Thanks for the info WetDog. So range aside, is the P4 reliable enough that if you had to go out today and replace your P3P would you buy the P4 or go back with a P3P? I want something I'm not terrified will fly away every time I take it up. I want one I can just enjoy the heck out of flying. Oh and take beautiful cinematic shots along the way. Is that too much to ask?
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I'd buy a P3P again (in fact, I just did). But that's just me.
-- I have lots of P3 stuff - batteries, backpacks, RCs, antennas.
-- The P3 firmware is *probably* more stable than the P4 (DJI has had more whacks at it, practice makes perfect)
-- The P4 doesn't offer much that I am interested in (that's the key). I don't particularly want to go fast. In fact, I'm usually trying to figure out how to go slower (you don't pan quickly in 4K). I don't run into walls very often (trees are another story). The P4 camera system is really at the same level of the P3 (notwithstanding the '36% better' lens whatever the hell that means).
If you want to go fast or play chicken with large, stationary objects, the P4 is definitely for you. The P3 is also old tech - don't expect DJI to add any capabilities to it. The recent request for beta testers for the "PC ground station" is indicative of this, P3 owners need not apply.
P3s are a bit cheaper. A consideration if you play at the edge. That turns out to be the primary reason for not getting an Inspire. If I wreck a P3 I will be annoyed. If I drop an Inspire in the drink, my wife would probably make me swim after it. And then pull up the dive ladder.
YMMV.
Also - neither the P3 or the P4 (or the X3 level Inspires) is a 'professional' level video system. That horse left the barn a couple of years ago. The video is compromised by poor bit depth and poor bit rate and a marginal lens. It's acceptable for a lot of 'professional' (ie, you can charge for it) level video but the real video folks are, as usual, way beyond that. Look at the Inspire X5Raw for some inspiration (and desperation) and realize that that machine is at the bottom of the pro heap.
Just be sure you understand where your competitors are.