Phantom 2 or Phantom 3?

[Johnny Golf]

I've been wanting to get into this for awhile, so I pulled the trigger on the Phantom 2 with the Zenmuse 3D-HD gimbal when Amazon offerred it a couple days ago for $683. By all accounts, that seems to be a good deal.

Now I'm wondering if I should send it back (it's still in the box), and pay the extra 200+ for the Phantom 3.
So I thought I'd get some opinions from the experts!

If I keep the P2, I'm pretty sure I'll be happy with it, but I wonder if I'll regret not going for the P3 right out of the gate.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Fourblade]

Well seeing that it's all still boxed I personally would send it back and definitely go for a P3

....but that's just my thoughts. I bought a P2V+ last August and have just sold it to get a P3. If I'd bought a P2 a couple of months ago I would feel slightly miffed that I didn't wait longer

 

[UKInfamous]

I am in the same position, well still trying to make my mind up! What attracts me to the p2 and gimbal with a fpv setup is all parts are usable on other quads/planes/cars plus I already own a couple of Hero 4 camera's. Buy a P3 or P2+ and damage the gimbal or camera, you need to buy a complete unit at twice the price of a gimbal! If you want to sell your P3 your camera and gimbal go with it.

 

[johnp44]

I've been wanting to get into this for awhile, so I pulled the trigger on the Phantom 2 with the Zenmuse 3D-HD gimbal when Amazon offerred it a couple days ago for $683. By all accounts, that seems to be a good deal.

Now I'm wondering if I should send it back (it's still in the box), and pay the extra 200+ for the Phantom 3.
So I thought I'd get some opinions from the experts!

If I keep the P2, I'm pretty sure I'll be happy with it, but I wonder if I'll regret not going for the P3 right out of the gate.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

If money isn't tight, then I would send it back and go for the P3. I am still trying to find out how much the batteries cost for the P3. Guess I need to call a dealer.

 

[Casper2015]

I am in the same position, well still trying to make my mind up! What attracts me to the p2 and gimbal with a fpv setup is all parts are usable on other quads/planes/cars plus I already own a couple of Hero 4 camera's. Buy a P3 or P2+ and damage the gimbal or camera, you need to buy a complete unit at twice the price of a gimbal! If you want to sell your P3 your camera and gimbal go with it.

+ 1
Might be worth sending it back and hanging on a bit in case it gets even cheaper or you decide you prefer one of the competition's drones that are coming out. With the P3 you are buying a very integrated unit and if you damage any part of it or want to upgrade the camera, it will cost a lot. If you do decide to go down the P3 route, at least wait a while until the bugs are ironed out.

 

[thestone11]

I will send it back and get the p3. Just the built in lightbridge already worth the extra $200+ bucks IMO!

 

[UKInfamous]

I will send it back and get the p3. Just the built in lightbridge already worth the extra $200 bucks IMO!

$200 bucks extra? Sir, we are in the UK and get shafted properly! At $999 we should get the P3 for £669 but no it is selling for £899 in the UK and the Pro version is £1159 or $1696.91

 

[thestone11]

$200 bucks extra? Sir, we are in the UK and get shafted properly! At $999 we should get the P3 for £669 but no it is selling for £899 in the UK and the Pro version is £1159 or $1696.91

I am from Canada. Our pricing is P3P $1637 and $1299 for the P3A. I feel for you buddy!

 

[Fourblade]

I am from Canada. Our pricing is P3P $1637 and $1299 for the P3A. I feel for you buddy!

Yeah living here in the UK costs us dearly - but hey I could be living somewhere far worse!!

And with our National Health Service if I injure myself with the Phantom it won't cost me anything

 

[rbhamilton]

Yeah living here in the UK costs us dearly - but hey I could be living somewhere far worse!!

And with our National Health Service if I injure myself with the Phantom it won't cost me anything

No it still costs you. You have to like in the UK.

 

[Kingfish28]

I also bought the Amazon deal, it's in the box waiting to go back right now.
For the cost of: P2&Gimbal + GoPro + FPV equipment + iOSD, the P3 was an easy choice.
P3 will do all that, and more, for less.

 

[WalkaboutSean]

Yeah living here in the UK costs us dearly - but hey I could be living somewhere far worse!!

And with our National Health Service if I injure myself with the Phantom it won't cost me anything

The thing about the National Health Service is that it costs you every day whether you use it or not.

To the original poster, personally I'd go for the P3 over the P2. I also was tempted by the P2 Amazon Lightning Deal. The upside of the P3 is that you'll have everything integrated and working straight from the factory. No need to open your new drone and solder wires... You'll have Lightbridge, the latest hardware performance tweaks (new motors, etc.), the new controller, etc. The P3 looks like a true third generation product with the improvements that warrant the extra money.

 

[Fourblade]

The thing about the National Health Service is that it costs you every day whether you use it or not.

I was just joshing - I know only too well after paying in for over 35 years!

....and I'm the kind of person who would always have that nagging doubt about whether I made the right choice if I bought the P2 so for me it would have to be the P3...

 

[Mopar Bob]

In my opinion there are too many reasons to go with the P3 over the P2. Having owned the P2 for 8 months, I have been very pleased with everything except that crappy WiFi reception and the choppy video. The downstream video reception is so terrible it is practically useless. To get around this, I thought about installing Lightbridge for $1400. I might have done it except DJI said there were too many issues (which are too lengthy to discuss here). So then I started thinking about the Inspire and am very close to going that route. Now enter the P3. The Lightbridge alone makes it a worth while decision. Add to that the improved camera with none of that spherical distortion and you have a winner. At least in my opinion.

One other important thing that no one else has yet to mention. The Inspire and the P3 have the ability to adjust the shutter speed that you do not get in the P2. The reason this is important is that you need to slow the shutter speed down in order to eliminate the staccato affect (jittery/jumpy video) you see in many videos. The rule of thumb is a shutter speed twice the frame rate. So a frame of 24fps needs a shutter speed no more than 1/50 of a second. You cannot control that in the P2.

Also, for you UK folks....I travel to the UK on occasion and I always get stung because of the exchange rate. How does that not work to your favor? How can it be more costly there than here? What am I missing? Also, have any friends or relatives in the US? No, it might be cheaper to take a flight to NYC, stop in at B&H and pick up a few. When you get home sell them to your friends to cover you travel fees. (only half joking about this!)

 

[Casper2015]

In my opinion there are too many reasons to go with the P3 over the P2. Having owned the P2 for 8 months, I have been very pleased with everything except that crappy WiFi reception and the choppy video. The downstream video reception is so terrible it is practically useless. To get around this, I thought about installing Lightbridge for $1400. I might have done it except DJI said there were too many issues (which are too lengthy to discuss here). So then I started thinking about the Inspire and am very close to going that route. Now enter the P3. The Lightbridge alone makes it a worth while decision. Add to that the improved camera with none of that spherical distortion and you have a winner. At least in my opinion.

One other important thing that no one else has yet to mention. The Inspire and the P3 have the ability to adjust the shutter speed that you do not get in the P2. The reason this is important is that you need to slow the shutter speed down in order to eliminate the staccato affect (jittery/jumpy video) you see in many videos. The rule of thumb is a shutter speed twice the frame rate. So a frame of 24fps needs a shutter speed no more than 1/50 of a second. You cannot control that in the P2.

Also, for you UK folks....I travel to the UK on occasion and I always get stung because of the exchange rate. How does that not work to your favor? How can it be more costly there than here? What am I missing? Also, have any friends or relatives in the US? No, it might be cheaper to take a flight to NYC, stop in at B&H and pick up a few. When you get home sell them to your friends to cover you travel fees. (only half joking about this!)

I think walking through the "Nothing to Declare" area in Customs with a pile of Phantom boxes might be difficult, I suspect even if you just had one you would have to produce the UK receipt to avoid paying VAT and custom duties, which would then make it more expensive than the standard UK price. Buying in Europe won't save as much, but you won't have to declare it and pay taxes.

 

[Johnny Golf]

$200 bucks extra? Sir, we are in the UK and get shafted properly! At $999 we should get the P3 for £669 but no it is selling for £899 in the UK and the Pro version is £1159 or $1696.91

In my original post, I referred to spending the extra $200+ over the Amazon deal to get the P3.....what I meant was 300+....sorry! Apparently my brain was disconnected from my fingers as I was typing that!

Thanks for the great feedback! That's exactly what I was looking for. I think you helped me make up my mind and I'm going to send the Amazon P2 deal back and go for the P3.