Hi folks. Happy new year first of all.
I am not big fan of writing reviews and making posts like this, but let me start from the beginning

I have flight duration of 65+ hours / 580+ kilometers / 650+ Flights

Mostly I make videos and landscape photos including aerial 360 photos. My work can be found here: FB.com/shermazana
Almost all my aerial photos and videos are from DJI Phantom 3 Advanced and Professional.

I wanted to upgrade to P4 but I saw the advertisement of Phantom 4 Pro and I was so excited I wanted to buy it immediately and few days ago I bought my "precious" P4 Pro

After seeing so many reviews and DJI commercials about drone features and being so excited and happy, I was feeling this is exactly what I wanted but wait...
Here is the list of disappointments and issues and bugs of Phantom 4 Pro  



Hope this will help many people who is planning to get Phantom 4 Pro

Lets Start!

1. Gimbal or Camera Shutter issue.
There are several Topics about this issue on this forum but anyway I will include link of my video and I hope it is not related to all P4 Pro out there.
Before buying I recommend check for this bug.

16.01.2017 Update: DJI has included parameter to disable Mechanical Shutter from DJI GO 4. It may help if you have issue like this and you dont want to return item.

2. Phantom 4 Pro 24mm Lens
Compared to P3 Adv/Pro 20mm lens P4 Pro has less wide 24mm camera lens and in this range 4mm difference means a lot.

2.1 Long exposure images
Even though the drone is able to hover more stable compared to P3 it is almost impossible to get long exposure sharp images out of drone because of less wide 24mm lens. I do many night and sunset long exposure photos and I found this 4mm is big headache for me.  

2.2 unStable video footage
I know P4 Pro is more stable when flying especially in tripod mode but it is not perfect and it is more noticeable when you make close subject videos. For example slowly lifting near church and revealing the background. And this is impossible to repair in post stabilization.  

2.3 Not as sharp as expected
Wide angle lenses always suffer with soft image quality and it is always big challenge for manufacturers to develop sharp wide angle lens.With new 24mm lens I was expecting big jump after P3 and it is very sad that there is not even noticeable improvement on this side as well.

2.4 More narrow field of view
Meaning you are limited to take Video and Photo of the places where is limited space to fly, for example in woods, canyons, waterfalls etc.
Also taking 360 will require more photos to be taken with this lens = more time to shoot 360, more files, more megabytes, more time spend for stacking panoramas and control point correction.  



3. Box of the drone.
I like box of Phantom 4 and Phantom 4 pro seems it is not necessary to buy separate box or backpack for it but hey You cannot fit the aircraft in the box if remote is already in the box.
DJI Guys have you tested the box before mass production? Some may say it is not even a problem but very often you have limited time to pack all things and move to other location and every second counts here. I am not sure if this problem is related to P4 Pro+


4. Autofocus issues.
I loose too much time when trying to auto or manually focus.
This is ridiculous.Many of videos as well as photos (may be 2 out of 10) are out of focus after I check them on PC.



5. Wrong year when import Videos
When importing recorded media from card to Lightroom and sorting by date all videos are copied in different folder with wrong Year. It may seem not important but every time I do import I have to move files to right folder and synchronize.



6. Image quality disappointment.
DJI is advertising this camera to have New lens, New and Huge 1" sensor, Mechanical Shutter for improved sports/fast moving object shooting.

6.1 Useless mechanical shutter
I know nobody who will shoot sports and fast moving object with single shot. They all use burst mode and on P4Pro burst mode uses electric shutter not mechanical. But guys is there anybody who has rolling shutter problem on previous Phantom? Why mechanical shutter is needed at all?

6.2 Oversharpenned images and JPG artifacts
RAW images have jpg style artifacts and dark parts of the image (shadows and blacks) have terrible effect of being oversharpenned.
Seems no hardware (Lens, Sensor) has been upgraded but just increased the number of megapixels.

6.3 Overall sharpness
The lens is less wide, sensor is significantly still I got very similar sharp images from old P3 pro camera.
I really cannot see any significant difference compared to P3 pro/adv camera.



7. Other non relevant issues / bugs
7.1 Strong wind warning notice. I got this message very often in many situations even there is no wind at all.

7.2 Obstacle avoidance sometimes reports objects near the drone but there is nothing in front of the drone. on the other hand it doesn't sense small branches of the tree.

7.3 I cannot understand why but I spend more time connecting DJI go 4 app + remote + P4Pro Aircraft compared to my old P3 Pro. Many times it fails and I have to do restart of the drone, remote and application as well. I use android devices. I have not tried on Apple products.



8. RAW Information of photo is not correct.
Lightroom and also file propertie shows that image was shot wish 2 seconds exposure and ISO-100 but image definitely it is wrong.
Look at moving cars and also the noise in shadows. (Screenshot attached)

It's interesting that you find so many things to complain about and don't seem to notice just how good the camera is although so many other users have commented on this.

The difference in lens focal length is a strange thing to complain about.
It's just different - not something to complain about and there is no downside to this.
The lens has loads of depth of field so you have to really mess up focusing to get an image out of focus.
The lens has a real aperture so you aren't stuck using f2.8 for everything.
The camera has 12 stops of dynamic range and now you can get shadow detail and not have to deal with blown out highlights.
On top of that it has a 20MP resolution.
This is a really great camera in all respects on a drone that flies really well.

A number of your points are very trivial and things that are sure to be fixed in future firmware updates but they aren't serious enough to be problem for using the camera. .

Labroides Posted at 2017-1-2 04:01
It's interesting that you find so many things to complain about and don't seem to notice just how good the camera is although so many other users have commented on this.

The difference in lens focal length is a strange thing to complain about.

Is this from personal experience? I am truly interested in the P4P and would like multiple reviews from both sides.

Labroides Posted at 2017-1-2 04:01
It's interesting that you find so many things to complain about and don't seem to notice just how good the camera is although so many other users have commented on this.

The difference in lens focal length is a strange thing to complain about.

True. There are many good things including high FPS, ISO, Aperture Control, Flight modes and many things and those will make many people happy but my topic is about things that made me sad after being so exciting and expecting much more from P4Pro

For many all of listed items may not be issues but I consider all these could be fixed before producing the aircraft.

m1shootr Posted at 2017-1-2 04:13
Is this from personal experience? I am truly interested in the P4P and would like multiple reviews from both sides.

Yes ... I think the P4P is wonderful and a huge step beyond previous drones.
I'm getting great results from it that were not possible before.
I've noticed a couple of trivial issues that make no real difference and will probably be fixed by DJI anyway.
And I've read many similar stories from other owners, you don't have to look  hard to find them.

Same camera settings and I tried to match WB and both are near 100% crop

Labroides Posted at 2017-1-2 04:23
Yes ... I think the P4P is wonderful and a huge step beyond previous drones.
I'm getting great results from it that were not possible before.
I've noticed a couple of trivial issues that make no real difference and will probably be fixed by DJI anyway.

I agree 100% with all of this. The P4P is an amazing machine if you take the time to learn the settings and have the patience for DJI to iron out the issues. Most people with complaints and returns are new to aerial filming and photography, and do not understand that this is a model with new features. DJI has a history (as do most technology innovators) of releasing a product that is excellent, but needs some software bugs ironed out. I'm happy with the machine, and willing to put up with a trivial wind warning and a broken D-Log for a bit while they iron this out. Just my $.02

I've not been using it long but so far I'm loving it, some problems with excessive wind warnings, but there is so much good about this camera to love and so much to work with it's amazing ,

Really you cannot put the aircraft in the box if the RC is already in there ( you cannot be serious ) it's like saying you cannot put your belt on until you put your trousers on.

All I can say if you a bit of patience and know how, you will love this aircrafts real potential, forget about all the negative stuff get yourself one and make it work for you..

I`m happy with my P4P in all aspects.

I have to agree with you on point 4,5 and 6.
Stills wise, from P3P you can barely see any differences at all, still allot of jpg artifacts noise, even at broad daylight and ISO 100.
The increased DR is barely noticeable.
There is a big difference from specs on paper, to the actual output image.
So far, this cameras strength, compared to P3P, is not in daylight conditions, but in demanding lowlight conditions, theres where the DR range starts to be visible and show off its performance, but still nothing near the RX100 which many compares this camera to.
That they both have the same sensors doesnt automatically give the same output, its allot more complex than that, especially how the files are processed digitally from the sensor. This camera has not the same processor as the RX100, and its not even close to its performance.

On my camera im struggling with focus in video mode, it looks slightly out of focus, even with default settings.
I have to compare it with another P4P to see if there are differences, maybe i got a faulty camera or a misaligned lens for all i know.

JAFARINI Posted at 2017-1-2 04:13
True. There are many good things including high FPS, ISO, Aperture Control, Flight modes and many things and those will make many people happy but my topic is about things that made me sad after being so exciting and expecting much more from P4Pro

For many all of listed items may not be issues but I consider all these could be fixed before producing the aircraft.

100% agree.

On the P4Pro+ the RC can go in first or second, so that small issue is not there in that version. But we are currently stuck with an outdated version of the GO4 app since there's no way to currently update the app on its own.

CineView Media Posted at 2017-1-2 06:26
I have to agree with you on point 4,5 and 6.
Stills wise, from P3P you can barely see any differences at all, still allot of jpg artifacts noise, even at broad daylight and ISO 100.
The increased DR is barely noticeable.

A quick compare between Phantom 3 Pro and Phantom 4 Pro - different WB settings, the same scene, the same distance, the same time, exposure set at 0 EV. Both crops are from DNGs developed without any adjustments. Clearly P4P is more sensitive, much sharper, less noisy and have better dynamics.

CineView Media Posted at 2017-1-2 06:26
I have to agree with you on point 4,5 and 6.
Stills wise, from P3P you can barely see any differences at all, still allot of jpg artifacts noise, even at broad daylight and ISO 100.
The increased DR is barely noticeable.

"Stills wise, from P3P you can barely see any differences at all, still allot of jpg artifacts noise, even at broad daylight and ISO 100.
The increased DR is barely noticeable."

I'll be charitable here and say .. perhaps you got a bad example because your comments don't sound like the camera I have on mine.
The camera is way, way better than what was on the P3, autofocus is no problem at all and your video dates are fine on the original SD card but off on some larger cards.
Image quality is a huge improvement.  I'm getting really good results in daylight.
The boost in shadow and highlight detail from the dynamic range is very obvious.

Ill hold my breath until tomorrow, gonna bring the bird back to the shop, and will compare it with another P4P unit.
I did a quick comparison with P3P the other day at ground, to make sure both cameras wasnt affected by vibrations or other irregular factors.

The only thing i did here, was to adjust the color temp, and to zoom due to different focal lenghts, so take into account that the P3 also is zoomed in cropping with 25%, to make it easier to compare.
I will do another comparisson later when i pull back more with the P4 to even out the focal lengths, so i dont need to crop it.

Jkeller84 Posted at 2017-1-2 05:25
I agree 100% with all of this. The P4P is an amazing machine if you take the time to learn the settings and have the patience for DJI to iron out the issues. Most people with complaints and returns are new to aerial filming and photography, and do not understand that this is a model with new features. DJI has a history (as do most technology innovators) of releasing a product that is excellent, but needs some software bugs ironed out. I'm happy with the machine, and willing to put up with a trivial wind warning and a broken D-Log for a bit while they iron this out. Just my $.02

Totally agree. Sure there are a few issues to fix, but DJI has a good history of listening to feedback, fixing issues and adding features. Sometimes it's not until many units are in the field do issues arise and I'd rather that than wait an extra year for them to find bugs that may not even effect the majority of users.

Sure, you have some valid points, but the majority of people would say that it's a great AC and shows evolutionary progress in what is already a great platform.

The one question I would ask is have you contacted DJI about your issues above and given the, a chance to rectify what appears to be a gimbal fault and to reply to your other points? And if so, what did they say?

Seb Posted at 2017-1-2 07:22
A quick compare between Phantom 3 Pro and Phantom 4 Pro - different WB settings, the same scene, the same distance, the same time, exposure set at 0 EV. Both crops are from DNGs developed without any adjustments. Clearly P4P is more sensitive, much sharper, less noisy and have better dynamics.

That is not fear comparison

Same distance? ha ha no man you have to try same field of view not distance that's the point.

And shutter speed is different as well. That is why P3P is blurry

Hendo Posted at 2017-1-2 13:38
Totally agree. Sure there are a few issues to fix, but DJI has a good history of listening to feedback, fixing issues and adding features. Sometimes it's not until many units are in the field do issues arise and I'd rather that than wait an extra year for them to find bugs that may not even effect the majority of users.

Sure, you have some valid points, but the majority of people would say that it's a great AC and shows evolutionary progress in what is already a great platform.

Hi Hendo

Yes I contacted DJI and this issue is in process.
I contacted local office and they forwarded issue to the center.
Answer I have from DJI is that it seems hardware problem and camera should be replaced.

But I am mostly concerned by other listed issues and expectations.

JAFARINI Posted at 2017-1-2 22:28
That is not fear comparison  

Same distance? ha ha no man you have to try same field of view not distance  that's the point.

Come on .... the two lenses are equivalent to a 20mm and a 24mm on a 35mm SLR
The difference is not much - definitely not enough to make any realistic difference in his comparison.
The same goes for the shutter speed when you have a static subject and a static phantom.

You are going out of your way to find faults that aren't there.

Labroides Posted at 2017-1-2 22:44
Come on .... the two lenses are equivalent to a 20mm and a 24mm on a 35mm SLR
The difference is not much - definitely not enough to make any realistic difference in his comparison.
The same goes for the shutter speed when you have a static subject and a static phantom.

I am not big fan of finding faults.

This comparison is definitely not right. and difference between 24mm and 20mm is huge.
When it comes to wide angle 4mm is a big difference.
It is not like difference 50mm and 54mm  
If you have flown P3 you would immediately notice on P4P.

I say Yes camera of P4P is good but take in consideration that:
1. Sensor is new
2. Sensor is bigger
3. Lens is new
4. focal length is Longer
5. Image processor should be new as well

all of these should affect image quality and sharpness SIGNIFICANTLY

I am not expecting exactly RX100 image quality but it should be close.

JAFARINI Posted at 2017-1-2 23:03
I am not big fan of finding faults.

This comparison is definitely not right. and difference between 24mm and 20mm is huge.

"This comparison is definitely not right. and difference between 24mm and 20mm is huge.
When it comes to wide angle 4mm is a big difference."

Sorry but this is just laughable.  They are different but not very different.

"If you have flown P3 you would immediately notice on P4P"

I've flown several P3s since they came out and they just left me wanting a better camera.
The P4pro is what I've been wanting all this time.
The camera is great and the very minor difference in focal length is trivial.
It is even better for some subjects.

"all of these should affect image quality and sharpness SIGNIFICANTLY"

And they do.  Image quality I'm getting with the new camera is outstanding and I'm seeing similar from a lot of others.

"I am not expecting exactly RX100 image quality but it should be close. "

I would say it is close - and it flies a lot better than an RX100 as a bonus.

Labroides Posted at 2017-1-2 23:42
"This comparison is definitely not right. and difference between 24mm and 20mm is huge.
When it comes to wide angle 4mm is a big difference."

Labroides you can laugh as much as you want but I am very frustrated after paying 1700EUR in Beta Product.

For me there is no option to switch to other Manufacturer as long as DJI knows what is doing. Problem is this time I am not getting what I was expecting to get.

Try taking long exposure night photos as well as bringing up shadows in post on RAW images and may be you will get what I am trying to explain here.

Again you may laugh but 4mm really matters for long exposure and for landscape compositions.

This image may not say too much but if you are not in photography it may give you idea.

as cinematographer i prefer 24mm lens.
it gives me more filmic look than wider lenses. i love 28mm mavic lens too (except overal video quality)

so as mentioned before - it's just different.

JAFARINI Posted at 2017-1-2 22:28
That is not fear comparison  

Same distance? ha ha no man you have to try same field of view not distance  that's the point.

I don't want to prove anything with this test. It was just a quick comparition between my old'n'good P3Pro and newly bought P4Pro. I was especially curious how both compares in similar, low light conditions. I will explain how I did the comparision:

1. I took two Phantoms and placed them on my desk side by side, so the distance between their lenses and scene are the same.
2. I set ISO to 200, aperturę in P4Pro to f/2.8 (what is equivalent of fixed aperturę of P3Pro), scene exposure to 0 EV (both weighted average) and let both copters to determine shutter speed.
3. At the same time i pressed shutter button on both RC controllers.

Next, I downloaded DNGs from both Phantoms and developed with Adobe Lightroom without any adjustments. I cropped both the images to get the same part of the scene, keeping original resolution. Because of longer focal length of P4Pro lens and higher resolution of its sensor, P4Pro crop is much larger than corresponding crop from P3Pro.

Here are the source photos and links to download original files.

1. Phantom 3 Pro (original JPG, original DNG)



2. Phantom 4 Pro (original JPG, original DNG)



I also experience some problems with P4Pro, and I agree that there is a lot of bugs and flaws to resolve in firmware and software. But when I bought my P3Pro it was exactly the same. I even had to send my unit for repair because of gimbal vibrations. So knowing DJI enough, I was just praying to get machine that is free from hardware faults, and it looks like I got one. I was prepared for some flaws and bugs so their existence didn't suprised me. By the way, some "bugs" are not really a bugs.

Happily my P4Pro flies good, I understand his capabilities and limitations, I don't rely on its smart features. I'm a rather traditional pilot, I started my experience in early days of MikroKopter machines and meantime built a lot of copters and flown hundreds of hours. I bought P4Pro expecting it to fly better than P3Pro and capture better photos and videos than P3Pro. I'm not disappointed - it flies much better, it has better image quality in terms of noise, resolution and dynamics. I got what i wanted, I just have to wait patiently for the bugs to be resolved.

Seb Posted at 2017-1-3 04:24
I don't want to prove anything with this test. It was just a quick comparition between my old'n'good P3Pro and newly bought P4Pro. I was especially curious how both compares in similar, low light conditions. I will explain how I did the comparision:

1. I took two Phantoms and placed them on my desk side by side, so the distance between their lenses and scene are the same.

Seb
Thanks for the images. Yes definitely your photo from P4P looks really impressive.
Please take a look at my next comments. I am just back from P4P testing and I will be posting more bugs

I have added issue Number 8 to the list

Wrong RAW information

I fly today with P4P from point A to point B and back. In DJI GO 4 flight records there is information only about flight from B to A.
At Point B I lost signal with Aircraft for several seconds and then I activated RTH. There is no flight information from A to B.

I am using android Samsung Galaxy Note 4 with latest DJI GO 4 applications and latest P4P firmware.

JAFARINI Posted at 2017-1-3 10:51
I have added issue Number 8 to the list

Wrong RAW information

If you check the P3 Pro file I linked above you will also find that exposure value is 12 seconds, however actual exposure was 1/12 s. So this is not a P4Pro-specific problem :-)

Seb Posted at 2017-1-4 05:14
If you check the P3 Pro file I linked above you will also find that exposure value is 12 seconds, however actual exposure was 1/12 s. So this is not a P4Pro-specific problem :-)

For your file of P3Pro all correct.

JAFARINI Posted at 2017-1-4 23:35
For your file of P3Pro all correct.

Heh This is what I see:

Hi Guys. Good news for those of you who have the problem with Gimbal movement when shutter is actuated and cannot return product.

DJI has included parameter to switch off mechanical shutter from DJI GG 4

Maybe you should return your p4 pro because I have not had any of the issues you describe? Possibly you received a lemon??

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2017-1-16 05:44
Maybe you should return your p4 pro because I have not had any of the issues you describe? Possibly you received a lemon??

I would be returning it with pleasure but I bought it while I was travelling in different country. Local DJI dealer doesn't accept it because it was not bought here. And for me it is huge headache to send it by post.

JAFARINI Posted at 2017-1-16 06:16
I would be returning it with pleasure but I bought it while I was travelling in different country. Local DJI dealer doesn't accept it because it was not bought here. And for me it is huge headache to send it by post.

Hi J,

I too am having issues with random movements in the gimbal with a P4P that I purchased on January 09.  Not quite certain what to do at this point.  Is this a manufacturing defect?  Is it a issue that can be fixed with firmware?  Can not seem to get an answer from anyone at this time.  Below is a URL for a recent pan.  About mid-way through the 6 sec clip you can see a twitch in the gimbal spoiling the sequence.  Wish I could get someone at DJI to comment as to what might be the issue.
Donald Barar

DGBarar Posted at 2017-1-16 07:24
Hi J,

I too am having issues with random movements in the gimbal with a P4P that I purchased on January 09.  Not quite certain what to do at this point.  Is this a manufacturing defect?  Is it a issue that can be fixed with firmware?  Can not seem to get an answer from anyone at this time.  Below is a URL for a recent pan.  About mid-way through the 6 sec clip you can see a twitch in the gimbal spoiling the sequence.  Wish I could get someone at DJI to comment as to what might be the issue.

Seems there are many P4P with defective gimbal out there. Most probably you already tried this but still I will list down

- Firmware Upgrade
- IMU and Gimbal Calibration
- Change Video Format
- Try other SD card

What I can see from this video it may be not hardware issue it seems there are write problems on SD. This is just my opinion.

JAFARINI Posted at 2017-1-16 12:40
Seems there are many P4P with defective gimbal out there. Most probably you already tried this but still I will list down

- Firmware Upgrade

Did a firmware upgrade to the January 11, 217 update.  Then performed a IMU, Compass, Contoller calibrations.  Then re-bound the controller to the aircraft.  Then performed a gimbal calibration.  All on a level surface away from interference.

What I did not share with you is the video of aircraft on a flat surface  with the gimbal making howling noises and twitching similar to that on you video.

Donald Barar

JAFARINI Posted at 2017-1-16 12:40
Seems there are many P4P with defective gimbal out there. Most probably you already tried this but still I will list down

- Firmware Upgrade

'What I can see from this video it may be not hardware issue it seems there are write problems on SD.'

Whay do you say this?

FWIW, I had an issue with my P4P gimbal twitching during flight while recording video along with other gimbal-related issues. After talking with support and trying multiple things, they had me return it. I have it back but the weather has been pretty bad around here lately. I have been able to perform 2 short outdoor flights and 1 indoor flight (mostly just ascending/descending due to limited space) but believe that the issue is resolved. The status from DJI is that the gimbal and camera were replaced but it appears that the entire bird was replaced. I haven't checked the serial numbers yet but I do know that my registration sticker inside the battery compartment is gone.

Anyway, I know that an RMA in your situation is not easy but that may be what is needed to rectify some of your issues.

Geebax Posted at 2017-1-16 13:04
'What I can see from this video it may be not hardware issue it seems there are write problems on SD.'

Whay do you say this?

From the video it seems not gimbal moving but skipping some frames. It was just my understanding from what I saw. But he confirmed that gimbal is moving visually. So I was wrong about write delay and frame skipping.

JAFARINI Posted at 2017-1-16 21:03
From the video it seems not gimbal moving but skipping some frames. It was just my understanding from what I saw. But he confirmed that gimbal is moving visually. So I was wrong about write delay and frame skipping.

The camera cannot skip frames, this is not possible with an MPEG stream. If there is a problem with the card, it simply stops recording altogether.