I can't resist the latest price on the Phatom 3 any longer, but before deciding which version to get, I would like input from P3 Standard owners. The only reason in the past I had considered getting the Advanced/Professional was the longer range and dual GPS network support. With the changes made by govt regulation recently (like flying your drone only as far as you can see it), I am not sure I can even take advantage of the extended range anymore. I may be missing something, of course. Anyway, can Standard owners chime in on whether they are satisfied with this level or whether they would like to upgrade? And if they would opt to upgrade, what would be your primary reasons for doing so? Thanks for any productive replies.

-Moni

I recently acquired a phantom 3 standard and can advise on what I have experienced so far.  It was a little difficult to learn about the device.  It did not come with a user manual.  Had to got to their web site and print one.  I had to hunt around for video tutorials.  Even the user manual didn't do a good job of explaining the fine points about the app that runs on your phone.  
I have only owned the standard so I can't compare it to the higher end models but so far it appears adequate as far as height and distance limits.  Haven't tried taking still pictures yet.  The videos I have taken are really poor quality.  The picture jumps and flickers and sometimes wavy.  It almost makes you ill to look at it.  Flying the device is pretty easy.  If you have never flown a drone, I recommend practicing with the flight simulator on the phone app and for the first time launch it in a wide open flat field and watch out for all obstacles like power lines, etc.   Good luck!

hello thegrindlab, i am a P3S owener and i love my drone. its great!!! first drone i have ever had and it works amazingly. I really wish i had bought the advanced instead tho. 1km range is good, if you can even get that. and for the extra price between the advanced and standard is not a lot. about 300.  i at first thought i would never need more than 500m range but after about my 4th flight, i wanted to go further. the reason i bought the standard over the advanced was because i didn't think i needed the range but now i want it.  spend the extra money on the advanced. thats what i would do if i was you.  considering selling my Standard if i can and buying a advanced for the extra options and range!

jordan_pilot Posted at 2016-1-19 21:44
hello thegrindlab, i am a P3S owener and i love my drone. its great!!! first drone i have ever had a ...

I have a P3s and when I was looking to get one I was torn between the P3s and the P3a.  What I came down to for me was the price was below £500 (£449) for the P3s.

Due to uk drone laws .. The P3s fitted in range wise. Not to fly above 400ft, fly within eyesight at all times 500m .. Can't fly in built up areas or over crowded areas such as sport stadiums etc.

I'm happy with my purchase and don't regret getting it, ,I now just need to get more flight time in and practice with the camera.

Good luck with which ever model you finally decide on

I have had the phantom 3 Standard for a while now and I love it!  Yes how far you can fly does become an issue after a while BUT I think its a great starting point.

chrisp8756 Posted at 2016-1-20 06:03
I have had the phantom 3 Standard for a while now and I love it!  Yes how far you can fly does becom ...

Thanks for the reply. Can you detail what you use yours for and situations where you would like more range?

I am a Standard owner and love it, adding the wind surfer I get 2.4 miles easily with a hiccup in signal.  I live in the county so not alot of tall obstructions.   Here is a screenshot of my last windsurfer test.

kosherdawg Posted at 2016-1-20 05:39
I recently acquired a phantom 3 standard and can advise on what I have experienced so far.  It was a ...

Thanks a lot! I wonder why you're having the issues with video. I had the opportunity to see an older Phantom 2's footage of a local flight in my town and it seemed fine.

dacofty Posted at 2016-1-20 06:50
I am a Standard owner and love it, adding the wind surfer I get 2.4 miles easily with a hiccup in si ...

Great piece of advice on the wind surfer! That might be a deciding factor for me. Thank you!

thegrindlab Posted at 2016-1-19 17:56
Great piece of advice on the wind surfer! That might be a deciding factor for me. Thank you!

I made it from a round thick cardboard tube you ship documents in.  Then added a double layer of Heavy aluminum foil and sprayed it white.  I am sure the ones on ebay are good as well.  It helps alot.

A little clarification here. Thee FAA has recommended a 400 foot hight limit and line of sight flight for quite some time. This is not a new FAA regulation.

The wavy videos may be from shooting at too high of a shutter speed, this is known as the Jello Effect. So it may not be the camera at all.

I owned a Standard for three weeks before I realized I wanted the Advanced. Here are some of the reasons that I returned the Standard and got the Advanced which I outlined in another post earlier today.

The Standard range can vary from OK to disappointing. My distance was limited sometimes by the presence of too many trees. The Advanced range is amazing allowing you to get to hard to reach places without losing signal.

If you are really into the photography aspect then the Advanced has other advantages. First, there is the filter aspect. The Standard does not have a removeable filter ring so filters must be slipped onto the front of the lens barrel. The slip over plastic film filters are a pain to use and easily smudge/scratch. Many of the glass fit over filter for the Standard seem like they are too heavy and may stress the gimbal. Remember you are not replacing the lens cover like on the Advanced, but adding weight by putting another piece on the lens.

Having the camera controls on the remote make for easy adjustments rather than using primarily the touch screen on the app. You can start and stop a video with the touch of a button. Other camera adjustments can be made from the remote too.

There are two programmable buttons on the remote for you to customize other frequently used features. Having a dedicated return to home button is a nice plus too if and when you need it.

The remote on the Standard is kind of lightweight. It is not designed to use a tablet which is a real plus for monitoring your flight. If you plan on using a tablet you will need to add a flimsy third party clamp or modify the remote which would probably void your warranty. The Advanced remote just feels more substantial. Look at the replacement cost for the remotes, $139 for the Standard and $590 for the Advanced/Pro. That should tell about whther the Advanced is worth the extra $200-$300.

If you have to add a windsurfer and some way of holding a tablet your $499 Phantom Standard is no longer $499. Not that these things are expensive, but I felt the Advanced was definitely worth this extra money. I did not want to spend more on my Phantom, but I think it was money well spent.

I am a photographer. So, I view my Phantom as a camera that can go places I cannot. For me it is not an aircraft that happens to have a camera. So, for me the Advanced was a better choice.

Great reminder so then distance should not matter when choosing between the 2.  Great post

kosherdawg Posted at 2016-1-19 13:39
I recently acquired a phantom 3 standard and can advise on what I have experienced so far.  It was a ...

Making sure you pull the photos and videos directly off the micro SD card from the drone.

Your description sounds like you're only viewing the photos and video on your phone/tablet.

dacofty Posted at 2016-1-20 06:50
I am a Standard owner and love it, adding the wind surfer I get 2.4 miles easily with a hiccup in si ...

how in the world do you get 2.4 miles?!
the advertised distance is 1km and the best i got so far was 350m...
but amazing that you got it out so far!!

jordan_pilot Posted at 2016-1-19 19:49
how in the world do you get 2.4 miles?!
the advertised distance is 1km and the best i got so far  ...

well im in the country so i take it its lack of buildings and such, Im gonna upload the flight to my youtube and will link you so you can see whats other here.

dacofty Posted at 2016-1-20 08:54
well im in the country so i take it its lack of buildings and such, Im gonna upload the flight to  ...

that is amazing.
enjoy the flights!!
hope to be doing some long range tests some day.

jordan_pilot Posted at 2016-1-19 19:57
that is amazing.
enjoy the flights!!
hope to be doing some long range tests some day.

where are you located?

dacofty Posted at 2016-1-19 17:01
I made it from a round thick cardboard tube you ship documents in.  Then added a double layer of H ...

Can you post a picture of your windsurfer?

I can only speak on the Standard as it is my first quad or RC for that matter. I have really enjoyed it for both pictures and video. The range is fine for me as I don't have area around here where I need to fly it any farther. Truth be known , I get nervous if I can't see it. And it will fly farther then line of sight.  I'm sure the Avance and Pro are much better, but for my first the Standard was a great choice for me. No buyers remorse. Good luck!

theronmalone Posted at 2016-1-19 22:20
Can you post a picture of your windsurfer?

i will do that

Standard owner here and I have no complaints. Of all the quads I own this one is the most well behaved. No matter which model you choose, get gimble protection. There's a lot of money hanging below these birds and they're only millimeters from the ground while landing.

I have a Phantom 3 Standard too, and I'm enjoying it a lot. I'm a protographer, I use it to shoot still images, and the camera is very good to attend my needs.
I'm thinking to buy a new one just because the range. Part of future work I'll need to fly at 100 meters height and about 2 kilometers of distance to reach an island, so I don't think it will be possible with a Standard. I'll try a booster before, but I'm not sure if it will work. The second global position system provides more security to me. The rest is all ok, I don't need to fly indoor, so that sensors aren't so important to me.

dacofty Posted at 2016-1-19 17:50
I am a Standard owner and love it, adding the wind surfer I get 2.4 miles easily with a hiccup in si ...

Amazing flight distance.  I'd be happy to get half that!  Will be trying a wind surfer like attachment.

Standard owner here.

My first ever quad.    I was very surprised at how easy these things are to operate,  even in P-ATTI mode.

I'm not a professional photographer, so I can't really comment on the videos and stills, except to say they look outstanding to me.

As for range, I'm doing fairly well.   I live in a large suburb of Dallas (Plano).  In my neighborhood, in which everyone has WIFI,  I get about 1100 ft range before the video signal starts dropping.  At that point the RC signal is still strong.

when I go to a large open soccer complex nearby,  I have flown out to 1400ft with no loss of video or rc signal.

I fly strictly for fun, and to take interesting videos.  The thought of flying several KM out of sight scares me.  Perhaps if I was doing this for a living, I'd feel differently.


sid

PhantomVooDoo Posted at 2016-1-20 07:26
Standard owner here and I have no complaints. Of all the quads I own this one is the most well behav ...

Gimbal protection has been added to my purchase list. Thank you for the tip!

wmw1490 Posted at 2016-1-20 09:21
Amazing flight distance.  I'd be happy to get half that!  Will be trying a wind surfer like attach ...

Heres a pic of my one i been experimenting with,  starting work on an all stainless steel one.

dacofty Posted at 2016-1-20 10:33
Heres a pic of my one i been experimenting with,  starting work on an all stainless steel one.

Awesome! Thanks for the picture. What is attached at the top. I'm assuming that slides over the antenna to hold it in place.

theronmalone Posted at 2016-1-20 12:18
Awesome! Thanks for the picture. What is attached at the top. I'm assuming that slides over the an ...

Yes its plastic with black foam that holds the antenna tighter

dacofty Posted at 2016-1-19 20:11
where are you located?

i am located in a populated city.
when i go into the country at my cottage, i hope to get around 1km

jordan_pilot Posted at 2016-1-20 12:32
i am located in a populated city.
when i go into the country at my cottage, i hope to get around  ...

Try a wind surfer when out in the county, you will love the increase.

thegrindlab Posted at 2016-1-20 10:25
Gimbal protection has been added to my purchase list. Thank you for the tip!

I learned the hard way. Glad it helps.

Thanks again all for the advice. I got the Standard, a gimbal guard, and a windsurfer, and I am quite happy with everything. Actually debating on buying a couple more.

-Moni

i have the P3S also and its awesome yes range does then to be the thing now for me . I do enjoy the P3S but also I find the video on the P3S is not that 100% because when u in flight and you start to rotate it does not recorder very well you need to rotate VERY slow for it to recorder everything perfectly . not to sure if others on the group experience the same ?

I have a Standard  It took about 2 weeks for me to wish I had gotten the advanced instead.  I broke  down and bought an advanced.  I have had it for a while now and I have never wished  for a  Pro.   My poor standard just sits on the table now,  unused.

Kneepuck Posted at 2016-2-9 13:59
I have a Standard  It took about 2 weeks for me to wish I had gotten the advanced instead.  I broke  ...

Yeah. I am thinking of either selling my Standard and getting the Advanced, or upgrading my antennas. I shoot at 1080p (24p), so I don't even use my cam at 2.7k. Definitely no need for 4k. The Advanced/Pro also have a nicer controller but all I really want is that range increase. I'm not sure if it's worth another $300 though.

thegrindlab Posted at 2016-2-9 08:43
Yeah. I am thinking of either selling my Standard and getting the Advanced, or upgrading my antenn ...

I think the antenna upgrades are anywhere from 75.00 to 300.00.  I guess it would really depend on how and where you were gonna use it.  

nabzo@me.com Posted at 2016-2-8 10:33
i have the P3S also and its awesome yes range does then to be the thing now for me . I do enjoy the  ...

I have never noticed an issue with the recording video.  On almost all crafts to record perfect its about the speed and yaw.  Less is best.

dacofty Posted at 2016-2-9 23:19
I think the antenna upgrades are anywhere from 75.00 to 300.00.  I guess it would really depend on ...

I'm looking at one setup that is $75 right now. Ordering tomorrow.

If you use the App Litchi which is much better than the disgusting DJI Go app, you can make autonomous missions as God intended and not twisted form that was invented DJI