Has tech hit a wall...

Joined
Nov 25, 2016
Messages
907
Reaction score
309
Age
59
Location
Jersey City N.J.
and that's the reason for no P5 announcement ,between flight times ,camera resolution, and any new features is DJI just out of things to add to a new model that'll make them put it out and entice people to buy the next latest and greatest..
 
and that's the reason for no P5 announcement ,between flight times ,camera resolution, and any new features is DJI just out of things to add to a new model that'll make them put it out and entice people to buy the next latest and greatest..
It's hard to keep coming up with big new features but Information about the P5 has leaked out.
 
The next tech leap will be intel/movidous, imaging sensor and the other core tech suppliers to DJI releasing their next generation SOC’s.
 
Not even close, most phone companies are 3 or even 4 generations ahead, but drip feed it to us, so they make maximum profit from us,

DJI will have feature after feature designed and in testing, but wont release it until they are sure we have stopped buying their last models in great volumes.
 
It's my guess DJI realizes they need to provide something really great in the P5 to get P4P owners to "buy in", and it needs to have less bugs upon introduction, since they are under no pressure to release. That's why it's taking so long, in comparison to the past. You gotta admit, the P4P is pretty incredible. Although I'm eager to see what P5 will offer, and I have long wish list, I'm skeptical whether I'll be impressed enough to buy one, compared to what my P4P can do today.
 
I own a P3A and fly just as a hobby. There's nothing on the P4 that excites me enough to upgrade to one. That will also go for the P5 if it's ever released. Mine does everything I want it to do and am extremely happy with it.

As others have stated, DJI needs to put more focus on their customer service and I agree
 
Tech hit a wall? Evolution had been incredible the last five years.

DJI got a lot of heat for rushing out a ’buggy’ P4P. Nothing I experienced myself but folks here said it. And now you complain for them taking their time? Not fair I think..

I don’t see myself upgrading to a P5. A 1 inch sensor is a 1 inch sensor.. it might get polished but DR will still be nothing compared to the next logical step, the Inspire.

I might upgrade to a Mavic 2 if that gets equipped with a 1 inch sensor camera.. I could use the space savings. Otherwise it’s the Inspire next for me.
 
Tech never has and never will hit an impenetrable wall. Since the beginning of humanity tech advances have been integral with, and responsible for the survival and success of our species. Only the end of humanity could possibly stop the endless march of tech advancement. Furthermore within a few short decades "machine learning" will lessen and possibly remove altogether the need for human involvement in the process.
Tech advancements may move quicker or slower or even be held back at times, but like a river flowing down a mountain it can only be blocked for a time. Eventually it will continue its flow.
 
I think people would respect DJI for keeping everything 'as is' and just improving their support, customer service and firmware control/testing.
I totally agree !!! ... adequate firmware regression testing and software quality control would be such an improvement ... most people would prefer this stance over yet another model of drone being released, because they would KNOW that the software was as good as the hardware, by both protecting your investment and the integrity of flying a remote control aircraft that worked without issues.
 
It's my guess DJI realizes they need to provide something really great in the P5 to get P4P owners to "buy in", and it needs to have less bugs upon introduction, since they are under no pressure to release. That's why it's taking so long, in comparison to the past. You gotta admit, the P4P is pretty incredible. Although I'm eager to see what P5 will offer, and I have long wish list, I'm skeptical whether I'll be impressed enough to buy one, compared to what my P4P can do today.
Trouble is John, that DJI still has yet to release a bug-free version of it's software/firmware for the P4P and P4P+ that would give the confidence boost needed to make people trust in their commitment to good firmware releases. Until that trust is regained, it will be an uphill battle to sell people on a 'new' and better drone. Hardware can be improved but the firmware quality is the key for reliable operation. They have not shown a serious effort to work towards quality regression testing and the resulting software 'repairs' resulting from that testing, BEFORE publishing a firmware release.
 
I don't think DJI has released a next generation Phantom because there are no real competitors forcing them to. The current DJI offerings, even though they aren't perfect, are better than what's out there. If Autel Robotics, Walkera, Yuneec, etc would get off of their butts, we'd see DJI moving forward and faster.

I was really trying to hold out for the next gen Phantom, but I just settled on a Mavic Pro due to the discounted price at Best Buy last week. I'm happy with my P4's performance, but the cracking airframe is a BIG turn off. If the next gen Phantom isn't a larger and a more stable Mavic style design, then my P4 and MP will do me good until they both fall out of the sky.
 
There are several areas where DJI has probably been working on improvements.
1. Battery Life - LIPO batteries are big, heavy and carry a lot of risk when transporting them via commercial air flights. Plus, for all that, you don’t get a very long flight time. I have read articles about possible LIPO breakthroughs and also hydrogen technology that could ramp up flight times up to 4 - 6 hours.

2. Improved obstacle avoidance - DJI has some of the best optical avoidance in the business, but it needs to go to the next level. I can see glass always being an issue, but fence wiring and tree branches? Need to step up to 3-D processing, which takes a lot of processing power, more weight, sensors, processing, etc.. It all adds up. Also, I would love to see upward obstacle on ALL DJI drones. I believe before you see the FAA really cave in on being able to fly out of line of sight, the obstacle avoidance needs to be locked in big time.

3. Improved motors, cooling, etc. - Like we saw with the release of the new Mavic Pro Platinum with some updated parts for greater efficiency and to make these things quieter.

4. Lighter, stronger bodies - perhaps carbon fiber here. The current drones are light and strong, but building ones out of super light materials like carbon fiber would, well, it would look cool. Lol. Really though, this would help with motor efficiency as well as battery life.

5. Camera Improvements - There is always room for camera improvements. Better optical zoom, higher resolution, etc. It’s the same story on cameras, the more the merrier.

Now as far as a Phantom 5, the Phantom 4 Pro simply is a fantastic device. On the P5 I would love to see a smaller overall footprint, perhaps putting foldable legs of some sort. The P5 needs to be portable and easy to pack up and head out. That is the number one thing on the Mavic and the Spark for that matter. You can throw them in a bag and head out. Take that fantastic camera they gave us on the P4P and shrink it down to try and get close to the size of the Mavic camera, but keep all its functionality, even add to it. Also, there needs to be better costs on camera additions. Different lenses and perhaps firmware upgrades that would unlock things like greater magnification or even FLIR. Right now there is no such thing as a “cheap” FLIR camera. Just imagine all the capabilities of the P4P camera with FLIR added. If they could do that as an possible camera option or upgrade and keep the cost down between $1500 to $2500, coupled with a more portable drone with better flight times, and just improved distance, etc., that type of drone would fly off the shelves. Just imagine sales of a “First Responder” model, and a “Pro photography” model, or a general model, that would be pretty much what we have now, just newer body style, etc.. Sorry for the length of message, but being a disabled, retired old technology guy, I sit around and think up a lot of things they could do to improve the things I mess with. Lol!
 
What issues are you encountering?
I've been flying the P4 pro since it was released a year ago and not seen any bugs or issues.
I believe in the beginning there were issues with firmware. It seems like one issue had to do with the camera taking blurred up images. Another one had to do with connection issues. Nothing really show stopping, but bugs still. However, working with tech for over thirty years, I have yet seen anything that is as technical as these drones with all their sophistication, come out 100% bug free. There is just too much there to test. You can alpha and beta test these devices until it snows in Hades and someone will still find something. Now there are companies that will release a product that they know has big, bad bugs, just to get them in front of the public for like Christmas or something. I don’t pity those folks at all because they knowingly put something out there that they knew would not work properly. The GoPro Karma comes to mind. I have read that several folks knew there were major issues with that drone before it’s release, but to get it out in the market they released it anyway, only to have both the drone and GoPro stock hit the ground. It’s a shame because I have heard the new Karma, while it does not have the sophistication of the Mavic Pro, is still a nice little drone to fly and the Hero 5 (and new Hero 6) are both fine cameras that are waterproof and tough little devices.
 
I believe in the beginning there were issues with firmware. It seems like one issue had to do with the camera taking blurred up images. Another one had to do with connection issues.
Firmware gets blamed for all kinds of things that have nothing to do with firmware.
Right from the day it released, the P4 pro focused and connected just fine.
 
Firmware gets blamed for all kinds of things that have nothing to do with firmware.
Right from the day it released, the P4 pro focused and connected just fine.

That’s just it, some did, some did not. Mine has always focused and flown just fine, but no matter what I do, I cannot zoom on the camera, I have checked, rechecked, and checked again my settings. There are a lot of folks with this issue out there.
 
I own a P3A and fly just as a hobby. There's nothing on the P4 that excites me enough to upgrade to one. That will also go for the P5 if it's ever released. Mine does everything I want it to do and am extremely happy with it.

As others have stated, DJI needs to put more focus on their customer service and I agree
No disrespect but the P4P is far superior to the P4. I went from a P3A to the P4P and absolutely love it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: yrnosam1

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,358
Members
104,936
Latest member
hirehackers