FPV view: Delivered or Customized solution

[Hasan Ahmad]

So I have 2 options, Either get the delivered FPV solution like Phantom 2 Vision or Vision + or soon P3

the other option is to have a customized solution with camera, gimbal, transmitter, receiver etc.

The only thing that is making me lean towards delivered is P2 and P3's ability to transmit to the phone so one can have a live view. Can a customized solution also transmit to a phone?

The other part of the question is can the delivered solution be modded for added range and what is the average range of a customized solution.


thanks

 

[thestone11]

FPV range varies depends on setup. Surrounding environment has effect on range too. Good antenna is the key to get the best range.

If money is not an issue, I will go straight to a P3. It has built in light bridge, HD live feed to your phone.

I have a P2 non vision myself, with the FPV setup that I am running, I am able to outrun my radio range. I am very pleased with it but now I am looking into extending my radio range to see how far I can actually go.

 

[Hasan Ahmad]

FPV range varies depends on setup. Surrounding environment has effect on range too. Good antenna is the key to get the best range.

If money is not an issue, I will go straight to a P3. It has built in light bridge, HD live feed to your phone.

I have a P2 non vision myself, with the FPV setup that I am running, I am able to outrun my radio range. I am very pleased with it but now I am looking into extending my radio range to see how far I can actually go.

I notice that you are in Canada. I just want to confirm if the Canadian National Parks allow quadcopters to be flown because national parks here in US don't. we might plan a trip to the Canadian rockies this fall so a quadcopter was one thing i wanted to take.

 

[thestone11]

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/standards/general-recavi-uav-2265.htm?WT.mc_id=1zfhj#safety

 

[Casper2015]

Hi Hasan, let me try and summarise both for you:
Pros of customised solution:
1. Easily upgradeable to latest photo technology.
2. Camera can be used for other than aerial photography.
3. Fish-eye lens so greater field of view.
4. Easily replaceable camera and gimbal if damaged.
5. No dependency on the vagaries of phone operating system, and possible crashes in the middle of flights.
6. An extra screen or goggles can easily be plugged into the system.
Cons:
1. Extra complexity of handling separate camera.
2. Video needs to be defished (which is actually quite easy.)
3. Likely to be slower and less steady.
4. Older technology so possibly less reliable.
5. More complex, so more to go wrong.
6. Phantom 3 photo/video quality good enough.
7. Cost of a good FPV system is likely to cost around 300 dollars more than base camera + gimbal, and you will need Gopro on top of that. (However, if you want a larger screen than a phone to view Phantom 3 video, an iPad or Nvidia tablet will cost about that as well.)
8. Quality and range of Phantom 3 video is considerably better than customised fpv solution.
9. Narrow field of view of Phantom 3 does not need defishing.

Hope that helps.