P4 vs. P3 Comparison Thread (Title Changed)

It is a camera. But, that is not why they made quads to begin with. Think of the Phantom 1 and Phantom 2. They both didn't have cameras and were never made for cameras. It wasn't until 3rd party companies started hacking and sawing the original Phantoms. Thats when the light bulb and all the whistles started ringing over at DJI. People were once using brackets and mounts to attach GoPros. Then someone came up with the idea of attaching a gimbal. Same thing when the P3 came out. There were people modding the RCs and antennas to reach farther distances. DJI has just been stealing and copying peoples ideas for their products. They won't upgrade a camera so small and simplistic until a company like GoPro figures out how to upgrade their camera. The latest GoPro Hero 4 (black) has been out since October 2014 now. Thats almost 2 years without an update. DJI will of course copy GoPro once they figure out an upgrade.
I agree and I think the go pro drone will be the best drone this year!! They changed the lens on the new drone but still the same camera.


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I'll be getting the Phantom 4 for sure and selling my Inspire and Phantom 3 after running some comparisons. I'm sick of dragging 2 drones around (one for pro but big/heavy, one for fun/light).
Funny seeing people saying it's not an improvement on the camera before they see the comparison.
Remember that the Pro/Adv and X3 use the same sensor as the GoPro 4 and they easily best it in quality (hell even the lowly Standard has a better camera than any GoPro), and even the X5 is limited to 60Mbps.
A better lens means a hell of a difference, just ask anyone who goes beyond kit lenses for DSLR's.

Fair point - I haven't compared the camera but nothing grabs me in the marketing messaging to say the camera upgrade is worth changing from the P3P. I'm interested in what you say about selling your Inspire for the P4; do you think that the footage (both video and photographs) are pretty much the same in terms of quality when comparing the Inspire to the P3P? I have been thinking to go for the Inspire Pro - I'm guessing the quality on that would significantly beat the P4?


UK
 
I agree and I think the go pro drone will be the best drone this year!! They changed the lens on the new drone but still the same camera.


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All GoPro footage I have seen has been amazing. If they can ditch the fish eye, they could be on to something big. But from the Karma teaser it looks like it's for extreme sports and so possibly a small throw and forget drone or similar, so not focusing on professionals? Would love to hear of GoPro entering the pro market!


UK
 
Inspire 1 (and I own one), I agree with but what's wrong with the P3P, or P3A. I own both and have never had a problem with either that wasn't my fault. They work surprisingly good for me. A couple bugs, but none to speak of that I can think of.
Nothing wrong with the p3p or p3a.
They are rock solid platforms. I'm happy with my p3a. Reason why I won't be upgrading...
 
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But that is why they make them now. This is a camera, that's its only purpose.

As mentioned before, they have not truly figured out how to upgrade the camera while keeping it in budget range for consumers. The inspire 1 pro (RAW) has my attention right now. If you are wanting a better camera. You may want to look into that. Micro 4/3s sensor. With the ability to change lens. That is every photographer/videographer's dream.
 
Read a few articles, watched a couple of videos and not yet convinced it's worth spending $1400 +++ after owning my P3P for several months. I usually jump when upgrades surface however, autonomous flying to me just takes away much of the enjoyment of owning a P3. As most already know, $1400 will quickly become well over $2000 after batteries, case etc. I like the design, new gimbal set up along with many of the new features. Perhaps it's time to sit back, read all the future threads from new owners and then making an educated decision before selling my P3P and investing in DJIs newest Phantom.
I woul s
Read a few articles, watched a couple of videos and not yet convinced it's worth spending $1400 +++ after owning my P3P for several months. I usually jump when upgrades surface however, autonomous flying to me just takes away much of the enjoyment of owning a P3. As most already know, $1400 will quickly become well over $2000 after batteries, case etc. I like the design, new gimbal set up along with many of the new features. Perhaps it's time to sit back, read all the future threads from new owners and then making an educated decision before selling my P3P and investing in DJIs newest Phantom.


Sorry..i have one answer...sell directly and buy the 4!!!
Great machine with collision avoidance!!! Longer flighttime..thanks dji!
 
All GoPro footage I have seen has been amazing. If they can ditch the fish eye, they could be on to something big. But from the Karma teaser it looks like it's for extreme sports and so possibly a small throw and forget drone or similar, so not focusing on professionals? Would love to hear of GoPro entering the pro market!


UK
Fisheye has been long gone since the Hero 3+ They never have different modes you can shoot with. Narrow, Wide and Medium.
 
As mentioned before, they have not truly figured out how to upgrade the camera while keeping it in budget range for consumers. The inspire 1 pro (RAW) has my attention right now. If you are wanting a better camera. You may want to look into that. Micro 4/3s sensor. With the ability to change lens. That is every photographer/videographer's dream.
they have, the sony z5 has 23 MP camera with Hybrid Autofocus. So the tech is out there, but agreed cost may be a limiting factor
 
Nothing wrong with the p3p or p3a.
They are rock solid platforms. I'm happy with my p3a. Reason why I won't be upgrading...
In the beginning of p3

No SDk(took forever)
People having issues with cracks in the shell
Sure therewere other things... I just can't remember
 
In the beginning of p3

No SDk(took forever)
People having issues with cracks in the shell
Sure therewere other things... I just can't remember

Mine still has cracks by the motor screws. The cracks have been there for almost 8 months now. Zip-Ties on each propeller has cured that. The cracks have no gotten worse and I have heard of people sending in their P3s to fix the crack issue. Only for DJI to send them back and same thing happen. Thats why I haven't sent mine in. I feel like they will give me a different bird, possibly a refurbished one littered with problems. My 1 year limited manufacturer warranty is coming up. Plus, I can't afford to miss all the gigs I have been getting from having the P3. When mine finally crashes, cracks or dies. I will just purchase another one for great price of $999 new. My only problem is that B&H are selling P3Ps with and without the remote for the same $999 price. That makes no sense. DJI and all other retailers have seemed to stop selling just the aircraft. If the whole package cost $999. Then the aircraft itself should cost $600-900. I don't need 2 remote controls lol
 
I've decided I'm being too negative, the new tracking and obstacle avoidance stuff is a big step forward in terms of consumer drone technology, and we should give them praise for that.

Is it useful for people that already own and can fly a drone? - probably not. But for those that have never flown a drone - hell yes. And really this is all about DJI destroying the competition. Cashed up newbies are going to go crazy about this one.

And RTH should be much safer now (although you should have set you RTH attitude to something intelligent beforehand).

I wonder if it will avoid an aircraft now?
 
"Sharper" isn't exactly better. There is a such thing as cameras being too sharp and looking like perfect home videos rather than amazing photos and cinematic videos. I actually turn down the saturation, sharpness and contrast on my P3. It shoots a little too sharp for me.

I think the sharpness DJI was referring to is around the edges. Currently if you shoot at 4K, you'll notice the edges are not as sharp as the centre (it's really a small difference in my opinion).

It won't be long before you see a side by side photo and video comparison on YouTube. Again, I'm guessing the difference will be rather minor that will mean more to photographers.
 
Fair point - I haven't compared the camera but nothing grabs me in the marketing messaging to say the camera upgrade is worth changing from the P3P. I'm interested in what you say about selling your Inspire for the P4; do you think that the footage (both video and photographs) are pretty much the same in terms of quality when comparing the Inspire to the P3P? I have been thinking to go for the Inspire Pro - I'm guessing the quality on that would significantly beat the P4?
UK
The Phantom 3 Pro does the same quality as the X3 from the Inspire but the 360 gimbal on the Inspire is killer even though some manoeuvres still show the landing gear, that is the biggest loss from going from the Inspire to the Phantom, although since I fly a Phantom as well I know the shots I want are almost as easy with the Phantom.
With the price from of the Pro I was considering that as the added time to unpack and arm the Inspire was becoming less and less fun and with doing a lot of backpacking the added weight makes the biggest difference.
My Inspire is a year old now and my batteries are looking to be replaced soon anyway, I still get gimbal shake in high wind so I'm hoping that the double clamp on the Phantom 4 helps with that. Having a detachable camera/gimbal also adds a level of weakness (on one occasion it failed to recognise the camera until I did a full reboot, some guys put a cable tie through it in case it falls off which has happened to a few).
I'm expecting this Phantom 4 camera to be between the Inspire X3 and X5 in quality for much less cost.
I will be doing a side by side comparison when I get my hands on it as will a few others I'm sure.
 
Nothing wrong with the p3p or p3a.
They are rock solid platforms. I'm happy with my p3a. Reason why I won't be upgrading...
Fair enough, and I agree.

There are really just two things I want. I want the obstacle avoidance, BADLY, but I will have that with the H which I am already definitely getting but I also really want that tracker. If that works, it's a game changer. Even in the test, it doesn't work so great. As someone that tracks objects daily, I can tell you, tracking aint easy and they will never, NEVER get it perfect but i'll take good.
 
I watched the official intro video three times, the Verge video once, and I am salivating... Yes, I have a P3A, but I want this thing, and I have a ten-month plan to get it - putting $4 a day everyday in the piggy bank. In ten months time, I will have saved enough to buy it. By then, hopefully, most of the glaring bugs will have been squashed. I will sell my old P3A plus gear for $300 and put the money toward the P4.
Ten months... I hope I have the will to wait.
 
Fisheye has been long gone since the Hero 3+ They never have different modes you can shoot with. Narrow, Wide and Medium.
To get those narrower modes the GoPro crops the sensor which gives you a worse image than the already dated one on the Gopro.
The non fisheye lens mod for the GoPro is not a simple replacement and costs several hundred dollars on top of the already overpriced GoPro's.
GoPro has always been soft and a lot of guys change the values on the Phantom to get softer videos anyway but for photos you want it tack sharp right?
 

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