stability and a more reliable flight controller trump the pluses the Solo has over the Phantom 3, not even getting into the better range and reliability of the FPV feed of Lightbridge.