My top 5 reasons why I won't upgrade to the P4..... yet :P

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Also..What if DJI came out with their next line of drones called the Phantom 'Mini Series'? Tiny quadcopters DJI style? You know you would want that too... Nope! Excited about the P4 but there is still something better coming so not worth the investment. At least in my opinion...
 
I disagree with the "rookie" comments, that the P4 is geared for the beginner or rookie. I think its geared more towards someone who is interested in capturing the moment, image, video, etc. and flying is secondary.

If I had my way I want AP platform that I don't even have to think about the flying aspect at all. I don't want to deal GPS lock, signal reception, obstacles. I want an AP platform I launch, it dos its biz and lands where I tell it to. I think DJI is heading in that direction which IMO is a good thing.

I'm not against learning to fly. I practice often with my bird in ATTI mode, I fly my QX3 in Stagility mode, and I still fly my little LaTrax Alias. When I pull out my Phantom, its all about the image and video....

One can be interested in image and video and be a beginner. Two different things, as you still need to fly and control a quad (any quad) if you want to shoot or recording with it. And usually the better one is at flying, the better can be the capturing.

IMO that´s the majority of DJI´s clients: beginners who can most benefit from autonomous/automatic/smooth/safe control of the bird. That´s why DJI aim at making the flying - and also the caring - parts easier so people can focus on capturing images.
 
So you don't have $1,400
That is my reason number 1..... i don`t see the need for a change in this moment... only if something wrong happens whit the p3a could hasten the purchase of the p4, otherwise i can wait to the p5..
 
My wife and then Money are my main deterrents.

I'll get one as soon as the next revision and price drop are available and budget allowing. Right now my P3P warranty is good till August. So I might wait until January again. By then all the kinks will be worked out.

I'm happy with the P3P, but to be honest the ability to track an "object" at high speed is the feature I believed the P3P already had with "FOLLOW ME". I needed follow me for filming action shots. Also the raised props to eliminate props in my shots is important.




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Aren't there some of us that just love to fly their Phantom, not necessarily just looking to shoot videos or take pictures? I get a thrill just simply flying my bird, from an exciting take off, gentle landing and all the excitement in-between the two. Night flights are often my favorite, not much to capture with camera yet a whole lot of enjoyment simply watching those lights shoot across the night sky.
 
Aren't there some of us that just love to fly their Phantom, not necessarily just looking to shoot videos or take pictures? I get a thrill just simply flying my bird, from an exciting take off, gentle landing and all the excitement in-between the two. Night flights are often my favorite, not much to capture with camera yet a whole lot of enjoyment simply watching those lights shoot across the night sky.


Yes,

I have a P2 NV that is just for flying.

Love the Manual mode.
 
The first few times I flew it, yeah. Not so much anymore. If I want to have some fun just flying around I have a QX3 which offers different modes including Agility which will let you destroy it in seconds. Its way more fun to just play with it than the Phantom...

Its an AP platform first and foremost. Its great at that. I look forward to using for that. But just to fly around? Not so much..


Aren't there some of us that just love to fly their Phantom, not necessarily just looking to shoot videos or take pictures? I get a thrill just simply flying my bird, from an exciting take off, gentle landing and all the excitement in-between the two. Night flights are often my favorite, not much to capture with camera yet a whole lot of enjoyment simply watching those lights shoot across the night sky.
 
If that is all your wife does, you should upgrade her instead!;)
Just the key features! To be more serious, my top 5 reason I will not upgrade.

1. Only 2 months in on the ownership of my P3A, only had about 3 hour of flight-time.
2. TapFly and other function don't interest me at the moment, the real fun is flying it yourself.
3. I don't think I could trust obstacle avoidance feature to have some benefits from it. Like to fly high/RTH high. (Below 120 m though)
4. The propels still shows up in the video.
5. In Norway, it will probably cost 2000 - 2200 USD after tax. :eek:
 
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Just the key features! To be more serious, my top 5 reason I will not upgrade.

1. Only 2 months in on the ownership of my P3A, only had about 3 hour of flight-time.
2. TapFly and other function don't interest me at the moment, the real fun is flying it yourself.
3. I don't think I could trust obstacle avoidance feature to have some benefits from it. Like to fly high/RTH high. (Below 120 m though)
4. The propels still shows up in the video.
5. In Norway, it will probably cost 2000 - 2200 USD after tax. :eek:

Jsun, your absolutely right!

I am still convinced the P3A gives the best quality/price ratio. The P4 is 1599 € against 899 € for the P3A. Which is almost 80% more expensive:

P3A 899 € = 985 $ = 100%
P3P 1199 € = 1313 $ = 133%
P4 1599 € = 1751 $ = 178%

You won't get 80% more quality or functionality. The same goes for the P3P.
So if I didn't own a P3A, I still wouldn't buy a P4.
 
If someone is planning to do low altitude, sport type shots, at fast speed. Shots like fly-over cars, bikers, skaters, or any tricky fast shot where speed and precision, with high risk of frontal colision at low altitude is needed. Then the P4 will be the best unit out there.
 
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The biggest understated improvement on P4 is the dual IMUs and compasses. It's separate processor error checks for reliability. I guess they didn't hype it so much because it would be like admitting (which has already been done) to flyaways. Search YouTube for Inspire/Phantom advanced and pro flyaways. I think the P4 won't suffer that sporadic issue. Having three pounds fly off uncontrolled is a sickening feeling. I applaud DJI advances.

I was on the fence about buying the P3, but I want a craft with engineered safety nets when there are faults. Human or machine. :) Said with love. Still a fan.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
The biggest understated improvement on P4 is the dual IMUs and compasses. It's separate processor error checks for reliability. I guess they didn't hype it so much because it would be like admitting (which has already been done) to flyaways. Search YouTube for Inspire/Phantom advanced and pro flyaways. I think the P4 won't suffer that sporadic issue. Having three pounds fly off uncontrolled is a sickening feeling. I applaud DJI advances.

I was on the fence about buying the P3, but I want a craft with engineered safety nets when there are faults. Human or machine. :) Said with love. Still a fan.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

I`ve had over 200 hours of flight on the P3, About 10 compass loss of under 10 seconds and one time it switched to a real manual mode for about 20 seconds (That was a pain to andle with FPV, good thing i flew FPV RC heli before the drone era, it saved me), but no fly away. So my guess is if the P4 is even more reliable, it will almost never have those issues.
 
The only reason I sold my P3P and pre-ordered the P4 is longer flight time. I film our training and this additional time is going to be a big benefit. Plus I added the care plan and now I don't have to worry about crashing as much.
 
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