Hi Everyone,

I've failed at finding a comparison between the still image quality the Phantom 3 will produce vs. the Phantom 2 Vision+.

The Vision 2+ has a 14MP camera, while the Phantom 3 Professional only sports 12MP.

Any idea if we will see lesser/improved/no change in still image quality?


Thanks!

Mega-pixels specs are mostly meaningless.  DYNAMIC RANGE is what makes the images look good.  The Vision 2+ only saved in JPEG.  The Vision 2+ had limited dynamic range (so it clipped easily)  It had noisy shadow detail  and it suffered from horrible over compression artifacts from the JPEG format.

And... The lens on the Vision 2+ was a fisheye lens... Which means you had to apply lens correction to get the fishbowl look out of the image.  Applying lens correction looses detail.  (Like 50% less detail.)

The Phantom 3 camera can save in UNCOMPRESSED DNG format.  The camera has more dynamic range, less noise and better optics.  It will be a superior camera with a superior lens and it will have superior dynamic range.

Mega-Pixels is a less important spec than optical quality and dynamic range.

tchavalas@panos Posted at 2015-4-22 01:43
Mega-pixels specs are mostly meaningless.  DYNAMIC RANGE is what makes the images look good.  The Vi ...

Thank you. That's the answer I was looking forward to. I did see the Phantom 3 has lost the fish eye issue. I'm really happy about that. Now I don't have to explain to everyone; no unfortunately that's not the curvature of the Earth, it's just distortion

The fisheye lens on the Vision+ also had a tendency to capture the landing gear & motors.  (Very annoying.)  The narrower field of view and rectilinear projection delivers a more cinema quality image.

Also...  The new camera shoots at a much higher bandwidth to the SD card.  (Less compression artifacts.)   And the new camera can shoot 1080p at 60fps if you want to smooth out motion even more.

tchavalas@panos Posted at 2015-4-22 02:10
The fisheye lens on the Vision+ also had a tendency to capture the landing gear & motors.  (Very ann ...

Very good points. I wasn't using this often for video's. But now with the improved quality, and "follow me" feature, I will hopefully have more use for it. I'm excited for my pre-order to ship.

chris17house Posted at 2015-4-22 02:25
Very good points. I wasn't using this often for video's. But now with the improved quality, and "f ...

Hate to burst your bubble, but there currently is no "follow me" functionality to the P3. It's a possibility listed under the SDK. That means first DJI has to release the SDK, then someone out there has to actually make an app that does it. Then you have to trust that third-party app to not crash your P3.

It's a little misleading that DJI has these cool features listed under the SDK heading of the P3 product page. People either misread, which is understandable because the features list is so prominent, or people don't understand what the SDK is all about.

The SDK just means that it may be possible to add features like "follow me" via third party apps.  For that matter 3rd party apps may support ground station programming and more...

SDK just means it's open to third party development within the constraints of the SDK.

dji@monocello.c Posted at 2015-4-22 05:51
Hate to burst your bubble, but there currently is no "follow me" functionality to the P3. It's a p ...

The new Android DJI Pilot app that replaces DJI Vision has the "follow me" feature that I'm able to select...

chris17house Posted at 2015-4-22 07:52
The new Android DJI Pilot app that replaces DJI Vision has the "follow me" feature that I'm able to ...

The guys above are right.
If in doubt, go to the P3 specs on DJI's website and read closely.
It says:  SDK Development
Have a new idea that requires a view from the sky?
Develop your own app by using the DJI Software Development Kit. The Phantom 3 platform is fully
open and allows you to program apps that: .. Follow Me, Ground Station, Point of Interest, etc etc

tchavalas@panos Posted at 2015-4-22 01:43
Mega-pixels specs are mostly meaningless.  DYNAMIC RANGE is what makes the images look good.  The Vi ...

Phantom Vision 2+ has always had a RAW Adobe DNG option.
Also, many of the photos taken with the camera close to level have very little fish-eye and need little or no correction.

While the P3 may be better, I don't think it's a vast difference. You can find many stunning images taken with the P2V+

http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-2-vision-plus/feature

"Also, many of the photos taken with the camera close to level have very little fish-eye and need little or no correction.
While the P3 may be better, I don't think it's a vast difference. You can find many stunning images taken with the P2V+"

Fisheye distortion leaves any straight line passing through the centre straight - but straight lines not passing through the centre will bow significantly.  Having the horizon centred might leave the horizon ok but not the trees or buildings away from the centre.  It does not remove fisheye at all and correction is still required.

The Inspire/P3 camera is a huge improvement over the P2V+ for picture quality - that's the whole point of it.
Dynamic range, low light, detail and colour density are all significantly improved together with camera control options to allow more photographic creativity.

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2015-4-22 10:19
"Also, many of the photos taken with the camera close to level have very little fish-eye and need li ...

Is there a site containing photo samples taken with the P3 (both Pro and Advanced) camera other than what's on DJI's website?

Have a look here and start going backwards ... you'll find plenty of info and pictures
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/s ... 384430&page=220

tchavalas@panos Posted at 2015-4-22 01:43
Mega-pixels specs are mostly meaningless.  DYNAMIC RANGE is what makes the images look good.  The Vi ...

Incorrect. The P2V+ can save images in either .dng (raw) OR .jpg

droneflyers.com Posted at 2015-4-22 08:50
Phantom Vision 2+ has always had a RAW Adobe DNG option.
Also, many of the photos taken with the c ...

yes the Phantom 2 V+ has DNG but the quality of the camera affects the quality of the image no matter what the format is.. even something like DNG.  The P3 camera is vastly superior to the P2v+ camera.  Not only do you get the same DNG support and reduced lens distortion but you get a much better, larger sensor that is WAAAY better in low light, uses more bandwidth so you get far less compression artifacts , etc. because the sensor is larger with more resolution it doesn't have to use post process sharpening filters etc as well which also aid in reducing moret patterns and aliasing on hard edges.  Since the dynamic range is so much better you will get better color range, better saturation, more adjustment range and you will also lose the "stair stepping" values in your video as the camera moves thru levels of exposure.  

I only recently bought a P2v+ (2 weeks ago today).  I was really impressed with the aircraft and its functionality (especially coming from a Blade 350qx3 AP) but I was really disappointed with the camera quality.  So much so that when a buddy showed me how much better the P3 image quality was I pre-ordered a pro version on the spot.  I enjoy the p2v+ but its going up for sale as soon as the p3 arrives and most of my motivation was the vast improvement in the camera (and lightbridge).

Except that the P3 sensor is the same size as the P2V+.  They just made everything else better.

Regarding Follow Me and other features, it would be hard to believe these guys wouldn't offer the same product for the P3 series:

http://autoflightlogic.com/autopilotphantom

I wish this app would do waypoints

clwilliams22@gm Posted at 2015-4-24 09:31
yes the Phantom 2 V+ has DNG but the quality of the camera affects the quality of the image no matt ...

I'm upgrading to the P3 from P2 for some flying features, but the main reason is the camera. Even shooting in raw, the P2+ image quality is just horrible. Just try shooting a sunset using the P2 camera. I don't think the camera can pull it off. I've heard good things about the P3 camera. I'm sure it will be better, but not great. I was tempted to wait and purchase the new 3DR Solo, which is integrated with the GoPro. I like the idea of upgrading the camera only. But I'm told this new model probably will be buggy for a few months after the summer release. Also, the Solo comes with the follow me feature.