Hello. I currently have a Phantom 2 Vision+ and looking to upgrade. I have been happy with my P2V+ besides the usual that people complain about. Not locking onto GPS sats, losing Sats, not good video quality from drone, etc. So I'm looking to upgrade for commercial use. I'd like to keep it at or below $5,000. Just so everyone knows I do have my exemption from the FAA so I am legal to fly (and yes I do fly with a pilot license).

At first I had it in my head that I'm sticking with DJI because they are the biggest name out there still and really no one else has come up yet. That is until I found some others (3DR and Yuneec)

After reading the forums of the 3 different brands I have come to realize that they all have there own issues that I'll outline below and just wanted your take on things. Am I really worrying for nothing with DJI.

Inspire 1 = This was the one that I had my heart set on. I just thought I would go online, read reviews, watch youtube videos of it and be purchasing it asap. Then I heard people complain of software update issues. And how they are scared to fly it with the new update. And others say the IMU causes a lot of issues and needs recalibrating before every flight (While this isn't too bad for me as I plan to do anyway). Other stories of how the props weren't tight and had issues. And others of where out of the box they calibrated and drone just broke connection and had mind of it's own. Heard DJI support is terrible. 6-8 weeks to get fixed if it crashes. Hard to get spare parts.

Phantom 3 Pro = I heard the software issues aren't as bad as the Inspire 1 but not sure if the GPS issue is fixed from the P2V+. Because it's going to be used in commercial use worried about the landing gear/prop. Also heard the grounding station has been delayed and still no word on when release is for it. Also hear that DJI support is terrible. 6-8 weeks to get fixed if it crashes.

3DR Solo = Have read people have issue with the right side of the props and drone veering to the right and crashing because of it. But heard their support is better than DJI. But doesn't have the range of DJI and more expensive if you don't have the GoPro.

I like the Phantom 3 pro.  The SDK upgrades are slowly happening with Ultimate Flight.  I have a P2, so I got the Hero3. Would I buy again. Probably not. The Solo has my interest, they need to adjust there IMU.  Will see what becomes of the whole Hobby in general. The government is afraid of aerial photography for some reason, there is definitely a campaign against it.  Yes it is a threat to commercial flights. The  day to day campaign is going to kill the hobby I'm afraid.

FWIW, I own both a P3P and Inspire 1. Both are performing flawlessly on the latest firmware.

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All accurate as far as l've read.

l can only give you my experience with my P3Pro, so you get some balance in the potential responses.

l've had nothing but good fortune from DJI products, therefore l've never needed customer support. lf you get a "good" unit and delay any FW updates until everything flushes out, you should only need customer support in a rare event.
My P2V+V3 was fantastic, l loved it. It was a spur of the moment decision to buy a P3P and wow, l'm glad l did, l can't say enough about it. lt is head and shoulders above the P2 - the lightbridge is amazing, l could send this thing out for miles. l keep it close for shooting, but it's a nice change from the P2 that the connections are always strong. Always a minimum of 13 sats. lt hovers on a dime and is very strong and responsive compared to the P2.

No ground station is a bummer, not that l used it much with the P2 but it's a great feature.
l'm not sure what you mean about the landing gear and props. l hand catch always, so l've never damaged anything.

l can't say l haven't looked at the Solo, or the Yuneec Q500 4K, because l have, and if/when they get to the DJI product level l would definitely be on board to hopefully get the better service (can't be worse, right?). But for now, this is where it's at. Other than the admittedly lousy service, this is one awesome piece of kit.

Phantom Help Posted at 2015-8-18 21:33
FWIW, I own both a P3P and Inspire 1. Both are performing flawlessly on the latest firmware.

Thanks for this. May I ask why you decided to go with both instead of 2 of one or the other so your accessories work?

If you had to buy again and money not a factor would you get 2 Inspire 1's? Or happy with your setup? What do you use both for and how do you use them? Is your P3P just for "play" and Inspire for work?

Very interested in your responses. Thanks for taking the time to post!

CapitAn Posted at 2015-8-18 21:35
All accurate as far as l've read.

l can only give you my experience with my P3Pro, so you get some  ...

Thanks for this great response!

I feel the same way. My P2V+ has been nothing but great. Except one time where it broke connection and flew away and crashed. But I must say the arm was bent. I took a heat gun to it and molded it back to shape and even with that, it flies GREAT. So I am happy with it.

When did you purchase your P3P? Wondering if I purchase now, will it come with the latest firmware and will I be stuck on it?

l got one of the first ones (didn't pre-order) on May 4th, so it came with 1.1.5 and l updated to 1.1.6, which is what l'm still using.
Chances are if you buy one now it'll come with the latest FW, but they've fixed all the issues as far as l can tell. The only downside l'm reading about now is disconnection from the new GO app (l'm still using Pilot). lt might just be the Android version that's having issues, hopefully someone more knowledgeable can chime in on that.

CapitAn Posted at 2015-8-18 22:30
l got one of the first ones (didn't pre-order) on May 4th, so it came with 1.1.5 and l updated to 1. ...

I am having no disconnects with Android on a galaxy 10.1 5.0.1. I would really like to know the variables that are making some disconnect. I also have a tab 8.4 without disconnects.

Hmmm, knowing what I know now after 18 months in the sport and owning five different models of Phantoms I would recommend as a minimum a Phantom 3 Professional AND a Phantom 3 Advanced (and keep the P2V+).  That is well within the $5K budget and the remaining funds can go for spare batteries, motors, props, etc and some very good hard cases to pack everything in.

Oh yeah, and you're going to need a bigger TV!  I discovered my 32 inch HD TV can only display the 4k video at about half size so I mostly shoot everything in 1080p now.  Phantom 3 models have less image distortion.  The P2V+ is still good but sometimes that slight fish-eye distortion can be annoying (unless you want to spend some more bucks of your budget for Photoshop and post-production corrections and such)
The advantage of staying with DJI is product familiarity so minimal learning curve on any changes, list of replacement and spare parts would be smaller, one smart device will work with all 3 models (I'm using the 8 inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 with WiFi / Cellular capability Android v4.4.4 -- Model SM-T337V)

Basically I started with a Phantom 1 in Feb of 2014 because I already owned 3 different GoPros and I liked the idea of getting one of them up in the air.  Didn't like the shaky video and then got a P2 w/H3-3D gimbal.  Didn't like not actually seeing what the camera was shooting so I got the Phantom 2 Vision+ (and added a version 3 when it came out) Then added a FatShark headset to the P2.  My needs and budget have changed since then and I may be an exception (or an idiot with no impulse control) but I now have a squadron of five Phantoms.  (P1, P2 w/ H3-3D, P2V+ v1, P2V+ v3, P3P)  And I'm just doing it as a hobby

Hopefully somebody will just shoot me if I start getting interested in model trains...

Grab a P3P and bank the extra $1500 you would have spent on an Inspire.  The P3P does nearly *everything* an Inspire does, except it doesn't transform its landing gear and have the capability for an extra controller.  It's easier to setup and travel with, fly indoors with, you get an extra 6-8 minutes of flight time with the P3P and capture the same video as the Inspire and have the same video transmission technologies, etc. It's a no-brainer really unless you just HAVE to have the Inspire for a very specific purpose...what that purpose is, I'm really not sure at this point, but the P3P is the solid choice.

If you don't trust the manufacturer of the quadcopter enough to use the firmware they recommend, how do you trust them enough to FLY the quadcopter?  Your choices are to follow the advice of the people who design, manufacture and program the quad, or you can get some sort of "internet consensus".   Good luck.

ncalton@gmail.c Posted at 2015-8-19 11:50
Grab a P3P and bank the extra $1500 you would have spent on an Inspire.  The P3P does nearly *everyt ...

Thanks for the response. The purpose is for real estate sales of large farm and land/island sales. So 90% photography, 10% video.

The one driving point for the inspire was the landing gears go up.

One thing I couldn't find on the inspire, with the camera moving 360 degrees can you put the camera on an object and have it stay on the object even though the drone is moving? Or would that require you to move the camera manually?