dnercesian
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United States
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I wanted to add a few thoughts from the perspective of a long time professional architectural photographer. I work on mainly commercial architecture projects but also higher end residential and celebrity homes. We have, for now, eliminated DJI as a source for tools for professional use due to our poor experience with customer care having to do with the Inspire 1. A product of that high a cost can not be used for professional production indefinitely without the availability of spare parts and with repair service that checks the equipment in 2 weeks after receiving it and needs an additional 6 weeks to turn around. Production is expensive to shut down for a day, much less 2 months. That makes it an expensive and neat toy, but nothing more. Knowing that we would have to wait 2 months, we decided not to send it in and pay for repairs and bought new systems from different manufacturers, throwing out the damaged Inspire 1 with the trash.
One of the platforms we've been trying out is the Yuneec Q500+. If you are considering this quad, I hope I can give you a fair perspective so you know what to expect. First of all, it is EASY to fly, especially for filming purposes. The ability to adjust the rabbit/turtle mode incrementally on the fly is a major bonus when maneuvering around buildings and objects for reveal shots and so on. You do not need to be a great pilot to get pro shots, which is wonderful because I don't think I am anywhere near the best pilot out there. The signal strength is not bad either, but keep in mind that the work that I do keeps me in fairly decent range of the craft, generally within line of site. Having flown Phantoms, Inspire 1, Align M690L and M480L, and many more, I have to say that flight wise, the Q500+ is the best I have experienced thus far, which was shocking. Also keep in mind that I am not chasing jet boats or any other vehicles, for which an Inspire 1 would be the one to keep up the pace. Unfortunately, even with some serious trimming in the software, the Inspire's desire to take off like a bat out of hell made my work very difficult.
Now the downside. The Q500+ caries the CGO2+ camera, which shoots in 1080p. Prior to the Yuneec, I had no problem mixing Inspire footage with footage from a Sony A7S. I have to say I was very impressed with the Sony camera that DJI decided to employ on that platform. Personally, I thought the 4K looked outstanding, as did the DNG files. As a company, I can not recommend enough that people stay away from DJI, but hooking up with Sony was VERY smart of them. Now, Yuneec is coming out with a 4K camera setup soon, and you do not need to buy a new drone either. In fact, they are doing a trade in program so you can upgrade cameras for a few hundred bucks. Not bad! Without having tested one myself though, I have no way of knowing how it will match up to the awesome Sony camera in the Inspire, and the release of this unit has been delayed a few times with recent suggestions that it should be out in the beginning of July. An interesting factor is that Yuneec has another multi rotor coming out in the future that will carry a GH4 or the like, but also has an option to carry an 18x zoom camera. This is interesting because the internals of that zoom camera are none other than Sony! One can only hope that the CGO3 4K camera for the Q500 will also have Sony guts. I can't discuss this anymore as the anticipation is burning a hole in my stomach lining.
Something else to consider... Yuneec has very good customer support. They actually pick up the phone quickly and do their absolute best to help. They sell all spare parts for their products as well. I am local to DJI and to Yuneec here in Los Angeles, and while DJI absolutely would not let me bring the Inspire in for service (they wanted me to ship it 15 miles), Yuneec has told me that I can bring in equipment any time to their location. I would much rather be involved in business with them any day over DJI which seems to have actual contempt for their customers. The only things I can say I miss about the Inspire is the camera and some of the controls in the app. Yuneec is addressing this (hopefully) with their 4K camera and a firmware update to the transmitter which will allow some of those app controls to be integrated into the ST10 interface. Knock on wood!
So where does the Phantom 3 come in?
The other day while editing some footage, I called up a friend at a drone shop and had a long discussion with him about the P3. The conclusion I came to was that a P3 with retract landing gear could actually work for me as a stopgap until something better comes along or until Yuneec gets their stuff out. This would bring back the camera quality and the app control I prefer, and it wouldn't be such a hassle dealing with DJI since the price of the P3 makes it a throw away (Don't jump on me for saying this. When you use these things often for business and are getting paid what we get paid, it all becomes relative). So while the Yuneec is capable of getting spare parts and quick repairs, thus costing less to operate than simply throwing an entire unit out, the thought of moving to a P3 as a stopgap is being bounced around at the moment. I just hope I can trim the controls enough to get it to fly like I can get the Q500.
Of course, if you are not using these items in this manner and can't just throw one away, then I highly suggest you hitch your wagon to a company that does not have as overwhelmingly bad a reputation as DJI for post sales support.
P.S. The 3DR Solo is a great idea with some bugs that I am sure will be worked out shortly. While it has the ability for modular payloads, the current design to work with a GoPro Hero 4 is a decent option. I have found a source here in California for a really high quality rectilinear lens replacement for the GoPro, so that is a HUGE bonus. HOWEVER, the Sony guts inside the Inspire and P3, I feel, are still superior in a lot of ways. Still, pretty close... Consider that GoPro will release more cameras in the future as well, so upgrading is inevidable. 3DR is also a pleasure to work with, so none of the DJI headaches there either.
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