P3P owner here trying to decide if I should upgrade to a P4. For those who have made the jump what are your thoughts?

I love the new P4 in my limited flights so far. However, the P3P is still an incredible machine. I would say the P4 is a wise upgrade, but not required.

Just depends on what you want to use it for. If you want to use it just for normal flying than no need for upgrade but if you want to track things than for sure get it.

Jkeller84 Posted at 2016-3-18 07:08
I love the new P4 in my limited flights so far. However, the P3P is still an incredible machine. I w ...

Ever thought of going into politics?     Sorry. I could not pass that up.

Barney

I received mine today and was absolutely blown away by the fit and finish of the phantom 4. It is day and night compared to my advanced. Pictures don't do it justice. Even mundane things like the landing gear feel more solid. Tomorrow I'll give it a long distance flight over mountains and see how if goes

nickmedici@bell Posted at 2016-3-18 07:25
Just depends on what you want to use it for. If you want to use it just for normal flying than no ne ...

Just like to add: if you want to track things far more effectively, use Autopilot.

nickmedici@bell Posted at 2016-3-17 16:25
Just depends on what you want to use it for. If you want to use it just for normal flying than no ne ...

The features that interest me are:  camera quality, sport mode, flight time, build quality, obstacle avoidance. Probably wouldn't use the tracking nor point-and-fly (or whatever it's called).

Lots of features I may never use but the obstacle avoidance in RTH mode and the updates to the camera make it worth the spend IMHO. Not getting rid of my P3P's but I bet they'll be sitting on the bench a whole lot more.

edbighi@gmail.c Posted at 2016-3-17 19:32
I received mine today and was absolutely blown away by the fit and finish of the phantom 4. It is da ...

I agree, it feels a lot more solid, and prettier, lol.
When i pulled it out of case i could instantly tell.

Masemoto@gmail. Posted at 2016-3-17 19:43
The features that interest me are:  camera quality, sport mode, flight time, build quality, obstacl ...

If you want all that, then yeah it's worth it!
I came from the P3 Pro.
I've flown 1 flight on P4, it's been real windy here.

Definitely better build quality but i will still be using my P3P.    There are a few new features which you may use and i havent done enough cycles on the battery to really run it down and see what flight time I get yet. The flights iv done so far it has been brilliant, the update was easy and straight forward. Here in Oz you will pay $2400 for it (alot of money) but I think its worth it. Cheers

Skip a generation. The P5 will seem like a massive upgrade over your P3. I know because I am upgrading from a P2V+ to a P4. Try to get another year of fun from your P3. It is still a great drone.

Little bit of a pain to upgrade the software but man this P4 is awesome.

grangerfx@gmail Posted at 2016-3-17 23:57
Skip a generation. The P5 will seem like a massive upgrade over your P3. I know because I am upgradi ...

The P5 might be a long way down the road.  Next up will be an Inspire upgrade with the P4's bells and whistles.

Skippnig this one but my Mrs bought a P4
I must admit it looks better in the flesh than in pictures (it looks fat in pictures)  
She Is over the moon with it.



Tony

I bought it for the sport mode - the fun mode. Ohhh man, tried it today for the first time, and I was blown away - it's a super sleek sexy high tech FUN machine

I've found the sport mode very funny and great for long shots, and the 'normal' mode is a great upgrade for smooth filming. It's like a fluid head tripod on the sky.

That is the problem though. The Inspire is a big bird. So the weight is what keeps the flight time down.   

grangerfx@gmail Posted at 2016-3-18 13:57
Skip a generation. The P5 will seem like a massive upgrade over your P3. I know because I am upgradi ...

that's what I'm doing, bro.. my P3 is still sweet, and I haven't even figured out what I would use the new features of the P4 on yet.  But, if you just have piles of money to spend, I woudln't really matter.

dustinjohn2 Posted at 2016-3-18 18:51
that's what I'm doing, bro.. my P3 is still sweet, and I haven't even figured out what I would use ...

I really should have waited to comment until I received my P4. It is vastly better than I expected. The build quality is amazing. The stability and control is close to perfect. This is the first time I have flown a drone with absolute confidence. For that reason alone it may be worth the upgrade. However I have never flown a P3 so I can only judge by the videos but my sense is that the P4 is in a whole different class of drone.

grangerfx@gmail Posted at 2016-3-20 01:22
I really should have waited to comment until I received my P4. It is vastly better than I expected ...

good stuff, man

I notice that the P4 hovers better than the P3.

Barney Rubbel Posted at 2016-3-18 07:31
Ever thought of going into politics?     Sorry. I could not pass that up.

Barney

Can your P3P avoid obstacles?

This will change how you fly. I used to fly high and take these far away shots just so I knew I would not hit anything. Now I can fly low, or get close to an object one mile away with comfort.

Now I can Return to Home without worrying about it colliding into a building.

Plus the build and finish is a dramatic redesign.

waynepj3@gmail. Posted at 2016-3-20 03:19
Can your P3P avoid obstacles?

This will change how you fly. I used to fly high and take these far ...

A better question would be – can the P4 avoid obstacles when doing any cinematic movement where it's not facing forward? Because once you get past the basics it's fairly rare to be flying in the same direction that the camera is pointing in.
Since the answer is no, the obstacle avoidance feature is neat, but not exactly game-changing in terms of safety. IOW it's nice to have, but the usage cases are somewhat limited.

waynepj3@gmail. Posted at 2016-3-20 03:19
Can your P3P avoid obstacles?

This will change how you fly. I used to fly high and take these far ...

I was neither recommending nor condemning either/or. I have never seen a V4. It's just that after reading your post, I couldn't tell if you were for it or agin' it!   ...and neither of my P3P's can avoid obstacles, but I don't fly them into any. I'd love a P4 though. I'm just waiting for the price to come down and the SW to stabilize.

Barney

lido_bmt Posted at 2016-3-20 03:38
A better question would be – can the P4 avoid obstacles when doing any cinematic movement where it ...

yeah, man, that is ALL i am saying.  For what my P3 does, I can wait until the next phantom comes out.  I'm not going to get an inspire.  I'd rather put a down payment on a nice car or invest it somehow..  I'm a consumer, not a professional etc.  I'm not saying that the P4 isn't fantastic or trying to make all who have feel like they made a bad deal.  But the tech is so new, and for me I will wait until that tech is a little more sophisticated.  If I had more toy money, I'd just go buy the inspire, but the Phantom is where i'm at, and where most people are at.  If money is no object, shoot, have at it!    

lido_bmt Posted at 2016-3-19 15:38
A better question would be – can the P4 avoid obstacles when doing any cinematic movement where it ...

"the obstacle avoidance feature is neat, but not exactly game-changing in terms of safety"

I would say that for all those pilots that have lost a bird during RTH because the height was to low, including the one and only I've ever crashed, this is a major....major upgrade. I personally don't plan on going out and getting a P4 anytime soon though. I'll wait awhile since after buying my last two P3's (P3S & P3P) the prices dropped considerable.

I'm trying to sell me P3 on Craigslist at the moment to get money for my Phantom 4

Barney Rubbel Posted at 2016-3-20 04:33
I was neither recommending nor condemning either/or. I have never seen a V4. It's just that after  ...

Now that was funny,
And what the hell is a V4?
is that kind of like a half of a V8?..

Man, i should have had a V8....

sinbad_uk@ntlwo Posted at 2016-3-19 02:09
Skippnig this one but my Mrs bought a P4
I must admit it looks better in the flesh than in pictur ...

Now that is a rarity....I must admit it looks better in the flesh than in pictures (it looks fat in pictures)
i just might want to check this bird out...

I am amazed at how many people wouldn't have made the jump.  I suppose as I said in another forum, it comes down to how much money that is to you.  To me, the increased stability, tracking (which is DEFINITELY not getting enough credit) as that is software tracking in a little app that works amazingly well, especially for a freshman offering, I think the image is somehow a little better as well, but I think they just made some changes from the factory that had to be corrected via the sensor variables.  Like I believe that to remove the morei and aliasing is now automatic.

The dual IMU and Compass additions are also with the upgrade.  The sport mode is as much fun as you can have flying any Phantom on the market. It's just awesome. I enjoy it a ton.

I am highly anticipating comparing it to the Yuneec Typhoon shorty.

The only thing that frustrated me a little was the added cost of the DJI Care. That was sort of snuck in on us IMO.  Before, as they collected market share, there were virtually no RMA's (as far as I've been told by a friend at an authorized dealer) that they wouldn't take for any reason and now that they have that market share they are not doing that anymore. Now, if something were to happen, being in warranty won't matter unless it's absolutely just a malfunction, raising the inherent price by $300. I just don't like sneakiness and to me, that was.  

I dunno.   I love/d my P3P and I will still fly it, but the P4 is better and therefore I must have it.  How much better is subjective but there isn't anyone that I think will tell you that it's not better, because it is.

ArtistFirst Posted at 2016-3-21 09:58
I am amazed at how many people wouldn't have made the jump.  I suppose as I said in another forum, i ...

It has nothing to do with money, I could go and buy one today. I just am not that impressed with it to make me upgrade. I would rather wait and see what is on the next model. As for the active tracking, allI saw was it failing to keep the target locked but hopefuly it is just a software fix for the guys that got one

P6 will have zoom camera, Duel 40 min battery life with auto change over, 360 gimbal, retracting legs, built in GPS Locator and a parachute  

Did I mention bult in 10" screen (glare free)
Now thats an upgrade lol

Tony

Northofthe49th Posted at 2016-3-21 15:10
Now that was funny,
And what the hell is a V4?
is that kind of like a half of a V8?..

V4, P4, Too Pricey 4, whatever. 220-221. Whatever it takes!

Barney

ArtistFirst Posted at 2016-3-21 10:58
I am amazed at how many people wouldn't have made the jump.  I suppose as I said in another forum, i ...

nothing to be amazed by.

http://www.phantompilots.com/thr ... rty-thoughts.71745/

P4 battery is nothing like in specs, it's worst than p3, at least 20% less range comapred to p3, image quality isn't much different between p4 and p3.

I don't really understand the big advantage to obstacle avoidance during RTH.  With the P3, simply set your RTH height to something higher than the tallest obstacle in your flight area.  Problem solved... ;)

Username Here Posted at 2016-3-20 17:39
"the obstacle avoidance feature is neat, but not exactly game-changing in terms of safety"

I woul ...

So on the flip side, for anyone who's used RTH properly and never gotten close to a crash, this is a pointless feature?

ArtistFirst Posted at 2016-3-21 17:58
I am amazed at how many people wouldn't have made the jump.  I suppose as I said in another forum, i ...

• I never had issues with the P3 stability.
• Sport mode is ridiculous for a drone focused on cinematography. If I wanted a racer I'd get a racer and put the Phantom to shame for half the price. I'd rather they have spent the time and effort implementing sport mode on about a million other things.
• Dual IMU, compass, and obstacle avoidance are nice, but no one was really clamoring for them, and the OA is useful in only limited circumstances.
• The tracking is finicky and way less useful than GPS tracking, which already exists in far more advanced form on the P3.
• What the heck is 'morei' and 'aliasing' and how is it automatic? Also I do not want more automatic things on the camera, I want more things I can control.
  

Not buying one has little to do with money. The P4 is great for new owners. Meanwhile owners of current P3s with loads of batteries and accessories would prefer not re-buying most of those accessories and a bigger outlay for what amounts to very small gains. Only fools upgrade for the sake of upgrading.

lido_bmt Posted at 2016-3-22 00:46I never had issues with the P3 stability.Sport mode is ridiculous for a drone focused on ci ...

I am not finding your results but

morei is the jumping you get from over-sharpness when flying over and recording crispy something like a rooftop with hinges and aliasing is the "dancing ants" also when too shard when you are flying over something like a bunch of close lines.

Aliasing:



Morie: