TheMann58
Second Officer
Flight distance : 18669501 ft
United States
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On Saturday, April 15, I purchased a new P4Pro at my local Best Buy and installed the latest 01.03.0509 firmware on the Aircraft, RC and 4 batteries. I then performed a cold IMU calibration and gimbal auto-calibration on a flat surface because my horizon was a little off and then flew for 50 minutes. Overall, I was VERY pleased with the flight and video quality performance of my new P4Pro.
Firmware Update Comments. As soon as I powered up the P4Pro and opened the DJI GO 4 app, a notice was displayed indicating a firmware update was required. I used the DJI GO 4 app to download and install the update to my new P4Pro using my iPad Air 2 connected to the aircraft via a USB lightning cable and the supplied DJI adapter cable. Update proceeded to 99% complete and remained at 99% for 10 or so minutes. I almost gave up, but then the app finally displayed " Update Completed." So, BE PATIENT and wait for the firmware update to complete. The P4Pro makes no beeping sounds during the update process. I then power cycled the P4Pro and the DJI GO 4 app indicated the Controller firmware needed to be updated, which I then started from the app. The RC beeped throughout the firmware update process. I power cycled the RC as instructed by the app, swapped batteries in the P4Pro, and when I turned on the second spare P4Pro battery, I got the expected "Inconsistent Firmware Detected" message, which means the battery firmware needs to be updated. This battery firmware update required less than 2 minutes and I repeated the battery firmware update process for my two remaining batteries
Video Quality Comments. I can confirm that the periodic "extra frame insertion" (aka the "jerk frame" issue) that occured with the previous firmware (and a previous P4Pro aircraft I briefly owned) during filming at 4K/60 fps has been resolved by the latest 01.03.0509 firmware update. I shot 6-1/2 minutes in 4K/30 fps and then recorded 38 minutes of video with two batteries at 4K/60 fps all in H264 and MP4 file format. I have carefully reviewed all this footage now several times on my 4K OLED UHD TV and I did not see even one instance of "extra frame insertion" and there were no missing frames (which was never an issue for me previously) in ANY of the video I recorded. Outstanding!
Wind Notice Comments. Wind during my flights was reported by third-party HOVER app to be 8 mph, which agreed with my measurements - made at ground level - with my electronic anemometer. I don't consider 8 mph wind speed to be "too windy" to fly, but I got frequent "Too Windy" messages displayed on my DJI GO 4 app camera screen, which reappeared shortly every time I cleared them. Perhaps wind speeds at 400' AGL were significantly higher than at ground level. This would have been a crosswind for most of my time in the air.
Gimbal Horizon Comments. My gimbal horizon was initially tilted during stationary hover, and required a 1.6 adjustment to correct. I was disappointed that I had to make this ajustment after calibrating IMU and gimbal. However, once this one-time adjustment was made, my horizon remained level during both hover and variable forward speeds over 3 flights (longest was 22 min) at speeds up to 29 mph (with obstacle detection turned ON). I did experience some noticeable horizon tilt during sideways flight to the right. Overall, while not perfect, this gimbal horizon performance is a major improvement over the variable and significant horizon tilt I had experienced with a previous P4Pro several weeks ago using previous firmware.
Comments on Gimbal Performance with third-party ND filters + Polarizers installed. I did not experience any gimbal instability, gimbal overloads or other issues during 50 minutes of flying in 8+ mph (or possibly higher) winds at speeds up to 29 mph.
Comments on Range. I flew in a signal-interference-prone urban area. I did so safely by using an observer and by following wide green belts between neighborhoods. In 2.4 GHz HD transmission mode I was able to fly to 8000 foot distance before losing both RC and HD video dignal in Custom mode with a fixed channel 20. In Auto mode at 2.4 GHz, I was able to fly to 8400 feet max distance. Surprisingly (for me), when I switched to 5.8 GHz mode in Auto, I did not lose either HD or RC Signal strength out to 15,000 feet, when I turned around at 65% battery level. I could have easily gone further based on signal strength. Wow - this is significantly improved distance range at 5.8 GHz vs. the 2.4 GHz range I achieved today following exact same route with my new P4 Pro or the 7500' max range I achieved a week earlier with my older P4 (which only uses 2.4GHz for HD video transmission). I was surprised (and pleased) that selecting 5.8 GHz appeared to improve BOTH RC and HD video signal transmission strength and performance. Note: I ALWAYS use a slip-on parabolic reflector on my RC antenna to improve signal reception.
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