Newbie Phantom 4 or Phantom 3 advanced?

[isopro]

Most of the crash happens when the Phantom flying sideway or backward while the pilot doing FPV. P4 can only prevent crash if you are flying forward. I would recommend getting P3S and use it for a year. Upgrade to P5 next year when you are familiar with Phantom.

Once you taste Lightbridge live view and range of p3a, p3pro or p4, you will never want to go to a Wifi drone again !

 

[sar104]

I recent went from a P2 to a P3P and don't regret it with the complaints on the P4 range and battery life. IMO I just think the P3 is a better option and better bird. I'd do it all over again.
Cracks can happen but aren't a big deal. Easily repaired in minutes.

I too have read all these complaints about the P4 but, for some inexplicable reason, they do not seem to have had any negative effect at all on my P4. Like many others reported here, mine performs just fine.

 

[finalfantasyfan]

Once you taste Lightbridge live view and range of p3a, p3pro or p4, you will never want to go to a Wifi drone again !

Yes. P3A/P will have better live view and range compare to P3S for OP. OP, Just learn it with P3A/P and upgrade later if you think you need P4 feature or upgrade to P5 next year.

 

[isopro]

Yes. P3A/P will have better live view and range compare to P3S for OP. OP, Just learn it with P3A/P and upgrade later if you think you need P4 feature or upgrade to P5 next year.

P3A is best value for the $, but if $ is not an issue, train with a p4 and upgrade to an inspire 1 pro or better later

 

[Dirty Bird]

That's my test & it was 24:35 just hovering 6-8' over the take off point with no stick input. It won't last that long if you are actually flying somewhere. My run time ranges from 14-21 minutes depending how fast & far. Sport mode sucks the pack down quickly. ATTI & P-mode with CA off is a little better...15-17 mins. Longest is P-mode with CA. Limited to 22 mph.

here is a real battery test, it lasts him almost 25 min, and he is even recording in 4k during the whole flight :

so the peoples crying might have a batch of faulty batteries, or do something wrong..

 

[Tron_X]

I recent went from a P2 to a P3P and don't regret it with the complaints on the P4 range and battery life. IMO I just think the P3 is a better option and better bird. I'd do it all over again.
Cracks can happen but aren't a big deal. Easily repaired in minutes.

I was never able to get a 26 minute flight out of my P3P in the "real world." I am however getting 2-3 minute longer flights with my P4 (DJI claims to have a 2 minute longer flight time than the P3P). Range has been a non-issue for me. Some people have reported flying out 4 miles (stock) on the P4 and retaining full signal. You may think a crack is no big deal but try reselling a bird with cracks all over it or asking someone who's not mechanically inclined to disassemble a Phantom and replace the shell. For a $1000 machine that is just stupid IMO.

I own both and this one is definitely worth the premium. If it's too expensive for the OP, I'd advise to wait a few months and buy it when its a couple hundred bucks less and has more mature firmware.

 

[flyguy11]

DJIs Phantom 4 Worth Buying?? Find out! | RC Junction
This can answer any questions you r help with anyone's choice between the p3 or the p4


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[isopro]

That's my test & it was 24:35 just hovering 6-8' over the take off point with no stick input. It won't last that long if you are actually flying somewhere. My run time ranges from 14-21 minutes depending how fast & far. Sport mode sucks the pack down quickly. ATTI & P-mode with CA off is a little better...15-17 mins. Longest is P-mode with CA. Limited to 22 mph.

When they rate it as 28 minutes, they consider, only hover without recording, no wind, no stick input, nothing, 24:35 minutes while recording 4k is pretty good, also it is really important to never let your battery go under 50% for the first 10-20 flights, else you will never know it's full potential. This is because they put a chemical in the batteries, that let them stay in storage longer without loosing life, but this chemical transform in the first couple charges, and if you overdischarge the battery before doing proper cycles it could loose considerable battery life, also it is important to avoid letting it charged at 100% for any extended period of time, avoid discharging it or charging it at over 50C, this also damage slightly the cells, from research it also say that if you only charge li-po batteries to 90-95% and never discharge it under 25-35% it will increase the number of cycles available, considerably. For 100% to 20% you might get 250-300 cycles, but from 90% to 30% you would get 1000s, this apply to all type of lipo...

 

[Dirty Bird]

With all due respect there are so many errors in your statement I'm not sure where to begin...

Hover only - This is like saying a car's mph is based on idling with the radio & all electrical accessories turned off. DJI says typical use. A hover-only, no recording, battery specification would be worthless.

Using batteries to 50% - There are many myths & theories about batteries one can go crazy trying to keep up. Remember way back being told, "Store your batteries in the refrigerator?"? Do you see anywhere in the DJI manual a recommendation or notice not to use batteries below 50% for the initial cycles? No you don't. If this were true it would be simple enough for DJI to use the Smart Battery info during the initial cycles & limit use but they don't because this is only a myth & a theory. The comment about some special break-in/ longevity chemical I have no idea where that comes from? DJI warrants the batteries. If this "don't use below 50% for X cycles" were true it would be plainly stated in the manual.

There is also nothing in the manual about not using batteries below 20%. In fact the default auto-land setting is 10%. Again, DJI warrants the batteries & were this necessary the cut off would be higher.

When they rate it as 28 minutes, they consider, only hover without recording, no wind, no stick input, nothing, 24:35 minutes while recording 4k is pretty good, also it is really important to never let your battery go under 50% for the first 10-20 flights, else you will never know it's full potential. This is because they put a chemical in the batteries, that let them stay in storage longer without loosing life, but this chemical transform in the first couple charges, and if you overdischarge the battery before doing proper cycles it could loose considerable battery life, also it is important to avoid letting it charged at 100% for any extended period of time, avoid discharging it or charging it at over 50C, this also damage slightly the cells, from research it also say that if you only charge li-po batteries to 90-95% and never discharge it under 25-35% it will increase the number of cycles available, considerably. For 100% to 20% you might get 250-300 cycles, but from 90% to 30% you would get 1000s, this apply to all type of lipo...

 

[Zedford]

From my recent experience, and due to the fact that prices had come down so much, if you opt out of the P4, I'd consider the P3P instead of the P3A. I bought the P3A right before the prices went down and always had 4K envy. I bought the P3A because I don't have anything 4k so it seemed to make so much sense, but it still nagged at me that I could have had a pro for not much more.

 

[isopro]

With all due respect there are so many errors in your statement I'm not sure where to begin...

Hover only - This is like saying a car's mph is based on idling with the radio & all electrical accessories turned off. DJI says typical use. A hover-only, no recording, battery specification would be worthless.

Using batteries to 50% - There are many myths & theories about batteries one can go crazy trying to keep up. Remember way back being told, "Store your batteries in the refrigerator?"? Do you see anywhere in the DJI manual a recommendation or notice not to use batteries below 50% for the initial cycles? No you don't. If this were true it would be simple enough for DJI to use the Smart Battery info during the initial cycles & limit use but they don't because this is only a myth & a theory. The comment about some special break-in/ longevity chemical I have no idea where that comes from? DJI warrants the batteries. If this "don't use below 50% for X cycles" were true it would be plainly stated in the manual.

There is also nothing in the manual about not using batteries below 20%. In fact the default auto-land setting is 10%. Again, DJI warrants the batteries & were this necessary the cut off would be higher.

Im not talking about DJI limited information, im talking about proven scientific information about Lithium-Polymer batteries, that apply to all type of li-po...
{Here is how to get 1000 cycle out of you drone instead of only 200-300(this is not a theory but a proven fact, from lot of scientic tests and data, also easy to research using google).
How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery University }

{Here is some info about break in, scroll to li-po (but the break-in part is only a theory),I did find some improvement using this method, but do not have 100 lipo to do real testing... : BU-701: How to Prime Batteries – Battery University }

But as you can see from scientific data if you discharge you battery under 20-30% and or charge it to 100% instead of just 90% you get a lot less cycles then if you do only use it between 90-30%....

 

[Ramphex]

I started with Syma x5c, then got a Syma x8c and now a P4. That was a great order because I was able to learn controls and not worry about crashing x5c, then got used to bigger size and more precision with x8c

 

[shockwave199]

I think buying a cheap drone to train on is a waste, personally. I did that and for the most part it's a waste. How one bird flies does not really help you fly another, different bird. Train with the simulator in the dji flight app when you buy your bird, if you must. It's not very inspiring but it will help you understand how to fly rear facing and nose facing in, how to use flight modes offered, etc. It's best to choose your bird and learn to fly that bird responsibly, imo. That means beginner mode for a while. That means flying close to you and practicing with the sticks for a good many flights. Don't worry about epic video at 300' up and 2,000' out. If you put in the time and learn your bird responsibly, all that will come. The rewards of taking it slow are many.

It's very tough to recommend one phantom over another. I think they're all great, frankly. For me it came down to understanding that I simply didn't have the computer power to handle 4k video and that I really didn't want to invest in new gear to handle it. File sizes are large and editing is very cumbersome. I still think 1080p looks great and it's manageable in post. It's likely I'll jump on 4k in another year or two. A phantom 5 or 6 will probably be something really leaps and bounds better than a 3 or 4, so that's what I'm looking to. Remember, unless you have the need for 4k and have the horsepower in post to handle it, you'll gravitate to 1080p filming anyway. I have the phantom P3A and over the past seven months I've learned how it flies and to trust it. I didn't start with the phantom but rather, I gravitated to it. The phantom 3 line simply wasn't out yet or I would have choose it from the start. All I know is my P3A is providing awesome video for me. I feel no need to go with the P4 at this time.

Two days ago with my p3a-

 

[John Locke]

Ya the stress crack is obviously something to worry about on the P3, the P4 would probably grand you more fun, enjoying the new features, and it is claimed to be more stable, so if you are into photography and like to do "superresolution" or panoramas, i believe the P4 can probably get sharper results, and it is also probably better for photogrammetry and mapping because the camera is claimed to have less distorsion, if budget is not an issue the I believe P4 is obviously the best choice.

FYI, I've owned 2 Phantom 3P's, one old motor type (July 2015) and one with new motor type (Jan 2016) and neither developed stress cracks. It was a small percentage of folks that experienced the problem. A lot of them were reported in this forum, but considering the number of members the percentage was low. DJI addressed the issue with braces added in the mold, in the motor area. Few crack problems were reported in the later version with new motors using the new body shell.

 

[isopro]

FYI, I've owned 2 Phantom 3P's, one old motor type (July 2015) and one with new motor type (Jan 2016) and neither developed stress cracks. It was a small percentage of folks that experienced the problem. A lot of them were reported in this forum, but considering the number of members the percentage was low. DJI addressed the issue with braces added in the mold, in the motor area. Few crack problems were reported in the later version with new motors using the new body shell.

Maybe it's fixed now, but all my friends who purchased p3 early on, all had stress crack.

 

[Meta4]

Maybe it's fixed now, but all my friends who purchased p3 early on, all had stress crack.

It's fine to say .. all my friend's P3 developed cracks ...
But how many are we talking about?
DJI sold hundreds of thousands of P3s

 

[Meta4]

If it's too expensive for the OP, I'd advise to wait a few months and buy it when its a couple hundred bucks less and has more mature firmware.

The P4 price is unlikely to fall in the near future.
DJI didn't reduce the P3P price for 9 months after it was released.

 

[isopro]

It's fine to say .. all my friend's P3 developed cracks ...
But how many are we talking about?
DJI sold hundreds of thousands of P3s

We talking about a 3/3 ratio, but one of them said he did a hard landing so i cannot consider him. Only DJI know the real numbers, but the design was obviously weak, and the evidence of this is that they reinforced them in the newer versions...

 

[martybabe]

Nobody ever mentions the fc40. It's a great gps quad to learn on. Change the props and learn your craft. You could get a tidy used one cheap as chips and fly the heck out of it. Even has primitive fpv. Everything you need before laying out mega bucks on a p3/4

 

[Meta4]

We talking about a 3/3 ratio, but one of them said he did a hard landing so i cannot consider him. Only DJI know the real numbers, but the design was obviously weak, and the evidence of this is that they reinforced them in the newer versions...

A sample size of 3?