Advice before buying a Phantom 2 FPV kit

[kosmarnik]

Hi!
I'm just on the verge of pulling the trigger on a Phantom 2 kit, and came here for a sanity check before ordering.

I plan on ordering from quadcopters.co.uk
Did anyone had any experience with them?

Part list:

• DJI Phantom 2 with H3-3D
• Immersion Rc 600mw 5.8Ghz Video Transmitter
• Black Pearl High Def HDMI 5.8Ghz 32 Channel Diversity 7" Monitor
  
• DJI iOSD MINI
• Immersion Rc Fatshark 5.8ghz Antenna Set V2
• DJI Phantom 2 Replacement Lipo 5200mah 3s
• DJI Phantom FPV Monitor Mount
• DJI iOS Ground Station inc 2.4Ghz Data link and Bluetooth Module

~£1330 ~1675eur

And a GoPro 3+ Black OFC

Next I plan on getting some extra propellers, some copper tape (for shielding the gps receiver), gps tracker, a landing gear extender and a directional 5.8GHz antenna (already got a bunch of 2.4GHz antenna of different sizes).

Did i miss anything?

I'd rather order from a closer supplier (I'm from Croatia), the closest is much more expensive (over 300eur on the base FPV kit) for no apparent reason :/
I'm open to suggestions for a good supplier closer to me (Slovenia, Austria, Italy)

 

[QYV]

Re: Advice before buying a P3 FPV

some minor points: if you don't want to do any soldering, this cable is designed to work with that transmitter & iosd mini making the whole setup plug and play, no soldering http://www.firstpersonview.co.uk/cables/phantom-2-iosd-mini-transmitter

honestly the ground station stuff is a bit superfluous imo. Why would you want to fly by wire from the ground when you've got live fpv? unless you want the feature that lets you or set waypoints and then it flies around automatically... those sound like neat features but if money is an issue that's a corner you can easily cut.

make sure you get real DJI spare batteries. there's a few places on Amazon at least in the US you can get a 2-pack of (official) batteries and save a few $ over buying 2 individuals

The UK is really expensive.. they have the strongest currency in the world. You could probably save money ordering direct from china... look up stuff like the video transmitter and receiver on places like ebay, or there's a site a lot of folks around here use called BangGood.com which has saved a lot of people around here a lot of money. worth checking out prices anyway

good luck! have fun

 

[ironbinder]

I own both the Hero 3+ Black edition and the Hero 3+ Silver edition.
I am not impressed with the difference between the Black and Silver edition.
I would just get the Silver only and not the Black, and this is why,
I only shoot in 1080p most of the time anyways, and let me tell you, it sucks up hard drive space like you can't imagine.
And your memory card will fill up fast. I have the 16 gig SanDisk Extreme Pro Micro SD card, (it has the fastest Read and Write speed).

Now there is no point in getting the Black edition unless you are going to shoot in special formats like, 4K, 2.7 K or SuperView, ect.
I have tried these, and unless you are a super pro at editing color and making a Hollywood movie. There is no point in it.
Do you know how much HD space it takes to shoot and edit in 4k or even 2.7k??? Are you kidding me?
You better have a stack of at least 10 Terabyte Hard Drives.
The Data files are HUGE!
AND if you want to do editing in these formats and use color adjustment programs like DaVinci Resolve and the such, you better have a super fast , state of the art computer, otherwise you are just wasting your time.

Now just shooting and editing in 1080p is a huge task for most computers, an my 500 gig HD is full in 3 months. And I only shoot in 1080p. I personally don't use 1080 'SuperVeiw' for Aerial Photography, I can only see using for places like mounting it on a surfboard for doing selfie videos, and stuff that is super close up.
So I end up using my Black Edition on the basic 1080p setting anyways!
So what is the point, my Silver edition does the same just as well.

So what I am basically saying is that UNLESS you are a total pro, getting the Black Edition with all of its bells and whistles is a waste of time.
The Silver can shoot 1080p HD videos that are just as spectacular.
And the WiFi on the Black 3+ is a pain in the arse half the time. I have no use for it personally.
So that is my 2 cents. Below is my latest video, shot with the Black 3+ (in 1080p)
https://vimeo.com/99827783
And here is one I shot recently with my Silver 3+ (in 1080p also!)
https://vimeo.com/97072344

 

[SJBrit]

+1 on the ground station. I wouldn't buy that in your first purchase - add it later if you find you need it. I have a ground station for mine that I've never even turned on: it will be on here for sale one of these days when I get around to it!

 

[PCDan]

Good setup, I did the same kit except I went with the F Band 7 channel Black Pearl -- supposedly it is more compatible with the ImmersionRC 600TX.

-I have no need for the Ground Station when I have FPV.
-I also have an IBCrazy helical antenna and run in Diversity
-It was all pretty much plug and play with the cable QYV mentioned above.
- Mounted my iOSD mini inside

 

[Coons84]

What about this cable.

http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/Video-Cable- ... Hero3.html

I'm going to be using a walkera gimbal on my p2 and was going to use this cable for my fpv system. Should I be using the other cable suggested?

 

[kosmarnik]

Re: Advice before buying a P3 FPV

some minor points: if you don't want to do any soldering, this cable is designed to work with that transmitter & iosd mini making the whole setup plug and play, no soldering http://www.firstpersonview.co.uk/cables/phantom-2-iosd-mini-transmitter

I'll take a look, but the kit should come prewired.

honestly the ground station stuff is a bit superfluous imo. Why would you want to fly by wire from the ground when you've got live fpv? unless you want the feature that lets you or set waypoints and then it flies around automatically... those sound like neat features but if money is an issue that's a corner you can easily cut.

Ah, but I actually need the waypoint because I plan on using the P2 for photogrammetry which would be tedious on manual, and also not as precise, I'd have holes in my coverage. My main peevee is that 16 waypoints is too low, but I'll

make sure you get real DJI spare batteries. there's a few places on Amazon at least in the US you can get a 2-pack of (official) batteries and save a few $ over buying 2 individuals

Heh the US is out of the question, as the shipping is gonna cost more than the batteries and then I'll have to pay import tax on the price+postage.

The UK is really expensive.. they have the strongest currency in the world.

That may be, but here it's even more expensive and we have 1/4 of the UK wages.

 

[kosmarnik]

+1 on the ground station. I wouldn't buy that in your first purchase - add it later if you find you need it. I have a ground station for mine that I've never even turned on: it will be on here for sale one of these days when I get around to it!

If you're in EU and serious about selling it, drop me a PM ASAP, I'll take it off your hands

 

[kosmarnik]

Now there is no point in getting the Black edition unless you are going to shoot in special formats like, 4K, 2.7 K or SuperView, ect.
I have tried these, and unless you are a super pro at editing color and making a Hollywood movie. There is no point in it.
Do you know how much HD space it takes to shoot and edit in 4k or even 2.7k??? Are you kidding me?

Heh I need the best possible still quality I can get so GP3+ black it is.
For videos I'll probably stick to 2.7K.

You better have a stack of at least 10 Terabyte Hard Drives.

Ha! That's exactly what I have, currently at 35TB.

you better have a super fast , state of the art computer, otherwise you are just wasting your time.

Used to working with gigapixel images and HDR timelapses, so this shouldn't be a problem. It's not state of the art ([email protected] 32gb ram, gtx780 3bg for CUDA acceleration) but it should do the trick until I manage to recoup some of the investment.

 

[kosmarnik]

What about this cable.

http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/Video-Cable- ... Hero3.html

I'm going to be using a walkera gimbal on my p2 and was going to use this cable for my fpv system. Should I be using the other cable suggested?

Hmm, the cable is interesting, seems like a much better solution than the DJI flat cable .

 

[QYV]

ah I didn't realize you were just buying a kit. Kits are always more expensive than piecing it together yourself.

I think you missed my point about the UK and their currency, my point was why order from where the items and shipping are MOST expensive (UK) as opposed to ordering where the items and shipping are cheapest (China) but that was when I thought you were building it yourself... that's mostly what we get around here people wanting help piecing together their setup.

you'll wind up with a badass loaded Phantom good luck with your projects!

 

[ironbinder]

[/quote]
Used to working with gigapixel images and HDR timelapses, so this shouldn't be a problem. It's not state of the art ([email protected] 32gb ram, gtx780 3bg for CUDA acceleration) but it should do the trick until I manage to recoup some of the investment.[/quote]

Excellent, it sounds like you are a pro, with a 35 TB harddrive. Most people have no clue. I wanted the fasted SD Card so I got the 16g SanDisk Extreme Pro. Read and write speeds up to 95 MB per second. I was told to get the fastest card for the Hero 3+ Black.
But it is only being sold at 16 Gig card for the Micro card.
So if one where to to shoot at 4 k you would get maybe 15 minutes or so. But at 2.7 maybe 30 minutes at 30fps.

 

[kosmarnik]

ah I didn't realize you were just buying a kit. Kits are always more expensive than piecing it together yourself.

I think you missed my point about the UK and their currency, my point was why order from where the items and shipping are MOST expensive (UK) as opposed to ordering where the items and shipping are cheapest (China) but that was when I thought you were building it yourself... that's mostly what we get around here people wanting help piecing together their setup.

you'll wind up with a badass loaded Phantom good luck with your projects!

Well my 3 week vacation is starting now and I want it ASAP and RTF.

After a while I'll get to the tinkering part. I plan to remove all the unnecessary connectors and plastic (isod mini) and solder the cables directly. Shield the GPS, change the compass screws for non magnetic ones.
Though I DO NOT want to try that before I clock some hours in the air

As for the UK vendor, they did actually offer a discount for the kit (~130eur) as opposed to buying in pieces so that's good.
Placed my order yesterday, should have it in 2 weeks.

 

[kosmarnik]

Used to working with gigapixel images and HDR timelapses, so this shouldn't be a problem. It's not state of the art ([email protected] 32gb ram, gtx780 3bg for CUDA acceleration) but it should do the trick until I manage to recoup some of the investment.

Excellent, it sounds like you are a pro, with a 35 TB harddrive. Most people have no clue.

Well I'd love to be a pro, but that would imply that i was getting paid
Not yet and I'm keeping my day job for now.

You can take a look at my old website, but be warned, it is an really old website and hasn't been updated for 5 years so none of the nifty newer stuff is on there

I'll get around to making a new one soonish.

I wanted the fasted SD Card so I got the 16g SanDisk Extreme Pro. Read and write speeds up to 95 MB per second. I was told to get the fastest card for the Hero 3+ Black.
But it is only being sold at 16 Gig card for the Micro card.
So if one where to to shoot at 4 k you would get maybe 15 minutes or so. But at 2.7 maybe 30 minutes at 30fps.

Erm, dunno where you got that info but GoPro 3+ Black tops out at 45mbits and that is only 5.6MiB/s.
Remember bitrate is usually disclosed in megabits so you have to dived by 8 to get megabytes.

Of course a class 6 card would probably not cut it, but a real class 10 card (10Mib/s) should work splendidly.
I only use microSD cards (in my DSLR and other cameras and phone) and my current favorites are Samsung (after sending the Sandisk Ultra for replacement 3 bloody times).

I use their old 64gb microSD pro and regular series, both have ~20MiB/s write speed and ~90MiB read.
I have a new 64gb PRO on order that's ~50MiBs write speed.

I record 50mbit 4k on my phone (hacked Note 3) without a hiccup, though it is a bit unwieldy with only a 64gb card.

With regards to ultra fast cards and the premium they carry, you have to consider your gear. What FPS does your DSLR do? Do you record in RAW, etc...
My D90 does ~9MiB RAWs, ~3-5MiB JPEG, so I can do 11 RAW frames in burst and after the buffer is full 2FPS RAW continuously with a 20MiB/s write card and unlimited 4.5 FPS JPEG.
That's more than enough for me.

If you have say a 36MP D800, you'll need a faster card, but even then you have a nice 40 JPEG/16 RAW buffer. Considering it does about ~45MiB RAW photos, you need a 50MiB for continuous 1FPS, or ~90+ for 2FPS.
But then again, if you have a D800, the card should not be a problem

Uh, I got side tracked there for a minute

 

[forumjeep]

Well it's cheaper in online-drone.com for the black pearl monitor. It's free shipping at 199$CDN for all canada and usa. Witch is around 192$USD