Phantom 3 Adv to Spark - differences?

[dragonash]

I'm looking to switch to a spark from a P3A.
How are the controls of the spark versus the P3A? Is it nearly 1-1 ?
Any lag?
How much distance can it get?

Id like to know as many of the differences as possible.

Thanks in advance

 

[With The Birds]

The spark is slower with shorter flight time and less able to cope with wind. Range is significantly less. Camera isn’t as good. Unless extreme portability is your goal it is inferior in most respects.

 

[Hoss]

From another point of view:

The P3A is about 15% faster than the Spark.
Ascent speed on P3A is 5 m/s, Spark is 3 m/s.
Descent speed is 3 m/s on both.
P3A 23 minute flight time, Spark 16 minute flight time (dji advertised times).
RC response is similar but Spark seems peppier because if its small size.
The Spark's range is great enough to fly beyond visual line of sight, which is illegal in the US and many other countries.
Spark has forward obstacle avoidance.

Almost anybody, with 10 minutes of instruction, can get in the air with a Spark and take pretty good 1080p video and 3968x2976 still photos without having to deal with any camera adjustments. According to many home theater experts the average viewer can't tell the difference in 1080p and 4k at typical viewing distances. For some people and in some situations "pretty good" is good enough.

My Spark flew in 20 knot breeze today. I confess, I didn't stay up too long because it was less fun than a more calm day would have been. Yes, my P4P could have dealt with the wind with no problem.

The Spark is not a professional photographer's or videographer's drone, but it can certainly do a lot and be a lot of fun for such a small package.

 

[Chrislaf]

I have both a Spark and a P3S. Aside from not being able to record in 4K on the P3S, the camera specs are very similar otherwise.

I bought my Spark mainly for travel and as a complement/backup to my P3S. However, my Spark is my Go To drone most of the time. It is small, light, and I can take it pretty much anywhere. It is currently the only dockable DJI drone (via the Charging Station). Everything I need for my Spark fits in the Charging Station bag which I carry around with my regular DSLR cameras and lenses in a LowePro backpack. The Spark has become my favourite drone and if/when I get another drone it will have to be small and versatile like the Spark. I have taken pictures in places I would never have with my P3S, due to its size, weight, set-up time, etc. Although the Spark only takes JPEGs, I have found the colour reproduction better than the RAW images on my P3S. I do wish the Spark had RAW capability as you are able to adjust and tweak photos better with RAW.

That being said, my P3S does have some advantages. The camera can tilt down to 90º whereas the Spark can only go to 85º. Also, the camera on the P3S can tilt up above horizontal. I live in Canada and in cold weather, I have had problems with the gimbal tilt on the Spark - it either does not tilt or it is jerky and unreliable. On my P3S, I have never had any problems with the gimbal in cold weather. I have regularly flown in cold weather around -20ºC or colder. Also, I can see my P3S much easier due to its size at distance.

Both my P3S and Spark are WiFi drones. I always fly within VLOS so range has never been a factor for me.

Hope this helps.

Chris