if I want 4K...is the P3 4K good enough for my needs?.....

Joined
Feb 1, 2018
Messages
74
Reaction score
22
Location
North England
Hi Folks...I'm saving up for a P3S, but found out that for not much more I could get 4K...so I'm looking for opinions on whether it's worth my while, please, or do I get a P3S and then put that extra money away in saving for a more advanced model? The video and photo quality are my main concern, so can see a lot of benefit for me in having 4K....however there are a number of things in more expensive models that I think would be less important to me (such as greater distance/range, better live video feed). Thanks for any suggestions.
 
In my opinion (and I am sure not everyone will agree) the P3 4K is the best value for money DJI drone platform. With Litchi it does pretty much everything a P4 Pro can do, except the control/video range. For around $200 you can put together an antenna/amplifier set-up for the controller which will give you 3+ mile range, and you will then end up with a drone very similar to the P4 Pro in capability for around half the cost.

The video/photo quality are excellent.

-Adrian
 
  • Like
Reactions: MotorCycle-Man
It depends on where you are flying and the distance you want. I had a P3 4K and I live in Detroit (major urban city). I would get disconnects and week signals constantly. Windsurfers did help out a lot. Picture quality was very good for me. Might want to look for a decent used P3Pro. I ended up finding a good deal on a used P4 standard.
 
What are your needs

1 - Images - High quality stills, and I was happy with the idea of 2.7K vid but on reading that I could take good stills from 4K, and if necessary crop and zoom it, would find that very useful.
2 - Distance - Can't imagine I'll fly any further than 500m away. Looking to base my photography around particular locations/specific places/structures/gardens/parks etc, rather than extensive landscapes.
3 - Reliability at that distance (I hear mixed things).
4 - Video feed - Not too worried about fantastic video feed..just enough quality to see where I'm going and to create my compositions....its more the end result video and stills that I'm interested in than any enjoyment of what I see at the actual time.
5 - Speed - won't be an issue as I'm looking to make subtle, gentle, smooth and useful videos.
6 - Obstacle avoidance - not worried - won't be flying indoors, and not flying that close to anything.
7 - (and cost of course...only looking to save for P3S at this stage to start off with, and I would need to convince myself anything greater would be worth it.)
(and in the long run, having built experience as a hobby, maybe look to licensing and commercial work (surveys, promos, marketing stills etc), but would probably want to upgrade for that anyway)
Thats all I can think of that feels like it matters at the moment.
Thanks for asking
 
It depends on where you are flying and the distance you want

I'm in the UK, and not yet commercial, so no closer than 150m to congested areas (and not over them) and no closer than 50m to structures...but ideally a mix between countryside, coast, parks, gardens and private estates/farms/event places such as race tracks. Distance would probably not need to be more than 500m to begin with. Thanks
 
1. Image quality (stills) is substantially similar across the P3 range. No advantage to be realised here.

Of course you can grab frames from 4K (or any resolution for that matter. 4K will give you an 8.3Mp image. It can be suitable for some end uses however the codec processing provides it is of less quality than still images you might take.

2 & 3. You may get significantly greater than 500m in some environment, you will also get less on some occasions. It is largely dependent on other wifi services and other sources of RF operating in the area.

4,5 &6. Seems you have done your homework here.
 
Chameleon - if you are just looking for reliable 500m in urban environments, a P3 4K with the ARGtek kit (< $60) will do you just fine.

If you can find a P3 Pro for a similar price to the P3 4K + $60 for the ARGtek kit (not sure if this is possible) then this is probably the best option, since it will get you the 500m urban range without any modifications. Otherwise, I would go with P3 4K + ARGtek. Sounds like you don't need to worry about amplifiers, since your distance requirement is quite modest.

-Adrian
 
  • Like
Reactions: loonie01
In my opinion (and I am sure not everyone will agree) the P3 4K is the best value for money DJI drone platform. With Litchi it does pretty much everything a P4 Pro can do, except the control/video range. For around $200 you can put together an antenna/amplifier set-up for the controller which will give you 3+ mile range, and you will then end up with a drone very similar to the P4 Pro in capability for around half the cost.

The video/photo quality are excellent.

-Adrian

I suppose it depends on your area. Around me, people are trying to get $450-500 for a P3 4K. You can get a two-battery P4 Standard for $550-600.
 
In the Metro Detroit area Phantom 4's are going for $600-$700. P3Pro's are going for $500-$600
 
Hi Folks...I'm saving up for a P3S, but found out that for not much more I could get 4K...so I'm looking for opinions on whether it's worth my while, please, or do I get a P3S and then put that extra money away in saving for a more advanced model? The video and photo quality are my main concern, so can see a lot of benefit for me in having 4K....however there are a number of things in more expensive models that I think would be less important to me (such as greater distance/range, better live video feed). Thanks for any suggestions.
The 4k video is absolutely essential. Foolish to think otherwise. Flight range was the biggest problem with the P3 4k. I was very unhappy. The parabolic range extenders were a waste of money. I got the Itelite DBS antenna and I'm pretty happy with the extended range, but I would be happier with even more range.

For apps, Vertical Studio and Autopilot are the best. They do have a bit of a learning curve.
 
...any particular or specific reasons? Thanks
The 4k really does look so much sharper, more detail, more everything. You can also do a lot more in post with color grading, zooming, cropping, etc. and deliver in 1080p. 1080p is fine for delivery as most people don't have 4k monitors, but clearly not as good for capture IMO. Even 4k is being eclipse with resolutions as high as 8k in professional video cameras. You surely don't want to be far behind the curve. Given the nominal cost difference, 4k is a no-brainer.
 
I have a 4K im happy with but due to other life factors I haven't flown it in some time. If you want picture quality go for it. If you want range then get the P3P. Flying out of visual range can get unnerving and you will need to strap on a GPS tracker in the event of a problem. Ive got around $1300 US invested in my package. Range extender, bag, 3 batteries. Prices have dropped on all P3s. Ive even considered selling but I dont want to deal with the cheapos out there on craigslist so Im keeping mine until it dies. The 4K picture quality is stunning and like others have said here you will start with a better RAW file to work with using photo and video apps and the resulting quality after downgrading the images or video to 1080 will look more vibrant and rich. Dont forget to get some good carbon fiber props and a gimbal protector but pretty cheap on ebay. Good luck.
 
.... The 4K picture quality is stunning .... and the resulting quality after downgrading the images or video to 1080 will look more vibrant and rich. .... Good luck.

Thanks for your input Rambo1 (and thanks to everyone else if I haven't said so already). Useful stuff coming out of this forum... so glad I joined. Cheers
 

Recent Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,357
Members
104,935
Latest member
Pauos31