P4 vs P3 still photo comaparison

isopro · Mar 16, 2016

checked the still of the p4 provided in this thread, they are similar to what i was able to produce with p3, not much improvement there..

CaptainDrone798 · Mar 16, 2016

JonEQuest said:
I just sold my P3A for less than I wanted to since I was buying a P3P for about $100 more to replace it, but that fell through, long story. I am wondering if I should I just get a P4 now instead? It would help to get advice from someone who has used both a P3P and P4 to tell if it is worth it. I was going to be happy with a P3P but since I now have nothing I guess I am starting out from scratch again.

The reviews currently out by pros who review technology for a living state that if you wish a Phantom for photography/videography, there is no major difference between the P3 and P4 image quality that the eye would notice. However, they do recommend the P4 over the P3 due to all of its enhancements (speed, obstacle avoidance, tap and go, etc), if you can afford it.

NoOne · Mar 16, 2016

Fredz said:
Compared stills between the P4 and the P3P. They are similar and definitely not better with regards to sharpness and bluriness. Early P3's (or P3's that have a perfect camera, which not many have with regards to sharpness) have better sharpness than the few P4's I tested. Disappointing.

I'd really like to see a side by side comparison of jpgs from the P3 against the same shot jpg from a P4. Anyone have these or links to comparisons??

ringolong · Mar 16, 2016

isopro said:
checked the still of the p4 provided in this thread, they are similar to what i was able to produce with p3, not much improvement there..

Post a picture from a p3 so we can see. Words do not do anything for us

ringolong · Mar 16, 2016

Fredz said:
Compared stills between the P4 and the P3P. They are similar and definitely not better with regards to sharpness and bluriness. Early P3's (or P3's that have a perfect camera, which not many have with regards to sharpness) have better sharpness than the few P4's I tested. Disappointing.

Post a picture from a p3 so we can see. Words do not do anything for us

Dave Pitman · Mar 16, 2016

ringolong said:
Post a picture from a p3 so we can see. Words do not do anything for us

That's true. I wonder if that is why we're not seeing side by side comparisons from the dji boys ?

ringolong · Mar 16, 2016

Dave Pitman said:
That's true. I wonder if that is why we're not seeing side by side comparisons from the dji boys ?

Mine could of had a bad lens, misaligned sensor, or whatever, but I have no idea since I have not seen any good images from a p3

We just need our p4s to arrive to really know for sure I guess.

ringolong · Mar 16, 2016

Not an ideal comparison, but good enough for me.

P4 photos and video

Dave Pitman · Mar 16, 2016

ringolong said:
Mine could of had a bad lens, misaligned sensor, or whatever, but I have no idea since I have not seen any good images from a p3

We just need our p4s to arrive to really know for sure I guess.

I hope the P4 has a good camera. Some of the pictures I've seen are pretty nice. But I've seen plenty of P3 images that are good too. If the the assembly line punched out some good and some not so good P3 cameras. I would expect the same variation with the P4, unfortunately. We'll see.

A few recent nice P3 jpegs. (not mine)

isopro · Mar 17, 2016

ringolong said:
Mine could of had a bad lens, misaligned sensor, or whatever, but I have no idea since I have not seen any good images from a p3

We just need our p4s to arrive to really know for sure I guess.

This is the first shot done with my P3 last summer, you can see some slight corner softness on the corners, but the rest is pretty sharp.

FredzMaxxUAV · Mar 17, 2016

Finally did some real comparisons between a P3P and a P4, both video and stills. I see no improvements. Same sharpness, bluriness in parts of the picture... My P3P camera/sensor is ok, but my older P3s had better (sharper) cameras. It's probably due to mediocre quality control, which seems identical on the P4.
Dropbox - p3p.JPG
Dropbox - p4.JPG
Dropbox - p3p.MP4
Dropbox - p4.MP4

You can compare the small tree branches, leaves, but also the roof tiles on the right.

ringolong · Mar 17, 2016

Fredz said:
Finally did some real comparisons between a P3P and a P4, both video and stills. I see no improvements. Same sharpness, bluriness in parts of the picture... My P3P camera/sensor is ok, but my older P3s had better (sharper) cameras. It's probably due to mediocre quality control, which seems identical on the P4.
Dropbox - p3p.JPG
Dropbox - p4.JPG
Dropbox - p3p.MP4
Dropbox - p4.MP4

You can compare the small tree branches, leaves, but also the roof tiles on the right.

Those are not strait off of the camera. They are both highly compressed.

ringolong · Mar 17, 2016

ringolong said:
Those are not strait off of the camera. They are both highly compressed.

View attachment 47398

Look here for a better comparison.
P4 photos and video

FredzMaxxUAV · Mar 17, 2016

They are Jpegs straight from the camera. On Dropbox they are 6 MB each.
You need to download them on Dropbox not download the view.

CaptainDrone798 · Mar 17, 2016

Fredz said:
Finally did some real comparisons between a P3P and a P4, both video and stills. I see no improvements. Same sharpness, bluriness in parts of the picture... My P3P camera/sensor is ok, but my older P3s had better (sharper) cameras. It's probably due to mediocre quality control, which seems identical on the P4.
Dropbox - p3p.JPG
Dropbox - p4.JPG
Dropbox - p3p.MP4
Dropbox - p4.MP4

You can compare the small tree branches, leaves, but also the roof tiles on the right.

Your results have been similar to those of the big name reviewers. The P5 will hopefully be the Phantom with the noticeable camera quality difference. I still really like the P4 with all its other improvements!

Noodle · Mar 17, 2016

Fredz said:
Finally did some real comparisons between a P3P and a P4, both video and stills. I see no improvements. Same sharpness, bluriness in parts of the picture...

Thanks for your post. I see no difference between them too.

Noodle · Mar 17, 2016

ringolong said:
Look here for a better comparison.
P4 photos and video

Your P3P's photos look terrible. My P3A's photos look way sharper than those, it's photo quality will become terrible when I have my ND16 filter on.

ringolong · Mar 17, 2016

Noodle said:
Your P3P's photos look terrible. My P3A's photos look way sharper than those, it's photo quality will become terrible when I have my ND16 filter on.

Please post your wonderful photos from a p3. Comments show me nothing

Dave Pitman · Mar 17, 2016

ringolong said:
Please post your wonderful photos from a p3. Comments show me nothing

Do you find the images I posted above clearly inferior to what you are seeing from the P4 ?

FredzMaxxUAV · Mar 17, 2016

Fredz said:
Finally did some real comparisons between a P3P and a P4, both video and stills. I see no improvements. Same sharpness, bluriness in parts of the picture... My P3P camera/sensor is ok, but my older P3s had better (sharper) cameras. It's probably due to mediocre quality control, which seems identical on the P4.
Dropbox - p3p.JPG
Dropbox - p4.JPG
Dropbox - p3p.MP4
Dropbox - p4.MP4

You can compare the small tree branches, leaves, but also the roof tiles on the right.

What do you guys think of these? I see no difference... Mediocre still quality. The 4K video quality (of both) is better (than the stills) I personally find.