P4P Which display, IPad 10.5 Pro or The Unreliable CS Ultra? Dilemma

Studiovape · Jan 30, 2018

After receiving my Phantom 4 Pro a few weeks back, I have been holding off on buying a display/tablet for it, I have briefly used it with my Iphone 5SE, and all is well apart from the size of display and hard to see in strong sun (which will happen a lot being in Australia).
Every time I say to myself " you need the Crystal sky Ultra", I find another complaint about back-light breakdowns or firmware update/support being atrocious.
I really want that brightness, but really the Crystalsky seems like such a risky prospect vs say an Ipad pro 10.5.
I've heard rumors that the CS is running an outdated CPU and DJI are very secretive about the true specs, signalling they have very little to show off about in that regard.
I really need to get up and running with a decent sized display asap as I have jobs coming in for drone work now, having told my clients I would be adding this to my services.
Is the Ipad pro really to dim a display?, it certainly has the Ram CPU and stable IOS on it's side, plus better firmware update support.
This dilemma is literally driving me nuts. I have read as much as I can with arguments on both sides, but as those reviews and reports become more and more dated as time goes on, and there only seems to be more and more bad press/feedback on the Crystalsky.
I would appreciate and advice you folks an offer.

lannes · Jan 30, 2018

On balance, I would go for the Ipad Pro 10.5, the extra CPU power makes DJI Go 4 4.2.4 run very smoothly, I also like the larger screen with the P4P. A Pgytech monitor hood helps with the glare.
DJI's support for IOS is better than other platforms, so it always gets the latest updates.
The Ipad has not had one glitch or problem so far

In comparison my CS Ultra runs hot with the lingering threat of the back-light quitting at any moment. It currently uses the buggy DJI Go 4 4.1.18 version as we await a firmware upgrade
The CS doesn't allow you to side load a whole lot of different apps, UAV forecast works intermittently due to the weak gps circuit on the CS, while on the IPAD is works perfectly every time
DJI is 3 versions behind in the DJI Go 4 app, they are 4.1.20, 4.1.22, 4.2.4.
Using a 4g dongle does not work.

I suspect there is a CS revision coming up that will be announced at the same time as the Mavic Pro II

JohhnySkye · Jan 30, 2018

Studiovape said:
After receiving my Phantom 4 Pro a few weeks back, I have been holding off on buying a display/tablet for it, I have briefly used it with my Iphone 5SE, and all is well apart from the size of display and hard to see in strong sun (which will happen a lot being in Australia).
Every time I say to myself " you need the Crystal sky Ultra", I find another complaint about back-light breakdowns or firmware update/support being atrocious.
I really want that brightness, but really the Crystalsky seems like such a risky prospect vs say an Ipad pro 10.5.
I've heard rumors that the CS is running an outdated CPU and DJI are very secretive about the true specs, signalling they have very little to show off about in that regard.
I really need to get up and running with a decent sized display asap as I have jobs coming in for drone work now, having told my clients I would be adding this to my services.
Is the Ipad pro really to dim a display?, it certainly has the Ram CPU and stable IOS on it's side, plus better firmware update support.
This dilemma is literally driving me nuts. I have read as much as I can with arguments on both sides, but as those reviews and reports become more and more dated as time goes on, and there only seems to be more and more bad press/feedback on the Crystalsky.
I would appreciate and advice you folks an offer.

Why not try the 32" Samsung flat-sceen, fantastic picture but a little cumbersome!

Studiovape · Jan 30, 2018

lannes said:
On balance, I would go for the Ipad Pro 10.5, the extra CPU power makes DJI Go 4 4.2.4 run very smoothly, I also like the larger screen with the P4P. A Pgytech monitor hood helps with the glare.
DJI's support for IOS is better than other platforms, so it always gets the latest updates.
The Ipad has not had one glitch or problem so far

In comparison my CS Ultra runs hot with the lingering threat of the back-light quitting at any moment. It currently uses the buggy DJI Go 4 4.1.18 version as we await a firmware upgrade
The CS doesn't allow you to side load a whole lot of different apps, UAV forecast works intermittently due to the weak gps circuit on the CS, while on the IPAD is works perfectly every time
DJI is 3 versions behind in the DJI Go 4 app, they are 4.1.20, 4.1.22, 4.2.4.
Using a 4g dongle does not work.

I suspect there is a CS revision coming up that will be announced at the same time as the Mavic Pro II

Thanks for your reply lannes, I have see your name pop up in nearly every post I've read concerning the CS issues, your response pretty much sums up my thoughts and reiterates what I've read and thensome, I'm just struggling to pass on the CS because of it's brightness. It's so ironic that DJI just doesn't seem to care about their failures in releasing what should be a knockout product, but ends up being total wash out.

Studiovape · Jan 30, 2018

JohhnySkye said:
Why not try the 32" Samsung flat-sceen, fantastic picture but a little cumbersome!

Hi Johhny, I imagine you're having a dig about the large size of the Ipad pro's 10.5 screen, I understand you have the P4P+ so you're stuck with a 5.5" screen, I did carefully consider that option, but as a real estate photographer I felt it would be too limiting, not to mention the lack of 3rd party app support. I'm glad you're happy with what you chose and you've found joy with the only display that is currently made by DJI that isn't having major issues across the board.

JohhnySkye · Jan 30, 2018

Studiovape said:
Hi Johhny, I imagine you're having a dig about the large size of the Ipad pro's 10.5 screen, I understand you have the P4P+ so you're stuck with a 5.5" screen, I did carefully consider that option, but as a real estate photographer I felt it would be too limiting, not to mention the lack of 3rd party app support. I'm glad you're happy with what you chose and you've found joy with the only display that is currently made by DJI that isn't having major issues across the board.

Hi, no not having a dig, simply my strange sense of humour.
Have a good day.

Studiovape · Jan 30, 2018

JohhnySkye said:
Hi, no not having a dig, simply my strange sense of humour.
Have a good day.

Fair enough, I did consider that, but it's been a looooong day

lannes · Jan 30, 2018

Studiovape said:
Thanks for your reply lannes, I have see your name pop up in nearly every post I've read concerning the CS issues, your response pretty much sums up my thoughts and reiterates what I've read and thensome, I'm just struggling to pass on the CS because of it's brightness. It's so ironic that DJI just doesn't seem to care about their failures in releasing what should be a knockout product, but ends up being total wash out.

That is unfortunately the dilemma we have, have you ever considered the Epson BT-300 glasses, I enjoy using them, these might impress the clients.

Ed Ricker does a good review

Brent10 · Jan 30, 2018

I use the 7" CS High Brightness and haven't had a problem (apart from the ancient version of DJI Go4). It's bright enough in most sunny situations and I can (and have) put a small hood on it when the angle of the sun is problematic.

Studiovape · Jan 30, 2018

Brent10 said:
I use the 7" CS High Brightness and haven't had a problem (apart from the ancient version of DJI Go4). It's bright enough in most sunny situations and I can (and have) put a small hood on it when the angle of the sun is problematic.

I must admit that I have heard very few issues with the High Brightness version, I just felt If I was going to have to fork out $1200AU for the HB CS and mounting kit plus lose out on smooth IOS and 3rd party apps I might as well go to $1500 and get the UB CS and never have to worry about a sun hood ever, the HB seems like a half arsed compromise, but maybe DJI over reached with the UB version hence all the backlights going tits up. I know the latest firmware has been blamed for this overheating and resultant back light demise, but seriously DJI! way to inspire confidence in your future customers.

Studiovape · Jan 30, 2018

lannes said:
That is unfortunately the dilemma we have, have you ever considered the Epson BT-300 glasses, I enjoy using them, these might impress the clients.

Ed Ricker does a good review

Thanks lannes, I was aware of them, but had half forgotten and half discounted them as over priced and fragile for everyday/commercial use. they do seem to have some cool features, one drawback for me is that being as Dji has crippled the AEB setting with only 0.66 EV -+ on the P4P I need to bracket manually at least -2 0 +2 EV and while this is not the easiest to do quickly on the tablet/Iphone it looks like it would be a lot harder to do it precisely on that track pad the Epson BT-300s uses. Everywhere I turn at the moment I appear hemmed in by DJI's questionable design/functionality decisions or lack of resolution for owners complaints and requests.
I know I'll get there, it's just not really all that much fun navigating all this stuff.
I want to create this with one touch of the button :

but I have to manually do this (please excuse the subject matter,and my wheelie bin,
it was just a test):

lannes · Jan 30, 2018

Studiovape said:
Thanks lannes, I was aware of them, but had half forgotten and half discounted them as over priced and fragile for everyday/commercial use. they do seem to have some cool features, one drawback for me is that being as Dji has crippled the AEB setting with only 0.66 EV -+ on the P4P I need to bracket manually -2 0 +2 EV and while this is not the easiest to do quickly on the tablet/Iphone it looks like it would be a lot harder to do it precisely on that track pad the Epson BT-300s uses. Everywhere I turn at the moment I appear hemmed in by DJI's questionable design/functionality decisions or lack of resolution for owners complaints and requests.
I know I'll get there, it's just not really all that much fun navigating all this stuff.

Using the right scroll wheel on the P4P standard controller you can control exposure compensation , when in camera mode pressing the scroll wheel toggles between iso adjustment and exposure compensation, just press the scroll wheel until the exp comp value is highlighted in blue.
Then you should be able to spin the wheel to different exp comp values and take the required shots using the controller shutter button

Using this method, your not going anywhere near the BT-300 trackpad

Actually for me the BT-300 have been the most robust solution for flying drones, even with the numerous updates made to DJI Go 4 it works perfectly each time. It's also compatible with Litchi, Drone Harmony and UGCS to name a few apps. Compared to the CS UB they are less costly.
They maybe light weight, but all the connections are designed well with locking mechanisms etc
and both control pads have worked without a hitch

Studiovape · Jan 30, 2018

lannes said:
Using the right scroll wheel on the P4P standard controller you can control exposure compensation , when in camera mode pressing the scroll wheel toggles between iso adjustment and exposure compensation, just press the scroll wheel until the exp comp value is highlighted in blue.
Then you should be able to spin the wheel to different exp comp values and take the required shots using the controller shutter button

Using this method, your not going anywhere near the BT-300 trackpad

Actually for me the BT-300 have been the most robust solution for flying drones, even with the numerous updates made to DJI Go 4 it works perfectly each time. It's also compatible with Litchi, Drone Harmony and UGCS to name a few apps. Compared to the CS UB they are less costly.
They maybe light weight, but all the connections are designed well with locking mechanisms etc
and both control pads have worked without a hitch

I have tried the exposure comp via the right scroll wheel and found it a PITA, it keeps (auto) locking itself so you have to push it in before you scroll each time, then it is very laggy and imprecise getting to the exposure comp setting you want, especially going all the way from -2 to +2.
Where as if you do it through the tablet on screen adjustments it's fast and fluid with no auto locking going on.
I experimented with all the possible options to see which was quickest and easiest, the scroll wheel didn't figure in any of the winning scenarios unfortunately.
Best price I can find here in Aus is $1199 for the BT-300 , good to know that you have found them reliable and fairly robust though cost does seem very steep compared to the US price on amazon of $699US.
I won't discount them yet though from my final decision thanks to your shared experience with them, if I could just get these darn flies out of this ointment haha..

Studiovape · Jan 30, 2018

Studiovape said:
I have tried the exposure comp via the right scroll wheel and found it a PITA, it keeps (auto) locking itself so you have to push it in before you scroll each time, then it is very laggy and imprecise getting to the exposure comp setting you want, especially going all the way from -2 to +2.
Where as if you do it through the tablet on screen adjustments it's fast and fluid with no auto locking going on.
I experimented with all the possible options to see which was quickest and easiest, the scroll wheel didn't figure in any of the winning scenarios unfortunately.
Best price I can find here in Aus is $1199 for the BT-300 , good to know that you have found them reliable and fairly robust though cost does seem very steep compared to the US price on amazon of $699US.
I won't discount them yet though from my final decision thanks to your shared experience with them, if I could just get these darn flies out of this ointment haha..

Maybe the spread of around 1.3 EV -+ with the 5 fram AEB and just use -1.3,0,+1.3 might get me close enough with Raw in DXO, then I could have less issues with the BT-300 solution

Studiovape · Jan 31, 2018

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and advice. After much consideration I have decided to buy a P4P+ controller with the inbuilt display. I got a used one for half retail with only 5 hours use. This way I can get working at least with reasonable brightness. Then hopefully in the near future when DJI get their sh%t together with the Iltra bright I can add that to my existing P4P controller, and then either resell the P4P+ controller or keep it as back up for when my CS Ultra bright goes in for repairs haha. I do like some aspect of the BT-300 but I don't feel that's the right option for me at present. So thanks all and especially to Johhnyskye for making me reconsider the P4P+ display option based on his positive experience with it, I researched his posts as I was trying to work out if he was funny or rude.

funny and helpful, haha.

AndrewCCM · Jan 31, 2018

I used an iPad Pro 10.5 (and still do)... Just not very bright out in Texas sun. Recently started using my iPhone 7+ with MOGO Goggles... Works pretty darn well...

lannes · Jan 31, 2018

Studiovape said:
Best price I can find here in Aus is $1199 for the BT-300 , good to know that you have found them reliable and fairly robust though cost does seem very steep compared to the US price on amazon of $699US.
I won't discount them yet though from my final decision thanks to your shared experience with them, if I could just get these darn flies out of this ointment haha..

Yes, it is a bit expensive in Australia, but I always buy from Amazon and get it delivered to my US Shopmate address and then it gets sent to me for around 30 aud by Australia Post in their system.
This allows me to buy from any store in the US to get the best price savings

ShopMate

Studiovape · Jan 31, 2018

lannes said:
Yes, it is a bit expensive in Australia, but I always buy from Amazon and get it delivered to my US Shopmate address and then it gets sent to me for around 30 aud by Australia Post in their system.
This allows me to buy from any store in the US to get the best price savings

ShopMate

Thanks I'll check out the link.

JohhnySkye · Feb 1, 2018

Studiovape said:
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and advice. After much consideration I have decided to buy a P4P+ controller with the inbuilt display. I got a used one for half retail with only 5 hours use. This way I can get working at least with reasonable brightness. Then hopefully in the near future when DJI get their sh%t together with the Iltra bright I can add that to my existing P4P controller, and then either resell the P4P+ controller or keep it as back up for when my CS Ultra bright goes in for repairs haha. I do like some aspect of the BT-300 but I don't feel that's the right option for me at present. So thanks all and especially to Johhnyskye for making me reconsider the P4P+ display option based on his positive experience with it, I researched his posts as I was trying to work out if he was funny or rude. funny and helpful, haha.

Pleased to have been of some help, enjoy your new toy as I do with my Pro 4+

wmclements2003 · Feb 4, 2018

Studiovape said:
After receiving my Phantom 4 Pro a few weeks back, I have been holding off on buying a display/tablet for it, I have briefly used it with my Iphone 5SE, and all is well apart from the size of display and hard to see in strong sun (which will happen a lot being in Australia).
Every time I say to myself " you need the Crystal sky Ultra", I find another complaint about back-light breakdowns or firmware update/support being atrocious.
I really want that brightness, but really the Crystalsky seems like such a risky prospect vs say an Ipad pro 10.5.
I've heard rumors that the CS is running an outdated CPU and DJI are very secretive about the true specs, signalling they have very little to show off about in that regard.
I really need to get up and running with a decent sized display asap as I have jobs coming in for drone work now, having told my clients I would be adding this to my services.
Is the Ipad pro really to dim a display?, it certainly has the Ram CPU and stable IOS on it's side, plus better firmware update support.
This dilemma is literally driving me nuts. I have read as much as I can with arguments on both sides, but as those reviews and reports become more and more dated as time goes on, and there only seems to be more and more bad press/feedback on the Crystalsky.
I would appreciate and advice you folks an offer.