Please help a newbie STD or ADV?

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Hi guys. Look, I'm so new I squeak. I haven't bought a Phantom yet. I do have a small EC (el cheapo) drone that I'm practicing on until I graduate to the Phantom. But I notice something, when I see a good price I see that it's the Standard. Not knowing much, I shop around and notice there's another model called Advanced. So before I go out and google the differences, I thought I'd post this question to the people who actually might know. What's the difference and which do you recommend and why? I like the idea of two batteries btw.
Thanks for your help, and if this question has been posted before, sorry for that and please show me the link.
EL
 
Hello,
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Phantom Pilots forum. I hope that you will take advantage of the benefits that come with membership and that you will be able to use the forum for the exchange of innovative ideas and as a resource for current developments in Phantom quadcopter’s.

It is really a case of what you budget is. The Advanced is a superior machine to the Standard due to it using Lightbridge for transmission vs. wifi.
Take a look here for the differences - DJI - The World Leader in Camera Drones/Quadcopters for Aerial Photography

Enjoy whatever model you get but if you have the cash, go for the Advanced, if not, the Standard is a solid machine.
 
The Light Bridge is a majestic engineering marvel that is a major reason for the success of the P3A & P3P. We're talking 5km (3.1 miles. I've seen well over two over the beach) of low latency 720 HD video back to your phone or tablet. "Ideal" conditions are rare, but in almost any situation, such as many houses nearby with WiFi, and maybe behind a small amount of light foilage, a couple thousand feet is routine. And the picture is rock solid, never any static. The P3 Standard lacks DJI's Light Bridge technology. It uses a simple WiFi connection to make a live video feed. And at short ranges, the WiFi can get you set up well enough to capture as good video and stills as the camera is capable of. The camera on the A & P units have some additional features, but the big difference is the Light Bridge.

The difference is so big that I find myself exploring a pond (say) that I'd never really realized was there before, and I'll forget to hit the "record" button. LOL. Or if I do hit "record", my video may feature the thrill of flying 20' over the shallow surf at 50 mph, because of the Sport Mode feature in the new Phantom 4 I just bought. And the video may be quite entertaining. But I'd be having a blast, if I never hit "record". Half the hobby to me is operating the tool that carries the aerial camera, not purely capturing high quality video. I want to change that a bit BTW.
 
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What caught my eye and concerned me is that you seemed to consider Googling the difference between the models to be something more than a reflexive, trivial exercise. There WILL be a variable amount of "routine problems" that arise from time to time that need to be solved. some can take some thought and effort. I'm an electrical engineer with insatiable curiousity, so "Googling" to find the answer to a question I have feels like breathing. But I'm not a typical user.

My purpose is not to sound harsh, but just set the stage so you know what you are "getting into." Sometimes a routine problem can require some thought and detective work in the forums and manuals (which are sometimes amazingly incomplete). If you don't feel like you can dig in, find some enjoyment in the search, and satisfaction when you find the solution -- which is usually the sequence -- this might not be the hobby for you. At the present time.

It IS a cool hobby. But what IS the hobby, generally, at the present time? Someone involved in it now probably wouldn't say his hobby is "aerial photography", and not mention his enjoyment of the tool that carries the camera. If he doesn't feel this way about the tool, he might literally get driven insane. LOL. It's becoming more and more user friendly and autonomous, and DJI seems to be at or near the head of the pack. But they aren't quite there yet, and can sometimes create quite a mess. That they admirably try to fix ASAP. I usually find it fun to sift through the info to find an answer. Some personality types would hate it. I hope you find my experience and opinions helpful. "What the 'hobby' actually is", actually occurred to me as I was writing this. To a professional real estate photographer it's not a hobby. Plus he really doesn't care HOW the camera got into the positions he wanted. If he's real serious, he probably hires someone like me, and keeps his mental health intact. LOL
 
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