So i was about to go for a P3S some days ago until i began reading up and down the forum. At first glance the Phantom 3 seems like a bargain(especially at the current price reduction) to me, but after endless videos on youtube and technical problems here i'm not so sure anymore. I'm sure 80% of the posts posted here are not to tell everything good about it, while hopefully, those 80 are just a fraction compared to the satisfied.
As i've contacted DJI's tech support regarding the bypassing of FCC/CE(@Norway) with no future solution(maybe u know?), im also somewhat disappointed with the range & even more frightened reading about a plummet to the ground just recently... Is the fpv as good as one hopes and so on?

So can anyone cheer me up and tell me its not as bad as it seems? Capturing the amazing scenery of Norways coastal line would be great, i'm sure you can imagine.

To sum up: Is the phantom 3 Standard in all honesty a good buy baring in mind the price, quality and overall package?

Sorry my english.. thanks in advance

You are correct, most everyone posts their negative experiences and hardly anyone posts positive ones.
I can tell you that the majority of things you read about are from pilot error and not being familiar with the aircraft, it's features and limitations.
In the GO app are lots of tutorial videos, the full manual, and a flight simulator. If everyone would take the time to learn everything about the aircraft first then almost all issues wouldn't happen.
The P3S is an awesome aircraft and works very well. BUT it's WiFi and if you plan on flying in your neighborhood then don't expect long range flying. If you are into flying very far away in congested areas then the P3 Advanced is much more suited as it uses Lightbridge technology for it's video/RC signal and you will get far greater results.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-7-1 17:22
You are correct, most everyone posts their negative experiences and hardly anyone posts positive one ...

Agreed with the preparations regarding manuals, tutorial etc! When it comes to the Advanced, the price becomes an issue tho, but then again you're absolutely right.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-7-1 17:22
You are correct, most everyone posts their negative experiences and hardly anyone posts positive one ...

by the way, can you define realisticly the range one can expect with the Standard?

Mariuss Posted at 2016-7-1 23:41
Agreed with the preparations regarding manuals, tutorial etc! When it comes to the Advanced, the p ...

Then purchase the Standard and study the manual, watch the tutorial videos videos, spend a few hours in the simulator. If you do all that you should be just fine.
Plus, here's a great video that have helped tons of people new to the hobby.

Mariuss, I can not speak to the standard as I threw that idea out the window when I found out it used wi-fi. So I was left with the Advanced or Pro and three weeks ago bit the bullet and bought the Pro.

My main reason for the purchase was to use it as a flying camera platform. hence the pro for the better camera.

I've flown it in a few different unique locations now and must say it is absolutely an incredible machine! Works very well with no problems what so ever with the unit itself, NONE! The worst thing that has happened to me so far is that I tipped the bird twice in a row while trying to turn it off after landing. Totally the fault of a brand new pilot being over loaded with information and being nervous with curious onlookers gathering around Hit CSC instead of just leaving the throttle down

IMO the P3 is an excellent product, but I wouldn't touch the Standard with a ten foot pole.

In my opinion, the P3 Standard, for the price, is the best value for the buck out there. Do some homework. You do read a lot of negative news on it, but then there are tens of thousands that are delighted of the product. I would just hold off on the firmware update until proven a solid winner!
Good Luck!
RB

guns&cameras Posted at 2016-7-2 02:28
In my opinion, the P3 Standard, for the price, is the best value for the buck out there. Do some hom ...

I totally agree, for each of our aircraft line I honestly do not think you can find anything out there with the same technology and features  and our price range.

Chris512 Posted at 2016-7-2 05:58
The P3S only uses WiFi for the connection from the controller to your smart device.  It does not u ...

Thanks for a nice feedback on your ecperience Chris! Good to hear you have the range both on the bird and fpv, even tho the feed is somewhat lower qual. Unfortunately i live in the CE-regulated areas...
Do you know if the 4k uses any other link connection than the Standard?

I bought the P3A, about 2 months ago. Love it, I have had no problems with any of the firmware upgrades. I use an Apple 6S+ for my operator platform.

Chris512 Posted at 2016-7-1 22:58
The P3S only uses WiFi for the connection from the controller to your smart device.  It does not u ...

I have a friend that has a P3P.  I can usually go further from home base with my Standard than he can with the Pro without losing the FPV feed.

I seriously doubt that under identical condition (same location, same time, same route, same data rate, etc.)  you can out distance him.  He probably has his downlink signal running high resolution, bad antenna position(?), etc.

I had the same concerns but bought the standard and love it. Worth every penny. The people who lose it only lose it mostly because of their own error.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-7-1 23:22
You are correct, most everyone posts their negative experiences and hardly anyone posts positive one ...

I couldn't agree more. Overall, I am very happy with the P3P. I would reconsider the advanced model because you are in Norway so I am going to assume a varied topography and a lot of trees. You may not be happy with the distance, but the Lightbridge is just the best out there. Everyone else uses 5.8ghz for image transmission and it is a big problem.

I have had several drones with 5.8ghz and played around with various antenna service as well as spent a lot of time on the internet learning about it. Light bridge is the best out there which is why I bit the bullet and went with DJI. I am not sorry. It is not perfect but it is an amazing bit of technology.

Download the app, read the manual and watch every tutorial video you can find before you even order it. Too many people order it, get so excited once it is in their hands that they just are not familiar enough with it before they fly it.

skipilot1 Posted at 2016-7-3 10:57
I couldn't agree more. Overall, I am very happy with the P3P. I would reconsider the advanced mode ...

Just wanted to add that I have the latest updates on all devices with no complaints. I do not know the specifics of the problems of others, but the posts I see blaming firmware and software updates don't make any sense to me.

skipilot1 Posted at 2016-7-2 19:57
I couldn't agree more. Overall, I am very happy with the P3P. I would reconsider the advanced mode ...

Excellent advice, download the DJI GO app and go the Academy for any of the aircraft and read over the full manual and watch the tutorial videos.

Chris512 Posted at 2016-7-4 06:43
Typically, the in rural areas where I fly foliage on trees will cause the signal to glitch.  We've ...

thanks again for great post! I really dont have a need to go farther than 5-600m fram base, but then again it would be nice to (have the possibility, just in case) do so. The price up from the standard to advanced is quite a big leap... do any of u experience fpv glitching? One of the main reasons i want to upgrade from the ar-drone 2.0 () is to have range and a fpv that doesnt continuesly glitch if rotating.

Mariuss Posted at 2016-7-9 01:49
thanks again for great post! I really dont have a need to go farther than 5-600m fram base, but th ...

I have the P3A and rarely experience any glitches in the FPV and really it's quite amazing. I highly recommend the P3A after 250 flights.

Chris512 Posted at 2016-7-2 05:58
The P3S only uses WiFi for the connection from the controller to your smart device.  It does not u ...

Can I ask how do you set the downlink feed ? I can't seem to be able to find such setting on the DJI Go App

cloudycante Posted at 2016-7-8 18:31
Can I ask how do you set the downlink feed ? I can't seem to be able to find such setting on the D ...

It is not possible on the P3 Standard in CE mode on Android.
Don't know about the FCC mode and IOs.

Mariuss Posted at 2016-7-8 17:49
thanks again for great post! I really dont have a need to go farther than 5-600m fram base, but th ...

If you think that you need more distance than 700 - 800 m you should take the P3 Pro because it will work
better in terms of distance and it has better camera. In CE mode you will not reach same distance as in USA.
I have two P3 Standard and it works fine for me.
This is from the one with no mod on. The other has ARGtek mods on and it add a little to the distance.

Link to fly from last month.

gullisig Posted at 2016-7-8 23:48
It is not possible on the P3 Standard in CE mode on Android.
Don't know about the FCC mode and IOs ...

Well, that is just a shame.  I completely agree with enforcing the difference between focused and ce ranges, but why should I not be able to adjust downlink rates if they are messing with my flight experience? I am on iOS, in CE mode, so I should be limited to 500mt, and I go as far as 150mt when I'm lucky. That's just disappointing.

gullisig Posted at 2016-7-9 00:06
If you think that you need more distance than 700 - 800 m you should take the P3 Pro because it wil ...

really dont need more than the standard i guess, checked the airline distance on a map, its quite far lol!

cloudycante Posted at 2016-7-9 07:19
Well, that is just a shame.  I completely agree with enforcing the difference between focused and  ...

you cant go further than 150m?

PA3 love it ,but the distances advertised (5km) is a stretch. Unless of course  you have have all the right conditions. But for the money its great. be careful though its very addictive.

After considerable research I bought a P3A back in early August.  Before flying for the first time I spent almost 48 hours reviewing the excellent DJI tutorials and a number of other YouTube reviews.  About the same time I also signed into this forum and, like you, almost became terrified about flying it when I read all the negative posts about crashes, fly-aways, problems with firmware upgrades etc.  However, I took everything very slowly and carefully, followed all the tutorial advice and quickly gained confidence as successful flight followed successful flight.  I am very impressed by the results the P3A has given me and have had no issues to date but I do believe in not trying to be too ambitious too quickly and following all the prescribed pre-flight checks and flying within my limits.  I am amazed when, either on this forum or other sites, I read postings about flights where the aircraft is flown well outside visual range and / or over built up areas or heavily wooded areas and then wonder why things have gone wrong!!

Same as Brian, I saw all the negatives and was also worried, went ahead and got my P3A. Flew it straight out of the box after watching the helpful links here. For as a total novice my first flight was a tad nerve racking but once I allowed my P3A to fly I soon overcame any nerves. Great tool easy to use and a really good forum for support, encouragement to boot.

I was highly impressed with this machine on my last flight, it's very satisfying, you just need to know how to handle things when something go wrong, most of those cases happen due to pilots errors, know your bird and you will enjoy it, it's always a thrill to me.