FRCornelis
Second Officer
Flight distance : 1252884 ft
United States
Offline
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Hello everyone, this is my first post about my very first drone. As a first time pilot, I have lots of questions, so please excuse the length of this long post but your help is really appreciated and valued.
SUMMARY:
I got the Phantom 3 Standard as a Christmas gift (unexpected surprise)
Since I'm new to this and never flew a drone before, I decided to educate myself before attempting to flight, so I read the manual, browsed forums, did all the battery charging, checks, calibrations, and understood how the DJI APP and the RC worked to avoid an operator avoidable crash. Everything went well, had about 3 flights from my backyard and I was amazed how this thing flights, I was able to get the drone far away and high, I almost lost line-of-sight, it was a great experience as my first flight.
Because I've been toying the idea of buying a drone (The Parrot Bebop 2) for quite a while now, when I got this one as a gift, it felt a lot better than the Parrot to me.
Then I started reviewing the unit myself in terms of specs, reviews, and people's feedback and this is where everything started... so I returned the unit and got the $400 in favor of an upgrade.
SEEKING ADVICE:
Now I'm aware of the difference between the Advanced and Pro editions and also the Phantom 4 generation.
I understand that the Standard has shorter range, lacks of extra features such as downward vision system, glonass, better camera & RC, lightbridge, faster charger and 4K camera (PRO edition)
I know that the Standard is perfectly fine for a beginner and perhaps beyond that but I just wanted to move one notch up.
I really care about the range, and this is why I decided to upgrade it, plus the extra features as better indoors flights are welcome. Now, the PRO and ADV are at the same price $799, have the same flight time and range, if I get the ADV (I don't need 4k) I can bundle it with an extra battery and have savings there (from DJI website) because I know I will have to get an extra battery for whatever Phantom model I get. However, I really want good flight time too and I know that the STD has 25 mins while the PRO/ADV has 23 mins and we all know that this is what they say on paper, the actual flight time is always shorter than that and for the few flights I had on my STD, I got a little less than the advertised 25 mins so this is where the Phantom 4 (not PRO) came along with 28 mins of flight time, we are now at $999
It's a big price difference between the STD and the ADV, but hey...! it's going to be cheap for me because I already have over $400 credit. If I get the ADV, I will need a case anyways (the one included with the P4 would be enough for me) so add $100+ to the price and if I want the 100 watts charger the price is touching the P4 anyways that already has a case and a faster charger plus the extra features from the newer model.
MY OPTIONS:
A). Buy P3/ADVANCED bundled with with extra battery and look for a carrying case online (buy the 100 watts charger later on)
B). Buy the P3/PRO without the extra battery (4k is welcome but not needed) that comes with the faster charger (buy extra battery later on)
C). Buy Phantom 4 that comes with carrying case and 100 watts charger and the extra features from the newest model missing on the P3s (buy extra battery later on)
MY CONCERNS:
I'm afraid of the reduced flight time between the STD and the ADV or PRO, 25 vs 23 mins, perhaps for the additional features it consumes more power?, it's not a lot but if I don't quite get 25 mins from the STD, so I won't get 23 mins from the ADV or PRO either which means I will get less flight time. -Question: does anybody with experience on the two models know if the difference is remarkable? 20-ish mins of flight time seems descent for a drone this class but if you have to deduct landing time, some reserved battery, at the time you need to start landing, the actual time-on-air is actually less than 20n mins. I'm not sure how low the battery can be before you start landing, if you start landing at 30% then the actual time on air before landing will be 12 mins? or if you push it to 15/10% low it may be too risky? Unless you can actually use all the battery on air, let's say let it drop until 5 or 2% knowing that there's a "hidden" reserve beyond 0% to make a safe landing? (I'm only speculating here), that would be neat! I believe every single minute counts. Please advice.
Last but not least it's obsolescence... If I decide to go with the P3 series, with the P4 out and the new model coming next year, will I be able to find genuine batteries and parts in let's say a couple of years from DJI? Take the P2 as an example, I don't see it listed on DJI website anymore nor I see parts/accessories for it either. Correct me if I am wrong please.
On the other side, if I get the Phantom 4, it's got more features, like more sensors, better DVS, collision avoidance system, sport mode (things that are nice but not really needed) but It's got an advertised flight time of 28 mins which again it won't deliver but with its bigger battery, less friction design, better built-in gimbal it will be closer to the 25 min flight time on the P3/STD, hopefully before-landing-time.
However, after reading reviews on the P4, I noticed issues about much shorter range vs the P3 ADV/PRO (even when the rage is advertised to be the same) and also more accidents reported that were not operator related, like fly-aways, disconnections, smart-flight issues... vs P3. Now, may be this happened when the unit was first released and the issues are now resolved via software updates?
I don't mind the extra cash needed for the P4 ONLY if I'm really going to get more remarkble flight time vs P3/ADV, this is the main reason why I'm thinking about getting the P4 but if the range is really shorter than the P3 ADV/PRO then it's not going to be worth it, and also the higher crash rate reported for the P4 (if it's not resolved yet)
If flight time on the P4 is remarkably better vs P3 ADV/PRO and the range is on par with the P3 ADV/PRO then it will be a good buy for me, assuming that the crash/reliability issue is fixed by now. Then I would appreciate the sport mode and extra features, the included carrying case on the P4 if the previous stated condition apply.
On the other hand, if flight time difference between P3/STD and ADV or PRO is not noticeable (23 vs 25 mins), then may be the P3 ADV or PRO is a better buy (assuming that I will find parts for it in the near future). At least I know the range is good, the only concern is the rated flight time of 23 min.
About the reported shell-stress-crack-issue (or whatever is called), neither the P3 and P4 are immune to that, it has been reported for both models.
I'm a very careful and I treat my stuff really good but, still I may get cracks on the motor mounts. In that case I'm "good" working with electronics, I have experience working on cell phones (screen, ear piece, battery replacements) so I think that I can buy the shell from DJI and replace it myself, however, I have the feeling that P4 is going to be much harder to work on vs the P3 because of its enclosed gimbal, I'm not sure if I feel confident tearing apart the P4 as I'm with the P3.
One more thing,
This is objective but I believe the P3 looks better than the P4, I like the design of the Phantom 3 better (its looks). I understand that the P4 is better engineered, and could be more durable too, but I'm not a fan of glossy finish (I traded my Apple Watch for the Sport version because of that) with the P4 you get glossy aircraft and glossy RC which is more prone to scratches.
It may not be fair for me to criticize the P4 looks yet because I never saw one in person, I only saw the P3 and I really like the matte finish better. From the pictures, the P4 looks a lot more fragile plastic, more like a toy, I know the camera and gimbal looks like plastic but it's actual magnesium, so probably it looks better in person. Again, this is very objective and I may change my mind after seeing one in person, this is not going to stop me from buying a P4 if the range/battery is better as I commented earlier, I just feel that the P4 will show signs or wear more than the P3. Also I read on this forum people wanting to go back to the P3 after they got their P4, so I'm a little sacred before buying without verifying first.
Again, I appreciate if P4 owners can share experience and give advice.
Thank you very much for your time, and please excuse me for the very long post, I just want to make the right choice, I'm looking for real owner experiences.
All comments, feedbacks, opinions are really welcome.
Thanks again and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
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