Is the Phantom dead?

[John Locke]

Thats the thing, how much of the Market is the P4P good enough. The footage of the P4 is quite amazing (I have not flown my P4P yet) so I could only imagine how good the P4P footage is. For the majority of people it is probably good enough to make the Inspire not worth the price difference and extra work involved.

You are talking 3339 USD for an Inspire 2 with a Camera VS 1240 USD for a P4P.

Define "market". Are you talking about YouTube market? Or commercial market, for TV commercials, real estate, surveying, industrial photogrammetry, mapping? The numbers are much higher in the YouTube market, and P4P is often adequate, even Mavic and Mavic air and Spark make their way onto YT. P4P can be used in a portion of commercial market, like mapping and real estate, but it has it's limits. You'd never be hired for a TV shoot for commercial or other commercial video purposes using P4P.

The I2 can take much smoother video, because it's heavier. The I2 can fly over 50mph for car shots, etc. P4P can't do over 30mph without getting the props in the view. I2 has two cameras, one for the pilot and another for the videographer, for professional high speed shots that move. The I2 can handle higher winds much easier. The I2 flight movements are inherently more graceful, due to the pendulum effect of the design. It's apples and oranges in capabilities IMO.

 

[elsapo2001]

Define "market". Are talking about YouTube market? Or commercial market, for TV commercials, real estate, surveying, industrial photogrammetry, mapping? The numbers are much higher in the YouTube market, and P4P is often adequate, even Mavic and Mavic air and Spark make their way onto YT. P4P can be used in a portion of commercial market, like mapping and real estate, but it has it's limits. You'd never be hired for a TV shoot for commercial or other commercial video purposes.

The I2 can take much smoother video, because it's heavier. The I2 can fly over 50mph for car shots, etc. P4P can't do over 30mph without getting the props in the view. I2 has two cameras, one for the pilot and another for the videographer, for professional high speed shots that move. The I2 can handle higher winds much easier. The I2 flight movements are inherently more graceful, due to the pendulum effect of the design. It's apples and oranges in capabilities IMO.

Is the P4 even big in the Youtube market? I thought the Mavic and below are big for youtube.

How big is the market for over 50 mph car shots? and high speed shots, or super high speed wind shots. For movies/commercial Don't they use the real high end drones with Red bodies etc?

The P4P is a fine drone for Real estate.
If the the Phantom 4 Pro did not exist, DJI would probably get more Inspire sales at the 3K price. You are getting a hell of a drone for what they sell at with discounts. I bet the P5 if it comes it will probably retail around 2K and they will limit production numbers to keep it at a minimum 2K price. filling up warehouses with drones good enough for 80% of use case at the price they are going for probably not a good long term idea. This is where it makes sense that the Phantom line will be gone and if you want good 4K pony up for the Inspire.

or P5 at 2K minimum less production.

 

[John Locke]

If the phantom didn't exist I certainly wouldn't buy an Inspire, it's too big for my purposes today. I'd buy the best camera drone that's backpack-able. Maybe Autel. I think you'd find many buying the Mavic, soon to be Mavic 2.

If I did a lot of high end commercial work, then I'd consider an Inspire. Today I'm not doing that.

 

[snerd]

I also like to test flying in my Car........]

 

[African wildlife]

P4P can't do over 30mph without getting the props in the view.

Actually, John, that’s not true. If you need to film a vehicle from the front, flying the P4P backwards works well at speed. We did this at dawn yesterday.

If you’re using cinematic aspect (black bars), this also allows filming of a vehicle going in excess of 30mph from any angle using the P4P. Again, we’ve recently done this on several occasions.

Yes, there are better drones/cameras available for high-end professional work, but the P4P is nevertheless a worthy tool. And - despite better options being available - it’s a drone used by commercial companies in the UK for TV production. (Again, I know this for a fact. Costs are a compelling factor, even when comparing price difference between a P4P and an Inspire2. One London-based documentary company I know of has crashed three drones to date.)

 

[AndrewCCM]

Thats the thing, how much of the Market is the P4P good enough. The footage of the P4 is quite amazing (I have not flown my P4P yet) so I could only imagine how good the P4P footage is. For the majority of people it is probably good enough to make the Inspire not worth the price difference and extra work involved.

You are talking 3339 USD for an Inspire 2 with a Camera VS 1240 USD for a P4P.

One major application is when you need more than a wide angle lens and cant get close enough to the object/subject you need to video/shoot. Inspections of towers and such often require a zoom lens to keep the quad at a reasonable difference. There are other applications as well.. Just because the camera on the P4P is very good, it doesn’t fit all applications. I have a very nice wide angle lens for my 1DX, but I also have numerous other lenses depending on the job. I also think the average person is just too used to “drone shots” all being wide angle when there could/can be many other opportunities if fixed lenses weren’t all the norm.

Just some thoughts...

 

[Andy9]

I think this discussion is out of sense, if we don't specify what are we using the drone for.
If the prime goal is the best filming and picture taking capability, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Phantom.

 

[AndrewCCM]

I think this discussion is out of sense, if we don't specify what are we using the drone for.
If the prime goal is the best filming and picture taking capability, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Phantom.

Exactly. Some use them as toys.. Some use them as tools.. For me, I use them for both. Tools typically get more scrutiny. For those that don’t use them as such, it’s easier to discount their use-cases in my opinion.

 

[Tomas Wangen]

I think this discussion is out of sense, if we don't specify what are we using the drone for.
If the prime goal is the best filming and picture taking capability, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Phantom.

I agree. To quote myself from another thread:

«There is a large gap between Mavic 2 and Inspire 2 which the p5 should fill nicely.

The range will then be:

Mavic Air: extremely portable and reasonably priced but with basic quality and airtime

Mavic 2 pro: Next step up with a larger size and higher price but with p4p quality and airtime (assumption)

P5: Much larger and pricier but the entry level for pro quality with 10 bit video and interchangeable optics (assumption)

Inspire 2: High price and professional quality with x5s and x7 and raw video and heated batteries (only drone with extremely little chance of dropping from the sky unexpectedly)»

 

[John Locke]

Is the P4 even big in the Youtube market? I thought the Mavic and below are big for youtube.

Many Phantom owners post on YT, of course, it's huge. The numbers of Mavic and Spark videos though may be higher now due to the lower cost of entry for craft providing "YT" quality HD video capabilities. The P4P offers the best quality for a cost under $2K of any drone on the market, due to the 1" sensor, able to shoot 4K at 60FPS, storing it at 100mbps. That's pretty good value for those in the know. The other area P4P excels is the flight time and distance. You can't do the missions I do with a Spark, Mavic, or I2, simply because of flight times and heights that I fly to up mountains. The I2 comes close with it's dual battery, but at higher altitudes (14,000' MSL) I can go higher and farther due to the weight of the craft, and thin air, even with the optional high pitch props for I2.

 

[John Locke]

Actually, John, that’s not true. If you need to film a vehicle from the front, flying the P4P backwards works well at speed.

Of course, that's a given, I think we all know that. No argument there.
The point is I2 can go faster in any direction and keep the props out of view in most scenarios, way better than P4P. For commercial applications that can save the day if the wind is blowing.

 

[maverickx50]

There's really just two different directions to go and both of them are viable 1 as a larger longer running heavier platform that can carry a multitude of different types of cameras for a longer flight durations staying with a reasonable entry cost but up gradable as time goes on.

The second is the smaller sleeker easier to transport quicker to set up type drone quicker easier to set up with the multitude of simplistic and fun functions. The type used by the selfie group The more athletic and the Casual drone operator.

 

[davoweiss]

I travel...and a smaller drone would be nice. That said, I believe the heavier drone might actually better in high wind than the Mavic. I shoot a lot of windsurfing so I’d be curious if y’all have any real experience with the Mavic vs P4 in high wind

 

[iride4u]

P4P is better in the wind than the Mavic Pro. The Mavic Air is also supposed to be better in the wind.

 

[Tomas Wangen]

I travel...and a smaller drone would be nice. That said, I believe the heavier drone might actually better in high wind than the Mavic. I shoot a lot of windsurfing so I’d be curious if y’all have any real experience with the Mavic vs P4 in high wind

In general, the larger the drone the more stable and wind-resistent it will be. However, close to the shore in calm weather the Mavic should handle this well, of course windsurfing is not that interesting in calm weather. I guess a quick search on YouTube could give some samples from both drones.

 

[Sir Nobby]

Hi all,
When I purchased my P3A over a year and a half ago I thought I was getting great value for money. I've had a couple of mishaps with it (all pilot error, over eagerness to get an interesting shot) and have spent a lot of time examining the bird. I believe that the form factor was right, at the time, to accommodate all the technology needed and to space things out, like the compass (put your keys near the leg and it goes mad!) but there is a lot of air space inside the frame and as tech keeps improving things become more integrated and smaller. I wouldn't say the Phantom is "dead" but the tech will dictate form factor as time goes on. P.S. I love my P3A and find it the most recognisable shape that non users associate with.

 

[Clockman]

Phantom 5 picture....leaked.

 

[Sir Nobby]

Phantom 5 picture....leaked.

Okay, now I'm really worried!

 

[RaeThrills]

No way is it dead. Those small drones are nice. But here in Minnesota we get a lot of wind in the spring and summer. Those drones will suffer in high winds ruining shots. It was 17 mph winds and the spark had a tilted horizontal plane in the shot. The p4a was a rock. My Typhoon H pro was even more solid. So for me I love the big drones and the small ones. Look at it this way. What if you hired a carpenter and he showed up with a hammer. Nothing else. Every drone has a purpose and a fan base.

 

[potluckman]

...and it needs to wirelessly plug directly into my brain so my thoughts control it and I see the camera image without any monitor at all!!

I agree that a brain connection especially for video would be great for those of us old people who have to were bi-focals. Seriously what I would love to see them add to a P4 upgrade would be Stereo front mounted wide angle cameras with dual transmission so I could see close to what I seen as a light aircraft pilot. Would still want a downward high res. camera for photos Have actually spent a little time looking to add stereoscopic vision to my P4 but to involved for me. The other thought on a continuing P4 full size is that with lighter electronics, besides adding my stereo cameras, maybe they can upgrade the battery for a longer flying time.