pre purchase questions

mig

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Hello all. I've always had a fascination for flying and aerial videos and decided to finally purchase a unit. I have not yet purchased a bird and the P3 or P4 was a recommended unit from a friend. I have never owned a quad drone before however he assured me that these units are very user friendly. Not sure yet if the P4 is worth the extra cost, still reading the forums here and seaching the web for info. I also called my local hobby store to see if they carry the DJI units and he doesnt for the reason that he says parts are extremely hard to get for the DJI drones. Is this true or is this just a biased opinion? He recommended the Blade Chroma unit. I did a little research on the blade and they seem to have alot of reviews that they fall from the sky or they fly into the sunset by them selves. Again sometimes ppl only post bad reviews so I am continuing to reseach and hopefully some of you here can give me some good advice.
Thx in advance to any info!
 
Go for a P4 with 2 extra batteries. I very highly recommend B&H Photo, depending on your location and delivery time. Parts are available at the authorized service centers, and will be soon at authorized retailers.
 
the P3 or P4 was a recommended unit from a friend. I have never owned a quad drone before however he assured me that these units are very user friendly.
Both the P3 and P4 are excellent quadcopters. If you decide to go with a P3, I recommend you at least get a P3 Advanced. The P3 Standard and P3 4K are good birds too, but their range is much shorter because they use Wi-Fi.

Not sure yet if the P4 is worth the extra cost
You can find an overview of the features added in the P4 here. The price jump from a P3 to a P4 is pretty steep, but there are some important features that make it worthwhile -- like the locking prop system and dual compass/IMU. If it's within your budget, you won't be disappointed.

I also called my local hobby store to see if they carry the DJI units and he doesnt for the reason that he says parts are extremely hard to get for the DJI drones.
P3 and P4 parts are extremely easy for consumers to find. They are probably only hard for him to buy since he is not an authorized DJI dealer.

He recommended the Blade Chroma unit.
Yuneec discontinued the Blade Chroma in March. I've never flown one, but I cannot imagine it's anywhere close to a Phantom since DJI is the leader in the industry right now.
 
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P3 advanced for sure. If you don't need the extra video or still image resolution. I personally, researched this for quite some time before I pulled the trigger. There are pro's and cons for both, but the P3A will save you investment and time.
 
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Go for a P4 with 2 extra batteries. I very highly recommend B&H Photo, depending on your location and delivery time. Parts are available at the authorized service centers, and will be soon at authorized retailers.
No B&H photo around me that I'm aware of. I'm in southwestern ontario canada.
 
As long as you buy from a seller that has a good return policy (e.g. Amazon), directly from DJI, or an authorized DJI dealer, you should have a good experience.
 
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I will agree with all of the above: I bought the P3 Standard, after only 2 hrs flying time, I wished I had 'bit-the-bullet' and gone for the advanced or pro.


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At this stage I am new here.

I can only tell you of my experiences so far, but I hope they are of help.

Yes the P4 is quite a lot of money, but I have to say it is AWESOME from my point of view (having flown a few other things one way and another). It is as stable as a rock in hover, it's quite forgiving from a beginners point of view (just don't rush it, even though it is so very nice to fly and will beckon you to improve rapidly), take time to read the instructions, and to be sure you understand what you have read (it's not difficult), view these forums, they are great, they are very helpful. The onboard Video is as good a quality as you can really expect (up to 4k ! !) in a unmanned flying machine and the stills are also very good quality. I don't know anything about any other models of Phantom but for ME I'm positive 'I' made the right move, as I said 'AWESOME'
 
"....carelessness and overconfidence are usually far more dangerous than deliberately accepted risks."
----- Wilbur Wright, 1900
I try to keep this quote in mind, along with a generous helping of humility. When I stop being a student, and think I am good at it, that is when I crash.


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