Phantom 3 Advanced vs Spark

[Nero888]

Hi guys,
I'm new here so please be gentle with me
I recently sold my Phantom 3 Standard for £400GBP ($518USD) and bought a brand new Phantom 3 Advanced for a bargain price of £470GBP ($609USD) was really happy with the difference i paid to upgrade from the standard to Advanced.

Main reason why i wanted the upgrade was better distance and lightbridge ( on the standard i would constantly lose connection)

I received the Advance a few days ago but haven't had the chance to even open the box & try it yet. Now DJI have unveiled the Spark.

So my dilemma is to either keep the Advanced or sell it at a profit/return for refund and get the Spark. I had the Standard for about a year, but only probably flew it 10 times or less, i mainly used the video for youtube videos.

The Sparks portability and price point of $500 is very tempting, and i can see myself using it more due to portability. After looking at the spec, the distance and camera quality is worse than the standard, which is a little off putting. I'm not really bothered with 4K, i was actually pretty happy with the video quality of the Standard. The Sparks spec can be seen here: Spark – Specs, FAQ, Tutorials and Downloads

Phantom 3 Advanced spec blows the Spark away, but it is larger & less portable & would probably be used less.

Would really like to hear your thoughts

 

[LuvMyTJ]

They are completely different drones for different purposes. The Spark with the remote is $650, the closest in size, the Mavic is $1000.
It really comes down to your use's. The Spark only films in 1080 so I wouldn't want one for decent film or photo work. It seems to be aimed at the younger, selfie crowd and new drone owners. Watch some YT videos, there are tons of them now.

 

[MrJonesDroneFootagez]

Phantom over the spark all day long.

 

[HWCM]

They are completely different drones for different purposes. The Spark with the remote is $650, the closest in size, the Mavic is $1000.
It really comes down to your use's. The Spark only films in 1080 so I wouldn't want one for decent film or photo work. It seems to be aimed at the younger, selfie crowd and new drone owners. Watch some YT videos, there are tons of them now.

$650.00? I am seeing $699.
Also with the remote the range is 1.2 miles. In DJI speak that is 100 ft real world. LOL

 

[LuvMyTJ]

$650.00? I am seeing $699.
Also with the remote the range is 1.2 miles. In DJI speak that is 100 ft real world. LOL

The Spark is $500 and the TX is $150. The $699 price is the "fly more" kit. It has an extra battery, bag, props, etc. The "fly more" kit is obviously the best deal. I was pricing the cheapest method.

 

[Noodle]

Main reason why i wanted the upgrade was better distance and lightbridge ( on the standard i would constantly lose connection)

P3A uses Lightbridge while Spark still uses WiFi. Now does that settle your mind?

 

[macoman]

They are completely different drones for different purposes. The Spark with the remote is $650, the closest in size, the Mavic is $1000.
It really comes down to your use's. The Spark only films in 1080 so I wouldn't want one for decent film or photo work. It seems to be aimed at the younger, selfie crowd and new drone owners. Watch some YT videos, there are tons of them now.

Completely agreed, the spark main audience is the youngest crow or people who love selfies or flying close distances. This is not for me, phantoms ftw!!!!

 

[Stile2112]

Completely agreed, the spark main audience is the youngest crow or people who love selfies or flying close distances. This is not for me, phantoms ftw!!!!

Mmmmmmmmmm flying.... close.... distances???

 

[LuvMyTJ]

I saw they go up to a mile. I believe you need the TX for that.

 

[HWCM]

Yes, the remote is a $200 addition. That will allow up to 1.2 miles FCC. So in reality probably 500 ft. [emoji4]

 

[msinger]

I saw they go up to a mile. I believe you need the TX for that.

The range is ~10 ft when flying with hand gestures, 328 ft (100 m) distance & 164 ft (50 m) height when flying with a mobile device, or 1.2 miles FCC (500 m CE) when flying with the DJI Spark remote controller.

 

[HWCM]

But as we all know, DJI claims are way off.

 

[msinger]

You got it. Some people are going to get less or more range. It would be impossible to quote dead accurate numbers since all pilots are not flying from the same spot on the earth.

 

[Jayfdee]

I want the most stable in wind, best camera, best flight time, reasonable range, 3 axis gimbal, 4K, Lightbridge.
I am not bothered about selfies,or compact size, or speed of getting airborne. You can do spiral climbs with Litchi and waypoints.
So there is only one winner for me, well 2 actually the Phantom or a Mavic.

 

[Apilot101]

Lightbridge is only thing that keeps me with DJI. Without it, nobody can compare for distance without sacrificing quality.

 

[kas007]

Clearly the best decision is to have both! I have a P4 and have been thinking about adding a Mavic for portability since I'm on a plane every 3 weeks between work and home. I went with a Spark instead of Mavic due to $500 difference. Hopefully Spark limitations won't make me regret passing on the Mavic.

 

[Matts175]

This is like comparing a banana to a basketball. LOL

 

[the88man]

16 mins vs 28 with a p4

 

[Noodle]

Clearly the best decision is to have both! I have a P4 and have been thinking about adding a Mavic for portability since I'm on a plane every 3 weeks between work and home. I went with a Spark instead of Mavic due to $500 difference. Hopefully Spark limitations won't make me regret passing on the Mavic.

LOL in your case the best decision is to have them three - P4, Mavic and Spark - so you won't have to worry about regret

 

[macoman]

LOL in your case the best decision is to have them three - P4, Mavic and Spark - so you won't have to worry about regret

If you have plenty of cash available, buy it all. I am comfortable with my humble P3S for now. My next one if I will do it is to upgrade to a P3 Advanced. I don't have the cash to buy the latest drones and not interested on the spark.