I've noticed when I go out to fly with my P3S and my P4P I'm starting to feel let down by the P3, in all ways it cant compete with the P4 and I'm starting to not enjoy the P3 when I take both.
Has anyone else felt the same and any tips to start enjoying the P3 again?

Yeah...  I kinda feel the same way about my "antique" Phantom 1, Phantom 2 H3-3d, Phantom 2 vision+...

Dirty Bird Posted at 2018-2-24 06:26
Get Litchi & rekindle your P3 romance...

https://youtu.be/0Fl0e91hAi4

This.is.amazing!

Wow!

Gil Posted at 2018-2-24 07:06
Yeah...  I kinda feel the same way about my "antique" Phantom 1, Phantom 2 H3-3d, Phantom 2 vision+...

That’s a lot off drones, do you still fly them all.

I have SO many questions, I don't even know where to begin....I'm kinda speechless.

I'm new to droning but I'm just hoping that some day, I can do something like that.

Really awesome @Dirty Bird, well done!!

Dirty Bird Posted at 2018-2-24 06:26
Get Litchi & rekindle your P3 romance...

https://youtu.be/0Fl0e91hAi4

That’s a seriously impresssive video, i would be so scared I would never see my drone again flying a route like that.

Almost looks like somebody is standing at the window taking a video of the drone with their smart phone... between 8:36 and 8:43....  

So just sell it already.

Well there isn't any comparison between the two in the first place!  I wouldn't want to fly my P3S either if I had a P4...

You never forget your first love, lol.

Dirty Bird Posted at 2018-2-24 06:26
Get Litchi & rekindle your P3 romance...

https://youtu.be/0Fl0e91hAi4

Awesome flight!  
Did you program all the turns and height changes in Litchi or was that all manual?

There is very little to love about the P3S once you step up, aside from the cheap price of batteries and the fact that you can do riskier things with it because it's worth far less. That being said, I've seen the P3P for a whooping $380 with 4 batteries, so even that is a cheap device that gives you 4K footage. If I were to get a P3S, it would just be to go into the device's core settings and raise them up to achieve much faster speeds, just so I could mess around with it. I wouldn't mind having one for $150-200.

While I do not own any of the newer models, I have a couple of P3Ss. I bought them specifically because they were cheap and can do 90% or more of what some of the more expensive ones can do. And it won't break the bank if one flies away or crashes.  Unfortunately because the P3S appears to be discontinued, the prices around here have been going up (supply and demand). So at some point it will be just as cost effective to upgrade to a newer model.

BTW, some of the videos posted above show just what can be done with the P3S.

Agreed, P3S is an awesome drone with Litchi.  Keep in mind Dirty Bird is on another level though...

The stupid thing is :

If you fly totally to the rules (and in this it doesn't really matter where you are) ..... the height / range limitations of the P3S are usually not a problem at all. If you fly in 'residential / town' environment - you are likely breaking a rule anyway ... so the reduced range you get there is a pain - but in fact not relevant.So in fact the P3S is operating within and to the limits of the rules .......... 400ft, VLOS etc.

I now fly the P3P and my P3S has been stripped for parts to fit out an FPV 450 quad.
I can honestly say that I don't really do that much more with my P3P than I did with my P3S .... (I am fully aware that OP says P4P vs P3S).

Nigel

solentlife Posted at 2018-2-24 11:33
The stupid thing is :

If you fly totally to the rules (and in this it doesn't really matter where you are) ..... the height / range limitations of the P3S are usually not a problem at all. If you fly in 'residential / town' environment - you are likely breaking a rule anyway ... so the reduced range you get there is a pain - but in fact not relevant.So in fact the P3S is operating within and to the limits of the rules .......... 400ft, VLOS etc.

Its not just the range differences, its how the drones respond to the controls, the P4P is so much smoother.(I have already adjusted the controls on the P3S to maximise smoothness) Also I'm more into photography than video and I notice a big difference in the quality.

I'm not saying the P3S is a bad drone, its light years ahead of my other drone but it just cant compare to the P4P.

Oracle Miata Posted at 2018-2-24 11:26
Agreed, P3S is an awesome drone with Litchi.  Keep in mind Dirty Bird is on another level though...

I agree his videos are fantastic

AlanHd Posted at 2018-2-24 11:57
Its not just the range differences, its how the drones respond to the controls, the P4P is so much smoother.(I have already adjusted the controls on the P3S to maximise smoothness) Also I'm more into photography than video and I notice a big difference in the quality.

I'm not saying the P3S is a bad drone, its light years ahead of my other drone but it just cant compare to the P4P.

Agreed ... but not my point.

A lot of people condemn the P3S because of its WiFi and control system ... giving short range etc. But it actually has power to exceed all limits imposed by authorities.

Of course its control sensitivity and camera quality is lower than  a P4P .... but in the right hands - it is stunning what it can do.

You can put a Professional Hasselblad in the hands of a person in the street and an Instamatic in the hands of a professional ..... guess what - the Instamatic will win hands down because its the operator that makes the shot ...

Nigel

solentlife Posted at 2018-2-24 12:08
Agreed ... but not my point.

A lot of people condemn the P3S because of its WiFi and control system ... giving short range etc. But it actually has power to exceed all limits imposed by authorities.

Too True. I wish I had that artistic touch that makes the difference.

Notice to the navigators! For tomorrow, a large solar storm is announced, with effect on communications and GPS, fly with caution, especially those who make long-range flights.

Magnetic Storm

ArgenBrewer Posted at 2018-2-24 15:04
Notice to the navigators! For tomorrow, a large solar storm is announced, with effect on communications and GPS, fly with caution, especially those who make long-range flights.

If any Phantoms suffer any effects, it would be the first time that has been recorded.
And thousands of Phantoms have flown without incident with KP=8.

You can safely ignore this "warning".
The sky is not falling.

The P3 pro and Advanced were released back in April 2015.
Their Lightbridge control system made every other drone obsolete.
The Standard was released 4 months later to provide a cheaper alternative for buyers that did not want to spend as much.
The P3 Standard was already outdated when it was released to the market.
It uses P2 technology and the camera is the only improvement on the old P2 series.
In 2018 technology has advanced much further.

Oracle Miata Posted at 2018-2-24 11:26
Agreed, P3S is an awesome drone with Litchi.  Keep in mind Dirty Bird is on another level though...

OMG get the Litchi App, I have spent three days going over my (short) mission...I was afraid to trust the app.

My P3S flew exactly as I programmed it, and was smoother than I could have flown it manually!

Thanks Dirty Bird, I still can't get the nerve up to try the LONG mission yet...but I have faith in the app.

solentlife Posted at 2018-2-24 11:33
The stupid thing is :

If you fly totally to the rules (and in this it doesn't really matter where you are) ..... the height / range limitations of the P3S are usually not a problem at all. If you fly in 'residential / town' environment - you are likely breaking a rule anyway ... so the reduced range you get there is a pain - but in fact not relevant.So in fact the P3S is operating within and to the limits of the rules .......... 400ft, VLOS etc.

"400ft." FYI, blackcrusader confirmed that 400ft is in fact NOT a law in the US by writing to the FAA directly. Their response was that there is no 400ft AGL law for hobbiests. It is only a guideline.

DroneSmeg Posted at 2018-2-24 17:41
"400ft." FYI, blackcrusader confirmed that 400ft is in fact NOT a law in the US by writing to the FAA directly. Their response was that there is no 400ft AGL law for hobbiests. It is only a guideline.

RC hobbyist have been climbing higher than 400 agl for a long time.
The turbines eat up a lot of airspace!
Even my 3W twin cylinder Bipe could surpass 400 ft agl.
I think during the big events "Top Gun" in Florida they had waivers from FAA...not sure I was not involved, but I sure saw a bunch exceed 400 ft.

AlanHd Posted at 2018-2-24 07:38
That’s a lot off drones, do you still fly them all.

Not really.  The difference in real time video between the Phantom 2's using the tiny screen on an iPhone 4 and the 8 inch tablet I use with the Phantom 3's just doesn't seem worth the trouble.  Additionally, the partial fisheye distortion with the GoPro on the P2 H3-3D and the P2V+ is pretty annoying now compared to the quality of the P3's.  I have a total of 6 Phantoms and it seemed like I was going to make myself broke if I kept buying every new model DJI put out!  I decided to stop the insanity for a while and see where things were going before I allowed myself to buy any more quads!  Now I mostly just partially charge and discharge the batteries of my older Phantoms every few months so they won't go bad.

Dirty Bird Posted at 2018-2-24 11:00
Needless to say I completely disagree with this assessment of the P3S...

What can you achieve with a P3S?

"IF".any body can top that video....I want to see it........Thats a fantastic video and  i have watched it several times now..Thank YOU for the great post !