P3S vs P3A Field of View - Not the same!

[bohdud]

I recently bought a P3S, and tried it out. I was surprised at how great the flight characteristics and gimbal were, but also at how terrible the range was - I was getting constant video cutouts and interference warnings at ~100m in wide open parkland in suburbia. I looked into firmware, antenna direction and possible causes of interference before a conveniently timed eBay sale placed the P3A at A$850 (US$650) so I decided to go for it. I'll be returning the P3S for a refund asap.

Sitting here amused at suddenly having two P3s in my possession, I ran a few tests out of interest. Firstly, I got the P3A to hit my preset 500m limit (soft, I know) with no hint of a transmission issue while the P3S still refused to talk to me from 100m away.

Most bizarrely, I noticed quite a significant difference in the field of view of the two models. Not sure if this is down to lens differences, or maybe the physical area of the Sony sensor compared to the Panasonic sensor. Either way, one (or both) of these Phantoms does NOT have a 94 degree FOV…

I’d love to hear if anyone else has observed or heard of this difference, and why DJI wouldn’t mention the difference. It’s particularly puzzling as I haven’t been able to find any other talk of this issue.

Regarding the photos attached, the wider shot is from the P3A, and both aircraft were placed in exactly the same position for the photo. Please disregard the eye-bleeding ugliness of the images themselves haha. Don’t make image quality comparisons either - the twilight had faded more in the P3S shot which is clearly darker, and I also forgot to turn the front LEDs off on the P3S, creating the reddish glare on the lens.

P3S:

P3A:

 

[J Dot]

Hello
Are your cameras set the same?
I thought you could change that in the go app! Wide or narrow field of view! Under settings!

Let us know,
I have a pro, not unlike your advanced, but I don't have a standard, but I believe the settings are similar between them!

Added: also that standard with the right antennas, would blow your mind!
Ask @dirkclod, he takes his WAY OUT!

J Dot

 

[bohdud]

Hi J Dot, thanks for your question! Both the above photos are full-sensor DNG converted to Jpeg (3992x2992) so they are both using the full sensor. I haven't tried 1080p yet, but I believe the narrow vs wide settings would make a more noticeable difference as well.

I don't doubt the P3S could be modded to great effect, but I have neither the skill/knowledge/patience to do it, haha. The eBay deal I got was a nice solution for $150 extra and no time wasted!

I'm more of the "photographer with a quadcopter" type than the "pilot with a camera" type, haha.

 

[Philltayl]

Hi J Dot, thanks for your question! Both the above photos are full-sensor DNG converted to Jpeg (3992x2992) so they are both using the full sensor. I haven't tried 1080p yet, but I believe the narrow vs wide settings would make a more noticeable difference as well.

I don't doubt the P3S could be modded to great effect, but I have neither the skill/knowledge/patience to do it, haha. The eBay deal I got was a nice solution for $150 extra and no time wasted!

I'm more of the "photographer with a quadcopter" type than the "pilot with a camera" type, haha.

why don't you try comparing 'apples with apples' and not 'apples with pears'. I too am a photographer with a mobile tripod.

 

[bohdud]

why don't you try comparing 'apples with apples' and not 'apples with pears'.

Huh?

 

[Philltayl]

Huh?

Comparing the 2 is like comparing a Nikon with a nikor lens to a Leica with a carlzeisse lens

 

[J Dot]

I hear you,
I believe he is saying ( your comparing 2 different crafts ) although similarities, they are quite different! Lol

But still interesting finds, and a good deal, for not a lot of squid!
I also got my pro for a steal, only reason I have one, lol. I'm more of a pilot with camera ,
But am getting into more ( realistic ) photography, aware of my shadows, angles to sun, ect. But those settings, ALL those settings, and I don't know what any mean or do ( well most anyway ) wish there was a easy to follow tutorial on what settings do ( shutter speed, white balance, ect ) although trial and error are most likely my best shot! I'll get it, just have to start studying! Take care,

J Dot

 

[bohdud]

Comparing the 2 is like comparing a Nikon with a nikor lens to a Leica with a carlzeisse lens

Sorry, I get why you said that now. I realise the aircraft are two different beasts, but the lenses are supposedly the same, no? They both say 94 degree FOV and you would think it in DJI's interest to trumpet about the adv/pro having a better lens.. but they don't. I just didn't expect to see such a big difference in the field of view, and was hoping someone might have seen this, or it might benefit someone comparing the two models before purchase

J Dot - It's definitely trial and error at first with photography, but once you get the hang of how the settings interact you'll be getting great shots in no time. At least you can play around with photo settings with the bird safely on the ground!

 

[Philltayl]

Sorry, I get why you said that now. I realise the aircraft are two different beasts, but the lenses are supposedly the same, no? They both say 94 degree FOV and you would think it in DJI's interest to trumpet about the adv/pro having a better lens.. but they don't. I just didn't expect to see such a big difference in the field of view, and was hoping someone might have seen this, or it might benefit someone comparing the two models before purchase

J Dot - It's definitely trial and error at first with photography, but once you get the hang of how the settings interact you'll be getting great shots in no time. At least you can play around with photo settings with the bird safely on the ground!

They may both have the same 94 degree FOV but the may also have a different focal length.............

 

[J Dot]

Yes,
I recently got a couple sets of lens filters ( as I'm In Florida, it's sunny and hot ) so I wanted the nd4-nd8 mostly, but I found a fun special effects kit as well with several color gradient lenses, and star lenses as well, thought those would be cool for sunset at the beach shots, as we get some really colorful sunsets, thought it would be fun to play around with those lenses out there, for some different style shots! Honestly I do more video than stills! But all in all, having a blast!

Pulled a newbie move this morning!
Went out with my p3p to fly, kept getting " Disconnected banner "????
Just flew great a day ago? After 30 minutes at the field with no joy, went home, scratched head a bit, finally realized ( never hooked tablet to Tx via cable ) never even took cable with me! DOH!
Coming from p2's, not used to tethering them together yet!

Oh well live and learn I guess!

J Dot

 

[bohdud]

Philltayl - That is true of lenses in general. However, in this case, both images are 3:4 aspect and should produce nearly the exact same framing if the quoted "94 degree fov" is true. What I'm thinking is maybe the P3S has a cheaper lens which might show unacceptable IQ loss at the edges, so they simply change the focus distance to cut off the corners.. So it's kind of sneaky if they do that. But it's "close enough" to 94 degrees that people won't generally notice or compare as I have. This is just a hypothesis so I could easily be wrong.

J Dot - Time for a pre-flight checklist methinks! I have twice seen an amazing sky and raced out to photograph it. If I didn't have my checklist I would likely crash soon due to my haste. I've almost forgotten things like set RTH alt, check home point etc. Normally not too much of an issue, but I would hate myself if it caused an avoidable crash!

 

[J Dot]

Lol
True, true, true!
Luckily, I'm a patient pilot, never in haste! As I find flying, relaxing, and tranquil! I'm good at my settings ( RTH, ect ) always wait for sats, home point, and always do the hover check ( go up let it hover 6' or so from ground ) then if all looks good , I jet off! Been flying for nearly 4 years now ( phantoms ) , heli ( 1 year now ) , but planes, boats, cars, trucks, since I was 12! Just new to the p3, and go app! Quite different from p2v/p2v+ and vision app! Actually COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! Lol

But still LOVING IT!

J Dot


Ps: and learning new things daily, thanks to you guys, and the other great members here! A+!

Take care, Fly Safe!