In the next year or two I have a feeling they will lose a decent chunk of their market share, but no point in arguing about the future.
Should I spend the money?
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I 'used' to read nearly every new thread on both of the popular Phantom 3 Pro, forum sections. But not anymore. It gets old, after a few months of it. I am one of the majority of Phantom 3 Pro' owners who have had zero issues, none of the concerns, that many others have posted about, & encountered. But those problematic drones are in the small minority. If you took into account, the vast # of hundreds of thousands of Phantom's sold, the ones with errors are insignificant. You only ever read the negative accounts, but rarely do we, us the majority, ever write about our positive experiences. We don't.
I wouldn't be pursuaded to end my drone quest, over a few negatory posts. I would like to believe, if you only think positively and stay in that focussed attitude, you will have much better success, in your life. Ah, instead of thinking badly about your future purchase, before you even buy it. These Phantom's are pretty much the pinnacle of drone technology, and are extremely reliable, and very dependable. But there is maintenance and upkeep, to help keep them flying. Most problems have stemmed from folks that have never had an RC model, let alone flown anything before. Other than a video game craft. And they refuse to read the PDF Manual's or ask for any assistance, until they crash it, or lose the prized drone, in an awkward flight, and then try to put the owness on @dji.
Buy your Phantom 3 drone with confidence, keep it updated and care of maintaining it, as necessary. Become a happy customer like 95% of us.
Welcome to the forum and Phantom family. ;-)
RedHotPoker
I wouldn't be pursuaded to end my drone quest, over a few negatory posts. I would like to believe, if you only think positively and stay in that focussed attitude, you will have much better success, in your life. Ah, instead of thinking badly about your future purchase, before you even buy it. These Phantom's are pretty much the pinnacle of drone technology, and are extremely reliable, and very dependable. But there is maintenance and upkeep, to help keep them flying. Most problems have stemmed from folks that have never had an RC model, let alone flown anything before. Other than a video game craft. And they refuse to read the PDF Manual's or ask for any assistance, until they crash it, or lose the prized drone, in an awkward flight, and then try to put the owness on @dji.
Buy your Phantom 3 drone with confidence, keep it updated and care of maintaining it, as necessary. Become a happy customer like 95% of us.
Welcome to the forum and Phantom family. ;-)
RedHotPoker
Meta4
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I can't comment on Litchi ... I haven't used it but many here have and they like it.
The comment from Ryan sounds perfectly reasonable.
You can't expect DJI to provide new Phantoms every time a new flyer zips off not knowing how to fly and comes back to DJI saying their Phantom flew away when the truth is that they didn't know how to use RTH and the Phantom did exactly as it should but user error created a crash situation.
We've seen so many of those scenarios.
Meta4
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If their competitors can ever come up with a competitive product, perhaps.
But while they are so far behind as was shown at CES a week ago, DJI are still leading by a long way.
No-one here is on the DJI payroll.
We all have to buy our own drones.
When we say that the Phantom is good, it's because we research compare and test and know from our own experience how good it is.
I just did a couple of flights today that bring the total on my flight log up to 345 trouble-free kilometres on this bird since April.
Look at some of my photos and you see how reliable it is to get the shots it does for me.
Wow, looks like you should just buy the Baby Proof Drone 
Air Hogs RC Rollercopter - Red
Haha, too much thinking and you're reading to much garbage. We bought P3's here on this forum because we know that they work perfectly for us. Maybe you will have to tweek it a bit to get it to work sometimes but once you have it dialed in, it pays for itself. You will see some stories, that's why a lot of people came here after, the smart ones came before and learned everything they could. You've done your research, so why are you trying so hard to talk yourself out of it?
You've done the research so buy the P3P. I was joking in the beginning but you were really seeing the few, not the many.
Quit Thinking so hard
Don't think... Feel.... The RC's in your hands, the bird's in the air, it's all good, you've done your homework
Air Hogs RC Rollercopter - Red
Haha, too much thinking and you're reading to much garbage. We bought P3's here on this forum because we know that they work perfectly for us. Maybe you will have to tweek it a bit to get it to work sometimes but once you have it dialed in, it pays for itself. You will see some stories, that's why a lot of people came here after, the smart ones came before and learned everything they could. You've done your research, so why are you trying so hard to talk yourself out of it?
You've done the research so buy the P3P. I was joking in the beginning but you were really seeing the few, not the many.
Quit Thinking so hard
Don't think... Feel.... The RC's in your hands, the bird's in the air, it's all good, you've done your homework
I know until it ships who knows, but the prodrone byrd looks like it may cut into dji sales. 7000mah battery, expansion for flir, payload drop ect. If my tax check takes long enough maybe I'll be a guinea pig. They say one of their focus's will be customer service also (talk is cheap I know).
You cant deny it looks interesting though. . .
edit: Reed L I know, except the value is best in the P3A right now. If they would have discounted the pro I'd be all over it. For me, 4k isnt worth the added cost over the advanced (and I dont plan on flying with goggles so the 2mbit stream is fine for me).
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I'm with Red Hot on this one - as an 'old hand' on here (2.5 years now!) I watch the forum with a degree of amusement. There are usually cycles, normally twice or three times a year when (usually) newbies fill the forums with stories of crashes, fly aways, aircraft falling from the sky and so on - and they're almost 100% attributed to the devil incarnate - DJI. The times that this happens is just after Christmas, when a new model comes out, or if there are 'upgraded' components released by DJI that some folks think they 'must' have.
Problem is, when the crash is actually analysed by some very experienced people like Bud Walker or Luap, then the result is actually very different. It's usually pilot error. Not all the time, but usually in the case of the newbies. Oh, and I've been there too - I lost a P1 after 3 weeks due to pilot error, and of course initially I blamed everyone except the real problem, which was me.
Now 4 phantoms later, none of which actually had a manufacturing defect, I sort of know what to expect. And in that time, I had one that spent a night up a tree and two that ended up in a watery grave. All pilot error.
To the OP - you pays your money, you takes your choice. A year ago, you would have had steam coming out of your ears even trying to get through to DJI. Turnarounds were measured in months, not weeks. Telephone calls were reported in terms of hours as opposed to minutes. These days, the service seems to have improved a lot.
Buy something else if you choose, but if you choose to buy a DJI product, even though there are a lot of stories and complaints, if you learn to use it properly, take baby steps, practice and learn, you'll not regret it. But you need to keep a (very) open mind if you do have a crash.
Good luck with your choice.
Problem is, when the crash is actually analysed by some very experienced people like Bud Walker or Luap, then the result is actually very different. It's usually pilot error. Not all the time, but usually in the case of the newbies. Oh, and I've been there too - I lost a P1 after 3 weeks due to pilot error, and of course initially I blamed everyone except the real problem, which was me.
Now 4 phantoms later, none of which actually had a manufacturing defect, I sort of know what to expect. And in that time, I had one that spent a night up a tree and two that ended up in a watery grave. All pilot error.
To the OP - you pays your money, you takes your choice. A year ago, you would have had steam coming out of your ears even trying to get through to DJI. Turnarounds were measured in months, not weeks. Telephone calls were reported in terms of hours as opposed to minutes. These days, the service seems to have improved a lot.
Buy something else if you choose, but if you choose to buy a DJI product, even though there are a lot of stories and complaints, if you learn to use it properly, take baby steps, practice and learn, you'll not regret it. But you need to keep a (very) open mind if you do have a crash.
Good luck with your choice.
I feel you are taking this one story & applying unnecessary concern. The vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of Phantoms sold perform beautifully. Those pilots are out flying. Most any product's support forum will be filled with those having issues, often a small but vocal minority, & this skews perceptions.
As to using 3rd party apps: Yes DJI provides an SDK, but that doesn't mean the 3rd party properly accesses the SDK. There is a recent thread here called "Litchi Scare." Watch the accompanying video where the pilot had no control whatsoever & was fortunate to eventually regain control without crashing. DJI has no control over how 3rd parties utilize the SDK or how their implementation might override or defeat basic safety features incorporated into the Phantom. Its akin to you filling your car with bad fuel that damages your fuel system then expecting the manufacturer to cover the repair cost.
Without apology I am a DJI & Phantom fan. I've been flying Phantoms since the Vision+ was released in April 2014 with hundreds of flights. I still have my Vision+ and recently added a P3 Advanced & Professional to my lineup. I am still amazed that for less than half the price of my Vision+ one can purchase a P3 Standard, or for 1/2 the price acquire the amazing range of a P3 Advanced. These are wonderful vehicles for venturing into the world of RC quadcoptering that simply can't be touched by the competition, especially at the current pricing. That's why the Phantom series leads the market.
Is DJI perfect? Of course not! But they are adapting & improving & have come a long way since the early days where repairs took MONTHS & service calls were timed in hours. Fortunately I have never required use of either. Guess what? If you choose another drone from a competing manufacturer & peruse their support forums, you will find exactly the same kind of horror stories from users. How do you warrant a gadget that people fly & sometimes crash because of their own inexperience or carelessness? You incorporate an advanced internal flight logging system that records virtually everything the aircraft does, including user inputs, on-screen alerts, etc. so the information can be reviewed & the cause determined. This is precisely what DJI has done with every model of the Phantom 3 series. When the hardware is to blame, DJI steps up.
If a $1000 investment is too much risk for your wallet then venturing into flying aircraft may not be a good idea. This is a moderately expensive hobby & things can & do go wrong when flying. As I was told many years ago, "Every aircraft has an expiration date." This being said, you will be hard-pressed to find another series of aircraft that compares to the P3. Whether you choose a Standard, Advanced, or Professional, if you want to delve into this hobby, the Phantom is unquestionably the way to go.
As to using 3rd party apps: Yes DJI provides an SDK, but that doesn't mean the 3rd party properly accesses the SDK. There is a recent thread here called "Litchi Scare." Watch the accompanying video where the pilot had no control whatsoever & was fortunate to eventually regain control without crashing. DJI has no control over how 3rd parties utilize the SDK or how their implementation might override or defeat basic safety features incorporated into the Phantom. Its akin to you filling your car with bad fuel that damages your fuel system then expecting the manufacturer to cover the repair cost.
Without apology I am a DJI & Phantom fan. I've been flying Phantoms since the Vision+ was released in April 2014 with hundreds of flights. I still have my Vision+ and recently added a P3 Advanced & Professional to my lineup. I am still amazed that for less than half the price of my Vision+ one can purchase a P3 Standard, or for 1/2 the price acquire the amazing range of a P3 Advanced. These are wonderful vehicles for venturing into the world of RC quadcoptering that simply can't be touched by the competition, especially at the current pricing. That's why the Phantom series leads the market.
Is DJI perfect? Of course not! But they are adapting & improving & have come a long way since the early days where repairs took MONTHS & service calls were timed in hours. Fortunately I have never required use of either. Guess what? If you choose another drone from a competing manufacturer & peruse their support forums, you will find exactly the same kind of horror stories from users. How do you warrant a gadget that people fly & sometimes crash because of their own inexperience or carelessness? You incorporate an advanced internal flight logging system that records virtually everything the aircraft does, including user inputs, on-screen alerts, etc. so the information can be reviewed & the cause determined. This is precisely what DJI has done with every model of the Phantom 3 series. When the hardware is to blame, DJI steps up.
If a $1000 investment is too much risk for your wallet then venturing into flying aircraft may not be a good idea. This is a moderately expensive hobby & things can & do go wrong when flying. As I was told many years ago, "Every aircraft has an expiration date." This being said, you will be hard-pressed to find another series of aircraft that compares to the P3. Whether you choose a Standard, Advanced, or Professional, if you want to delve into this hobby, the Phantom is unquestionably the way to go.
Void the warranty ... don't void the warranty ... employee this and that ... I think this evolved and was explained in the original thread and in this one here again. Point is ... if you or the third party app crashes the drone, it is not a warranty event ... it is an user error and damages are not covered under the (valid and standing) warranty.
If you start parsing the words instead of trying to get the sense and meaning ... perhaps you are set in your mind on what your gut is telling you ... then drop it, get something else. Good luck!
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You are totally missing my point. That is, that dji staff said no (initially) based on him using a third party app. If the OP would have accepted this answer he would be sol. We will see how it plays out, but I really doubt based on the data (he provided alot) that autopilot had anything to do with it. I guess we will see how it plays out.
Yeah I am over my slight (yet crazy) scare. Just waiting on my **** w2's now. 90% sure I'll get a P3A (the other 10% says try the prodrone byrd thats coming). Thanks for all the reassurance and dealing with a somewhat angry post so professionally.
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I have not purchased a P3P yet so I do not have any personal knowledge of DJI or how they work.......that being said I have been in customer service for years and I can confidently say that in any customer service oriented business there will be reps/clerks etc. that will tell you something different from the next one.....period.
I cannot tell how many times I've had to ask for supervisors/managers or called back and got a completely different experience in dealing with an issue with any particular company.
Bottom line is you can't count on 100% accurate service 100% of the time due to human error. Some companies are better than others with how they train people but this type of misinformation is going to happen from time to time. It's best not to focus on one particular instance. There are plenty of good experiences in these forums if you read / study / research and compare. Good luck!!
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I cannot tell how many times I've had to ask for supervisors/managers or called back and got a completely different experience in dealing with an issue with any particular company.
Bottom line is you can't count on 100% accurate service 100% of the time due to human error. Some companies are better than others with how they train people but this type of misinformation is going to happen from time to time. It's best not to focus on one particular instance. There are plenty of good experiences in these forums if you read / study / research and compare. Good luck!!
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Yes buy it. Advanced or Pro.. Can tell you that I would absolutely make the same purchase again. Do the research read the reviews go to the forums read read read.. When you are done I'm pretty sure you will be back.
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fyi I guess flying over water voids your warrenty even if it is an obvious hardware issue.
From dji staff "By choosing to fly the unit over open bodies of water, you run the risk of anything that may happen to the unit, whether it be user error, product malfunction, or some force of nature, it will not be repairable, and considered a total loss. If this were over open land, as we suggest, this would have been a simple repair, possibly, and more than likely covered by warranty. "
Guy is still waiting on a response also (over a month). Really?
edit: I kinda get the water thing, just bet alot of people dont realize this so figured I'd post it up.
From dji staff "By choosing to fly the unit over open bodies of water, you run the risk of anything that may happen to the unit, whether it be user error, product malfunction, or some force of nature, it will not be repairable, and considered a total loss. If this were over open land, as we suggest, this would have been a simple repair, possibly, and more than likely covered by warranty. "
Guy is still waiting on a response also (over a month). Really?
edit: I kinda get the water thing, just bet alot of people dont realize this so figured I'd post it up.
Since July last year I am flying almost weekly with the P3A (in Holland), pretty satisfied.
Not too big, very powerfull, easy to fly but pay attention to manufacturer instructions, excellent camera and gimball.
No further experience with other drones, so I can not help you there.
Not too big, very powerfull, easy to fly but pay attention to manufacturer instructions, excellent camera and gimball.
No further experience with other drones, so I can not help you there.
Hi Mark,
Well come on in, to the forum. Glad to have you join us in here.
There are quite a number of you over there, flying Phantoms. ;-)
Please post some pics or videos..
RedHotPoker
Well come on in, to the forum. Glad to have you join us in here.
There are quite a number of you over there, flying Phantoms. ;-)
Please post some pics or videos..
RedHotPoker
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