Today is the official announcement of the Phantom 4

Thus marking the end of the Phantom 3's reign as DJI's latest mainstream affordable better quality video platform.

Today, Like the Phantom 2 and Phantom 1 before it, the Phantom 3 begins it's fade from glory into the forgotten and neglected halls of has beens.(Although at $1,400 price point that's been floting around, I'm wondering just how many will bite)

Soon, having a Phantom 3 will be like having a Phantom 1...or 2.   Nice still, but no biggie as the Phantom 4 steals the stage and spotlight
and all the chatter and "excitement" for at least the next year.   Phantom 4 threads in forums near and far are about to spring to life....as Phantom 3 forums begin
their slow decline into lonely oblivion.....where they will eventually join the infrequently visited P1 and P2 threads.
So hard to imagine at this junction today, but so it goes.

Several years ago,  when the Phantom 1 was still hot news, few thought about the fact that one day the Phantom 1 would be nearly forgotten.
But the threads on the Phantom 1 are now quiet and few posts are made relating to the Phantom 1

But, here's the point.....

Just because everyone else has to have the latest and greatest, does not take away from the fact that the Phantom 3 still is and still will be an awesome tool for a long time to come.   Same with the P2 and even the P1.

I have a P3A AND a P1 and honestly, in some ways I find the P1 superior.   It "lacks?" all the hassles of Geo-fencing and NFZ's, is much lighter and highly customizable, batteries are WAY less expensive and...besides.... at $1,400.....I certainly won't be running out for the latest any time soon.   And who knows what fun killing gizmos the P4 will include?   Almost certainly a more restricted (or restrictable) version than any before it for certain.

So grab a P4 if it's in your budget and tell us what you think.
For the rest of us, the P1, P2 and P3 will continue to be our quite capable and enjoyable "go to birds"

If the P4 doesn't have a better camera, I can see no possible advantage to me.  Object avoidance?  I've already paid for VPS which I don't need, i can do without more redundant systems.

I suspect everyone's wrong and it's not a Phantom 4.
Rather it's going to be a Phantom 3 Extra/Super/Elite etc and sit in the lineup next to the P3 rather than replace it.
DJI's pitching it at just one segment of the market rather than everyone.
How many buyers are going to want  to pay twice the price of a P3 Advanced and pay whatever the double sized batteries are going to cost?
The P3 is still a very capable device and has a lot more life in it.
No competitor has come up with anything to touch Lightbridge so far.

We'll know soon what's included in the package.
The camera is probably the only thing I'm interested in but I'm prepared to be surprised.

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2016-3-1 08:25
I suspect everyone's wrong and it's not a Phantom 4.
Rather it's going to be a Phantom 3 Extra/Super ...

Actually there are company's out that that surpass the lightbridge by more than 10 times....
Also to get this technology for under 400.00 bucks is super reasonable..

Look into Dragon Link on youtube...it'll blow your mind.

I agree, the features of whatever this is called are really only "mild" improvements IMO.  As I stated in another thread, even if it has collision avoidance, its the first iteration.  Which like every first iteration of things usually falls far short of what everyone was really hoping for.   

If any of the rumors are true, I don't see a alot of people dumping their P3s and buying the P4.  If the forecast price is correct, 700 to 800 USD over the P3P,  for that mild of a tech increase seems steep to me.   BTW, I sold my lightly used P3 Standard for 450 yesterday with only the Inspire Tablet/phone holder mod....  So there is still going to be demand for the 3s not everyone feels the need or has 1800 bucks to spend...

Nawww the p3 will be sold through 2016,new phantom is an addition to the p3 lineup a new tier.

All I want to know is how long the flight time and distance is. If the batteries are twice the price, why bother..unless the distance has a dramatic increase...thats another story.

I believe the Phantom 3 line will gain more popularity to consumers with the price drops. The Phantom 4 will be very exciting, but with such a high price tag, I doubt they will be selling like hot cakes unless you have the money to burn or invested for commercial purposes.  

Personally with the Phantom 3 standard, and making modifications to extend the range has been a very exciting and doesn't put me in the dog house.

$1700.00 US for bells and whistles such as collision avoidance sounds great, but I fear that just extra fluff and not much of a selling point to many users.  

But hey, who knows.  Maybe it will be mind blowing and sell in the millions.

I'm new to it all. So I'm sitting back and waiting to see what all comes with the new Phantom 4. If the features aren't worth the extra coin I will probably find a used 3 or just buy a new 3 since they are getting cheaper by the minute!!!

skipnay Posted at 2016-3-1 09:39
I'm new to it all. So I'm sitting back and waiting to see what all comes with the new Phantom 4. If  ...

I don't think we'll see another  price drop in the P3 line for probably another 6 months to a year..

Well,  if the rumors are true , ( Word on the street,  leaked info,  etc. ) the P4 MAY have optical Zoom, a 4.7k 60fps camera,  ability to track and target airborne drones,  ( this ,  supposedly, so you can synchro a couple of drones to get a stereo view),  29 minutes or better battery life,  rth obstacle avoidance, a 360 degree camera and who knows what else.  Or,  to put it better,  who really knows what it will have.  But,  as the OP noted,  it will maybe have all this great new exciting tech,  and so many restrictions and mandated limitations that it may be nearly impossible to fly the thing without filing a flight plan in triplicate with the faa,  police department,  dhs and local airport, and that only after you pass a 40 hour course in drone flying.
That's all just made up stuff,  of course,  but ask yourself the question,  have you ever seen a government put laws in place and then remove or not enforce them?  Rarely.  Usually ,  they add too them. Current restrictions already make it tough to use the existing features of the P3 for some people.  I am lucky enough to live in an area with no restrictions,  but not everyone is.  Part of the fun of having something like the P3 is the freedom to go fly it whenever the mood hits,  anywhere you can fly with a reasonable expectation of not damaging anyone else or their property.  Take that away from this hobby and it seems more like an anti hobby.  I imagine it will eventually shake out to some kind of compromise,  since there are an awful lot of drone flyers out there.   At least,  we can hope.
  

http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/01/dji-phantom-4-announced/

Yay - Phantom4 - maybe it'll distract me from all the firmware issues with the P3...

justin.owen Posted at 2016-3-1 11:34
Yay - Phantom4 - maybe it'll distract me from all the firmware issues with the P3...

Wondering if anyone thinks that maybe DJI have been creating some of these issues with the P3 to help push the new model?

Well, the list price is a bit less than rumored at $1399.00   Better.....but I think my P3 is still MORE than enough for now.

Cessna172 Posted at 2016-3-1 10:42
Well, the list price is a bit less than rumored at $1399.00   Better.....but I think my P3 is still  ...

Agreed, I think the price is more inline with the features offered.   I'm still not switching until I hear the features work better and more consistently, unlike Follow Me on the P3 which seems to be inconsistent...

I have a P3A AND a P1 and honestly, in some ways I find the P1 superior.   It "lacks?" all the hassles of Geo-fencing and NFZ's, is much lighter and highly customizable, batteries are WAY less expensive and...besides.... at $1,400.....I certainly won't be running out for the latest any time soon.   And who knows what


I do regret selling my p1.1.1

it was a sports car like flyer.
responsive and nimble with lots power to weight with no camera etc.

If they'd called it the P3 Spectacular (or some similar sounding adjective), no one would think the existing P3 lineup were obsolete, just added to. It's just the latest evolution of the theme with (IMHO) some superficially nice upgrades. Calling it the P4 is more marketing than reality; if you're already a competent pilot, the upgrades aren't that useful and it's not far off the P3P. If you're new, then they're maybe helpful.

Faster speed? Watch professional show reels and you'll see it's all taken at very sedate speeds to give the best impact.
Collision avoidance? Useful to new pilots but anyone who's flown a Phantom, or any quad, before uses the mark one eyeball and sets their RTH height to the local environment. If you get to the point where collision avoidance is necessary, you're probably a dangerous pilot.
Active tracking? Could be useful but a tad lazy. Do we buy these things to fly them or for them to fly themselves? I like that I shot my footage, not an autopilot.

The raised motors are a nice touch, as is the prop attachment mechanism. I'm not Impressed by an extra 5 minutes flying time. It's literally no hassle to land every 20 or so minutes and swap out the battery. With the price difference between P3P and P4 I could buy 2 extra batteries. Given that most P3P deals come with 2 batteries, that's 92 minutes (4 batteries) flying time versus 28 - no contest. Maybe the 120fps is interesting.

All in all Ilove flying my P3P and if were to upgrade, it would need to be for much more than the P4 seems to offer.

On the flip side,  we are probably going to get P3's spare parts at cheaper prices now (lol)

What I liked about the Phantom 3 range is that there is model for everyone.  With the P4 you have just one model at $1399.00.  As a light hobby thats not a price I would ever consider even though I can afford it no problems.  I also think its ugly, the P3's look good but the P4 looks like some sort of odd fat prototype.

Technology wise I think the P4 is great and its good to see drones become more intelligent and capable, but its not, nor ever will be, something thats on my radar.

It's just technology guys, pure and simple. It's purpose is to highlight the inevitable advance in electronics and to keep you buying. It's as true with quadcopters as it is with smart phones and cars. Some of us just have to have the latest and greatest and others of us can be just as happy with whatever they've got.