Being new to quads, drones or any r/c vehicles I was nervous to pay so much on a toy (I'm not using mine for work purposes). I was told by many hobby shops to 1st by a small cheap quad to practice with before going into a DJI.
Well with out taking the warning I purchased a Phantom 4 and learning to fly and control the aircraft was pretty straight forward and very simple. Actually what was tedious was updating all the firmware and watching every tutorial so that I didn't have any question with what was what on the controls.
I have about 2.5hrs of flight time in just under 3 days and would recommend this rc quad to anyone. However I have had gimbal issued (fixed with trial, error and lots of calibration) also I have had one of the four plastic leg caps pop off and lucky four it after I realized it was missing.

This is my very first drone as well and I can say I very impressed how easy it is to fly. I spent many hours going over all the tutorials, simulators, and reading before flying it. My first flight was just in the back yard, and now I feel I can fly it almost anywhere.  The aircraft responds nicely to the controls and I am very smooth with my control inputs.  Maybe I was lucky but I think just about anyone can fly this drone with relative ease.
Now that I can control the aircraft I want to learn how to take good pictures and videos, I think that will be harder than the flying part.

I would still buy a cheap practice drone and learn to fly it!!! You'll never know what day and time when something happens out of your control and you will need to fly your aircraft home under the atti mode.

P mode is the ultimate in 'power steering'.  The drone computer looks after maintaining altitude, direction, speed, and braking.  It makes everyone feel like an expert flyer.  DJI did a really good job with this.

But as mjlstudios points out..  Faults and GPS problems can potentially cause the loss of that protective cocoon and you might have  to fly by the seat of your pants.    It doesn't happen often, but it has happened.

If you have no 'manual' flying experience you should try fly in ATI mode now and then to familiarize yourself with unassisted flying.

WOW, pretty nice aircraft for your first RC anything.
If you go into the Academy section of the app you will find the full manual and a bunch of tutorial videos along with a flight simulator. Spend some time in there and congratulations.

Academy section (from home page, tap the graduation hat icon)

This too is my first drone.  I've been practicing in my back yard and am slowly venturing out.  But I love flying around.  I can tell this will be an expensive hobby, but it is a great get away from work.   DJI has done a great job with the P4..

I also purchased the DJI Osmo as well.  Really great products!

Ok going back out and fly around

Scott

I was a veteran Battlefield 4 pilot, until I got my P4.

Now I'm a retired Battlefield 4 pilot.

Can't beat the real thing.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-4-16 03:36
WOW, pretty nice aircraft for your first RC anything.
If you go into the Academy section of the app  ...

I guess I should of mentioned that I did play with the flight simulator first. To me it's controls are much like video game which made the transition easier

slockhart Posted at 2016-4-16 06:45
This too is my first drone.  I've been practicing in my back yard and am slowly venturing out.  But  ...

Congrats, all of you first timers should fly in an open area until you are totally familiar and confident.
Then go to a very large open area and fly in ATTI mode and even better in windy conditions. That will make you a very good pilot. There will be a time when you lose GPS and it will switch to ATTI mode and although it will stay at the current altitude, the aircraft will float with the wind. If you get proficient in ATTI mode, then you have nothing to worry about.

malvern Posted at 2016-4-16 06:53
I was a veteran Battlefield 4 pilot, until I got my P4.

Now I'm a retired Battlefield 4 pilot.

It really is bette than a video game. Only downside is if you crash you can't hit reset

jsegovia3830 Posted at 2016-4-16 21:06
I guess I should of mentioned that I did play with the flight simulator first. To me it's controls ...

If your a gamer, the transition is fairly easy.

Even my 10 year old daughter can fly this thing, no problem. It's so easy that I don't get nervous letting her fly. The cheap smaller quadcopters you would normally buy to learn on are much harder to control.

markcross1000 Posted at 2016-4-17 13:39
Even my 10 year old daughter can fly this thing, no problem. It's so easy that I don't get nervous l ...

Totally, my friend's kid of 11 years old flying it like a pro. Phantom is much easier to fly than any other drone or toy out there