Save your money kids... (If you're a P3 owner)

[Jeff48920]

If you like Yuneec's direction, I'm guessing you haven't flown a craft without Lightbridge, or maybe you haven't flown with Lightbridge. The 5X distance advantage of LB trumps any feature from Yuneec IMO. If Yuneec ever creates something like Lightbridge, that will have my attention. Until then, all the other drone releases are noise to me. I'm hoping Qualcomm does something like Lightbridge in their drone technology offering.

Hey John
I love Yuneec's direction and the new Typhoon H claims up to a 1 mile range (which is well out of Visual Line of Sight recommendations). I have flown Phantoms since the P2V and V+, both without Lightbridge, as well as my P3P with Lightbridge. While I don't often go beyond a 1 mile range, it is VERY useful for reaching out to shoot landscapes that you simply could not drive to at all or hike to in a reasonable amount of time. It is also pretty **** exciting to push for extreme range when you need an adrenalin rush and have a reasonably safe area in which to make the run (over a National Forest, in the mountains, over the water, or over the desert.

On the other hand, the Typhoon H even without the Lightbridge, has some things that DJI will not be incorporating into the Phantom Line soon or maybe ever because those things would undercut the reasons for purchasing an Inspire. In my opinion, the biggest things the H will be incorporating that make it a reasonable option are: 1. 360 degree camera, 2. retractable Landing Gear for landing gear-free video and photos, 3. Multi-pilot ability out of the box (with purchase of another controller you plug in to the stock connector and have one pilot, one camera person) which is just like the Inspire dual control, 4. removable camera (CGO3+ SONY Chipset) for use in their existing CGO3 steady cam attachment, 5. free hardshell backpack, 6, free second battery, 7. controller with built in (not just optional) HDMI output.

So, for my money, I will forego the Phantom 4, keep my P3P for long distance needs and add the Yuneec (pending initial feedback from early adopters).

 

[LanaRain]

I wish Quad Copters were like Playstation's and Xbox's game consoles. Only New ones released every 5 or 6 years. Then I could concentrate a little longer on what I have instead of what's coming out. [emoji851]

 

[Dnallov]

I had a problem with my P3P, and sent it back for a full refund (the same retailer didn't stock the P3P anymore, so just refunded). This happened mid-feb and there were rumors then of a new phantom, so I thought I would hold off buying a replacement P3P to see if it was worth buying a P4.

I'm now quite tempted to buy the new P4.

However in that time, I have also learned that GoPro is to release their own drone (karma). Is nobody looking to hold off buying a P4 to see what the Karma brings to the market?

 

[Josh Curtiss]

I have also learned that GoPro is to release their own drone (karma). Is nobody looking to hold off buying a P4 to see what the Karma brings to the market?

Not me because I'm really wanting an upgrade now, being that I only have a P2V+, and I don't want an upgrade to be a first-gen product. I hope GoPro's bird is fantastic and ups the sense of competition in the industry, but I won't be buying it.

Josh

 

[Grae]

It would be great to know what people are using their drones for. Without knowing that a lot of comparisons are meaningless.


UK

 

[ChaneRZ]

It's like the iPhone, upgrade every 6 to a year. Phantom P4S plus coming right up LOL

 

[Suspended Moments]

Bravo DJI... The P4 is an excellent quadcopter and a nice improvement over the P3 but IMO it's not a replacement for the P3. If you really want to be like Apple then I'm still waiting for the next thing that'll blow us away.

1. IMO -- the P4 is great introduction for new customers.

2. People who are really into tracking things at low altitude. With a little bit of practice, most P3 pilots can become good at this. It's a challenge but it's doable. 90% of our stuff covers landscapes anyways. Again IMO...

I paid $1,300.00 for my P3Pro with an extra battery... so, I won't be jumping onboard with the P4 "yet"... obstacle avoidance isn't really that important to me and I'm not "sold" that the new camera/lens is going to produce that much better image quality, though the 1080p slow motion would be a nice creative function/feature. I also notice they eliminated the top vents on the hull/shell... maybe less rain would get in, but who flies in rain or fog (';') (this guy does).. the higher speed, doesn't make better videos for me. I also wonder if those new props are better balanced right out of the bag? I was originally going to jump on the P4, but now that I've seen the changes, I'm comfortable waiting it out... I'll do my own object tracking and circling. also, I fly very close to trees and through woodland thickets, so obstacle avoidance is like my Mom yelling at me to stay in the yard!

 

[BRENTHABBESHAW]

For me is missing a retractable landing gear to avoid the gear getting in shots and they talk about IMU and compass resiliency yet maintain 4 props.

It's a nice refresh of the basic Phantom design though but think I will skip this version, keep the P3 Pro and await the P5 or I am considering the latest Yuneec as a second.

I agree, the Typhoon H seems enticing!

 

[DeadGrunt]

This forum is where very smart individuals have always given me good, sound information, and I heed their advice. Only once, recently did I push the limit on a battery, was lucky, and will never do that again. It was my, "WTF was I thinking," when I knew it was getting low on power, but the Wright Brothers gave me a little extra tailwind and I made it back.

I waited and finally bought the P3A, and are not going to spend more money for the best model there was at the time, just to have it. Someone wrote one this forum once to go with the P3A, and take the difference from the P3P and the P3A price, buy extra batteries, and get more stick time. That is what I did.

Yes, it would be great to have the most advanced and newest "boy toy," but I am still in that, "Crawl>Walk>Run Phase" as a hobbyist. Hell, I am still trying to figure out all this AWB, Manual, shutter speed crap. EVERY flight I have is object avoidance. There are nothing but cornfields around our location, and that is Red-tailed hawks, buzzards, and pissed of birds of every sort. Crap, if a hawk is in the air, this country boy is in the next grid square hiding.

I have no issues with my P3A, and if I need object avoidance, then why in the hell am I that close to anything. As for race mode, that is like buying a Lamborghini for where I live, and then hoping the potholes are filled in on our roads, and not really conducive to my lifestyle. As for looking at pretty women or to sneak up on my neighbors, and race away, they are models for the next "Snuffleupagus!!!!" Cornfield, soybeans, and an occasional deer are the highlights for a successful flight. I know there are pilots that must have the latest and greatest, but I am not one of them. I need to learn all the intricacies of my P3A before I even look at the floor models for the next big thing. Someone on here wrote about buying 10 extra batteries for the price of a new one P4. Just refer to my previous comment about smart individuals giving good, sound advice.

 

[Dirty Bird]

DJI has a proven track record building drones & aerial camera platforms. The Phantom 4 is a refined, evolved, forth generation product. The Inspire is now on its second iteration. GoPro is a camera company with no drone experience whatsoever. Not to say the Karma might prove interesting but it will be a first generation product that will undoubtedly suffer initial issues & growing pains. I prefer to stick with what I know works.

However in that time, I have also learned that GoPro is to release their own drone (karma). Is nobody looking to hold off buying a P4 to see what the Karma brings to the market?

 

[Mario_SB]

Wooooww!!! After all this talk about the new P4 my camera on the P3P just went out and I'm going to have to send it back to DJI. This is going to be it's second repair post "stress crack" shell replacement a few months back. Ugh!! The good thing is the last RMA only took two weeks and I didn't have to pay a dime AND it's got one month left on it's 6-month DJI warranty (Camera/Gimbal).

Lesson here is to be happy with what you got! Good thing it's still under warranty and I won't have to pay! Who cares about the P4! I just want my Phantom back!!!

 

[pounder35]

It does have many strong points though:

• Larger battery (people always want to fly longer)
• Obstacle avoidance (many people are crashing into obstacles)
• Locking prop system (P3 props sometimes fly off when installed incorrectly)
• Many nice design improvements (e.g. redesigned gimbal)

Minus the new tracking features, it seems DJI really hit the nail on the head issue-wise.

Longer battery life is nice but I'm OK with the stock P3A battery life. I keep two fully charged. Obstacle avoidance would also be great but I'll wait for the kinks to be worked out. Prop system?????? If you can't install props correctly maybe you shouldn't be flying. I'm haven't heard anything about the gimbal improvements. Mine works fine as is. Just my 2 cents that ain't worth a penny.

 

[dlbyers]

I'll hold out until P5 or P6, I typically only upgrade my iPhone every 3 years, and will probably do the same with this technology. The P3, compared to the P2 brought us out of the dark ages as far as connectivity and features. I'm going to let the technology mature a little before I invest any more money in it.

 

[ianwood]

We don't need 5 different threads on why everyone should keep their P3. We'll keep one active and the rest will be closed. Use this one:

Phantom 4, starting to think it might not be worth changing from P3P

Any new threads on P3 comparison will be closed.