Where to buy?

[cahutch]

So I'm ready to buy, but from where? Prices all seem to be the same everywhere.
I could buy direct from DJI or from Amazon but there's no support option that way.
There are no local shops in my area that carry DJI products.

So I need to buy online, preferably from someplace that offers support.
Any suggestions?

 

[kymedic121]

There are many quality dealers out there. I bought from DRONEFLY.COM as all they deal with is UAV (Drones) and they have their own repair center with a $99 flat rate service fee once the bird is no longer covered by warranty. They are very helpful and you can call with any question and they are eager to help. I ordered mine and it was here in 2 days. Awesome people.

 

[kjopc]

Before you buy, find someone who has a Phantom and get their referral info. Both of you will get some points or something.

Send me a PM and I'll pass you mine. <grin>

 

[cahutch]

Thanks. Dronefly doesn't seem to be listed by DJI at http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-2-vision-plus/dealer
I don't mind giving someone points for referral if they refer me
US based sellers preferred.

 

[kymedic121]

kjopc, smart thinking I always forget about that. LOL. But seriously there are some very good companies out there. DroneFly, MotionRC, AtomikRC and many many more. They will all be the same price. $1,369.00 for the V2+ and Extra Battery with free freight. Welcome to the PV2+ family and great flying.

 

[kymedic121]

Thanks. Dronefly doesn't seem to be listed by DJI at http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-2-vision-plus/dealer
I don't mind giving someone points for referral if they refer me

No, but neither are the others I mentioned but they are the nations biggest and they stand behind what they sell and probably sell more than most because of their customer support, service and return policies.

 

[kymedic121]

Ive also noticed that they don't list the same ones on their link page as they do on their dealer map. I am sure the large companies like Dronefly.com, MotionRC and AtomikRC are authorized dealers as much as they sell, they may just not have them listed as of yet. These are 3 of the largest companies for UAVS in the US. I would just call and ask them and they would be happy to speak with you. Dronefly was awesome to talk to and I have called them 4 times and I get to talk to the same guy every time. Great people!

 

[rcfanhi]

I will personally vouch for Daves Discount Motors (DDM). They are listed on the DJI authorized dealers site. I would recommend to anyone looking for a dealer to use after-sale support as their primary criteria for choosing where to buy. As previously mentioned, DJI sets the price here so unless the dealer charges for shipping you'll be paying $1369 with extra battery. After buying my bird, I e-mailed DDM all my questions that weren't answered by this forum and they always responded and were helpful. When my bird went down after losing a propeller mid-flight, they presented my case to DJI and were able to get my camera/gimbal replaced under warranty. They also frequent the boards here giving helpful advice. I don't think anyone can ask for a better dealer than that.

 

[Dirty Bird]

I would suggest that you get a vision with a 3dpower gimbal rather than the plus because the camera and gimbal on the plus are crap. once you have one crash its history and there is no way of fixing it or buying parts for it. I have the phantom 2 with H3-3D Gimbal, the Phantom 2 vision, and 2 phantom 2 vision plus's ( got a wrecked one off craigslist for 100 bucks) anyway you can replace anything on the vision and also get a gimbal for it for 3dpower or rotorpixel. Trust me the camera is just as good if not better than the vision plus.

When you advise someone to go this route, I think you should also point out all features they will lose: FPV, telemetry, in-air camera control, decreased flight time due to higher weight, all the spaghetti dangling under the aircraft, etc.., and how much additional time and money they will have to spend to make it "almost" comparable to what the Vision+ is out of the box? RotoPixel, 3DPower, and Zenmuse gimbals all break too, as do GoPros.

 

[cahutch]

If the camera is damaged, I'm pretty good at repairs. The problem with the Vision is the integrated wifi isn't as good as the Vision+. It doesn't have the same range and isn't running OpenWRT.
Any crash that would damage the V+ gimbal, would probably damage any other gimbal just as easily.
I've no doubt it's possible to replace the V+ camera with a Zenmuse gimbal and GoPro, which would be my preferred course if the V+ camera is damage beyond repair.

As Dirty Bird pointed out, I want to get the integrated FPV, Telemetry, Ground Station and better WiFi range, then I figure I can hack it to upgrade any shortcomings and repair any damage as easily as any other version of the Phantom 2.

 

[kymedic121]

I would suggest that you get a vision with a 3dpower gimbal rather than the plus because the camera and gimbal on the plus are crap. once you have one crash its history and there is no way of fixing it or buying parts for it. I have the phantom 2 with H3-3D Gimbal, the Phantom 2 vision, and 2 phantom 2 vision plus's ( got a wrecked one off craigslist for 100 bucks) anyway you can replace anything on the vision and also get a gimbal for it for 3dpower or rotorpixel. Trust me the camera is just as good if not better than the vision plus.

When you advise someone to go this route, I think you should also point out all features they will lose: FPV, telemetry, in-air camera control, decreased flight time due to higher weight, all the spaghetti dangling under the aircraft, etc.., and how much additional time and money they will have to spend to make it "almost" comparable to what the Vision+ is out of the box? RotoPixel, 3DPower, and Zenmuse gimbals all break too, as do GoPros.

To build an aircraft comparable to the PV2+ will cost considerably more in time and money and you still will not have all of the features that DB mentioned. I am sorry I produce, edit and host our hunting television show and we use gopros for our B-roll footage, underwater shots, hunters perspective view and for many other uses and my PV2+ is as good if not better quality than the gopro.

 

[cahutch]

Well I did it. Just pulled the trigger on a P2V+ from USHobby.com
Dronefly was out of stock and MotionRC wasn't including the discounted extra battery.
Thanks for the suggestions.

If it ships tomorrow from Las Vegas as expected, I should have it in 2-3 days.

 

[THEHOFF]

Buy from Amazon and get crash policy for $79. Full replacement.

 

[RichardWendt]

Got it from your local or nearest online dealer