Vision vs Zenmuse and GoPro

[CJ31]

Newbie here. Sorry if this has been asked, but just getting into aerial photography and love the Phantom. Love the pics and videos I've seen online. The Phantom 2 Vision seems like a perfect way to start due to ease of use. However I know that a phantom 2 with the zenmuse gimbal and GoPro Hero 3+ will give better videos due to the stabilization.

So just trying to decide which setup to go with. I really would like the FPV that the Vision provides. And to get the equivalent with a video and relay, ends up being around $340 more ($1200 v $1540). Given the better video, I would suck it up and pay the extra $. But to be honest I love the altitude, distance, speed and battery life readings the Vision gives on the screen. Which from what I undersrtand you can't easily get on the screen with the seperate video screen.

So am I putting too much value on those readings? I've seen some post production stabilization that seems to smooth the video of the vision out quite a bit. But I'm sure it's still not as good as with the zenmuse. Not sure what to do!

Any opinions are appreciated! Thanks.

 

[WReimer]

I'll give you my read on this; an opinion only since I don't own a PV2.

I do own two Phantoms, one with a zen muse, one without. I also have an f550 with a zenmuse. All have FPV capability through a swappable transmitter shared between the Phantoms and a dedicated one on the 550.

Generally speaking, the flight durations published are usually predicated on perfect flying conditions; fairly close to sea level (denser air) cooler temperatures (contributes to dense, less turbulent air, lower operating temperatures of equipment equals greater efficiency), low or no wind and very gentle in-flight manouvers; no rapid climb-outs, easy turns, pushing flights to maximum safe airtime's, etc.

In other words, conditions that most of us have trouble replicating. I live a couple thousand feet above sea level, in an area where wind is almost constant. Even though I'm not an aggressive flyer, I cannot, to save my life, get flight times like those claimed by DJI, even with new batteries in perfect shape and everything dialled in.

I've heard people claiming similar or better flight durations to advertised numbers...color me skeptical.

Making a direct comparison to unstabilized vs. stabilized footage, even with the same camera...there is no comparison. Once you've flown and shot stabilized video you'll never want to shoot anything else. I'm not sure I follow your comment regarding decreased flight times due to using a monitor? An FPV system is pretty low draw on your flight battery, and if you're concerned it's easy to power a VTX separately with no effect on your flight power. I think the decision needs to be based more on what kind of quality you want out of your footage. You shouldn't have a lot of trouble getting what you want on either approach for about the same money though. One thing to consider with a proprietary battery; it may offer significant flight times, but having a spare battery is an expensive proposition, and if you don't have a spare, you're grounded until you recharge. I can buy a lot of 2200mah Phantom batteries for the price of one of their hi-cap proprietary ones, and fly more minutes out of an hour for the same money.

 

[ladykate]

CJ31 - I have a P2 with Zenmuse and the stabilization is fantastic. However, if you get a P2 (with Zenmuse) you will be wondering about whether the FPV and OSD will help. I sure did so I decided to add it in.

I was going to buy a P2V but general discussion on this forum has made me wonder. I didn't notice it at first but the P2V video is kinda shaky (although there are several very nice exceptions on YouTube). It is rock solid on a P2 with Zenmuse. I recently (3 hours ago) purchased an osd and FPV setup that I will have to install. I hope at my next event I can find a P2V person and see if I still want one. ;-}

I was, at first, thinking to buy a complete package with everything installed (around $2K) but I went out looking and everything is on backorder because of the parts. Instead, I bought the pieces (less than $400) to add onto my current P2.

In short, I think it is obvious that the GoPro has better video than the P2V and the Zenmuse offers MUCH better stabilization. The osd, FPV stuff is probably not worth the investment but I'm doing it anyway.

 

[doubleohnothing]

Go with the P2/Zenmuse/GoPro combo. I purchased a Vision a couple of weeks ago and am not happy at all with the camera. I mainly work with stills so I figured I'd give the vision a shot even knowing going in that the video wouldn't be stellar due to the crappy gimbal. Boy was I wrong. They should have upped the price by a hundred or so and went with a better camera.

Long story short, I have a fully decked out P2 arriving tomorrow and the vision is going back to Amazon (thank god for 30-day no hassle returns).

 

[CJ31]

Thanks for the responses. WReimer - I wasn't really concerned about flight time and don't think I asked about that, but thank you.

Doubleonothing - What were the issues with the stills? I thought that the stills would be great with the P2V and it would just be the issues with shaky video.

I know the raw video will be better with the zenmuse, but I've seen some post production stabilization like the one at the link below that look fairly decent and still just wondering if it's worth it for the price difference and extra hassle of trying to find a way to mount the screen, etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2gCQ9pMJlI

 

[ladykate]

The link to the stabilized video is good. There are some others that show the effect of post stabilization with the P2V and I think that is one solution. I am still thinking about getting one but am currently going with my P2 with zenmuse and adding in osd and FPV. It is much better to have it stabilized on the platform and not in software. I've stabilized a few videos and you always lose something (generally size of the finished video).

 

[CJ31]

I'm still undecided. I'm now leaning toward the P2 zenmuse Hero3+ setup with FPV & mini iOSD. I just hate the fact that you can't control the video or photos from the ground on the GoPro. Setting the pic interval at 5 sec would be 120 for a 10 min flight. Just seems like a lot to have to sift through to get the 1-2 shots I may be wanting. And not being 100% sure I got the shot while it's in the air is not ideal.

I priced out a revised P2 setup and it comes to just over $1700 (P2 w gimbal $869, GoPro Black $400, FPV w monitor $369, mini iOSD $70). I like the idea of the Rotor Pixel gimbal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E85L4FPRVQ But if the Rotor Pixel gimbal is $300-$400 as predicted, that's $1500-$1600 for the whole P2V setup. So only a $100-200 difference from the GoPro setup. I think the standard P2V is a non starter for me without gimbal stabilization. I think I just don't like the effect of the post production stabilization.

The pros of the Vision with a gimbal as I see them are:
You can control the photos and video from the ground.
Likely $100-$200 less

The pros for the go pro setup are:
Camera can be used elsewhere for other sports and family activities
Possibly better quality pics. Although for my purposes I'm not sure there's a huge difference.
Can more easily be upgraded down the road with a better camera, etc (Who knows if DJI will offer an upgraded camera)
For right now it's a more tried/tested design (who knows if there are issues with these new vision gimbals).
The FPV I priced is a 7" monitor. I would use my iPhone for the Vision which seems a bit small.

Still undecided though.

 

[jondrew]

I'm still undecided. I'm now leaning toward the P2 zenmuse Hero3+ setup with FPV & mini iOSD.

Are you in the States? Buy a P2Vision from Amazon. It took me less than a week to decide it wasn't for me and I sent it back and ordered the P2 w/Zen (which thanks to the weather, I've yet to be able to fly). Amazon has a great return policy. 30-days, you pay postage back (unless the product was defective when you got it, in that case return postage is refunded to you).

I don't feel bad about using Amazon's policy. I shudder sometimes to think how much I've bought from them and very rarely return anything unless I'm really displeased with it or its defective. If you go this route, make sure you are buying directly from Amazon, and not one of their resellers. They may have different policies.

I really wouldn't sweat this too much assuming you've already decided to take the plunge. I can easily see me with at least one additional P2 and a bunch of other upgrades (maybe a 550 or a Tarot in the future). If I couldn't have returned the P2V I think I'd have been happy anyway. Its very capable, I just thought the Zen/GoPro offered more flexibility.

I doubt I'll be adding any FPV stuff yet. Maybe in a month or two. I did not spend a lot of time flying from my iPhone when I had the vision. I was working on basic flying skills (fly the box, turn, learn reverse orientation etc). Of course, since these things are so stable I did just let it hover and then look through the camera some, but did not do any real FPV piloting.

 

[CJ31]

So I was waiting to see the price of the Rotorpixel gimbal, and now it's out. But at $390 ($410 shipped) the total vision package comes to $1600. The P2/gimbal, FPV, gopro black, and iosd mini comes to just over $1700. So For $100 more isn't the gopro setup going to offer much better pics and video? And there is the added versatility of using the gopro anywhere.

I guess I'm going to pull the trigger on the P2.

 

[Aguilarfx]

The main reason I bought the P2V was to have a first person view using my ipad mini. I considered buying the P2 and mounting a GoPro on it and setting up my own first person view setup on it, but it seemed like a real hassle. Also, important to note the the P2V controller transmitter runs on 5.8 Ghz and the camera wifi runs on 2.4Ghz, while the P2 controller transmitter runs on 2.4Ghz. It matters in my opinion because there are more things out there (such as the people's internet wifi's) that run on 2.4Ghz which could cause interference while you fly.

 

[hellhole]

Won't the Gopro option on smartphone/tablet have an delay.

 

[hellhole]

Won't the Gopro option on smartphone/tablet have an delay.

There is no GoPro smartphone/tablet option.

Sorry??

If u use gopro... Then u can use the gopro app on tablet/smartphone.

If u use vision... There is a smartphone app to view

I do know the gopro app uses wifi to connect the gopro with the smartphone/tablet... Not sure how the vision is connected...

Correct me if I am wrong

 

[Mattycee]

Won't the Gopro option on smartphone/tablet have an delay.

There is no GoPro smartphone/tablet option.

Sorry??

If u use gopro... Then u can use the gopro app on tablet/smartphone.

If u use vision... There is a smartphone app to view

I do know the gopro app uses wifi to connect the gopro with the smartphone/tablet... Not sure how the vision is connected...

Correct me if I am wrong

No you do not use the Wifi from the GoPro as it interferes with the Receiver on the Phantom. You use a 5.8ghz transmitter and receiver combo with a 7" Monitor and attach it to your Control.

The Vision is a far easier way to do FPV but the footage produced the other way is far superior!