Should I buy a P3 Advanced or Standard?

[SamNetwork]

I'm stuck between getting a P3S or a P3A. The P3A has a bunch of awesome features like Lightbridge and GLONASS/AGPS, but the prices is much higher. I can get a P3S as little as $400 on Amazon® but I can get the Advanced for $625. The problem is that I have to save for it. I'm at nearly $200. Of course if I want it by the summer, I'll probably get the P3S, but I would probably get the P3A in the late summer. What are your thoughts?

 

[peterepeat69]

I was in the same boat, one inch off the standard, and lunged out to get the advanced, so glad I did, with more satellites its a guarantee almost you won't have a fly away, never been happier, advanced all the way or nothing.


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[msinger]

with more satellites its a guarantee almost you won't have a fly away

Phantom 3s are not known to fly away (even the P3S). I've only seen a few fly aways mentioned here -- and, all turned out to be caused by pilot error. Even if the OP does go with the P3A, he still needs to understand how to fly it

 

[Meta4]

I was in the same boat, one inch off the standard, and lunged out to get the advanced, so glad I did, with more satellites its a guarantee almost you won't have a fly away

The Standard would share the extremely low possibility of flying away that the Advanced has.
This isn't related to the GPS system used. Both are adequate in that department.
If money is a critical factor, the Standard means you can fly sooner and maybe afford an extra battery.
If you need the additional features of the Advanced, save for longer.
Both are very good and share many features.
Compare the Phantom Series | DJI

 

[SamNetwork]

Thanks for everyone's feedback! Here's a question: is DJI Lightbridge worth it?

 

[msinger]

It depends on how far away you're planning on flying. If you only want to fly VLOS, then the P3S will be just fine in most cases. You might have trouble with it if you try to fly in heavily populated areas (due to interference).

 

[band318]

I'm stuck between getting a P3S or a P3A. The P3A has a bunch of awesome features like Lightbridge and GLONASS/AGPS, but the prices is much higher. I can get a P3S as little as $400 on Amazon® but I can get the Advanced for $625. The problem is that I have to save for it. I'm at nearly $200. Of course if I want it by the summer, I'll probably get the P3S, but I would probably get the P3A in the late summer. What are your thoughts?

I was in the same decision making situation 2months ago and finally went for the advanced..

If money is a critical factor then don't forget that you need additional $ for additional battery, accessories, filters, and probably an app (litchi or FPV or Autopilot)..

if you can save the additional $200 then advanced will give you just the extra (signal range & quality) to exploit the Phantom better.. flying in a space with obstacles may limit standard to 1km radius and may limit you to exploit the capabilities of P3 fully.. Lightbridge on P3A will give you just enough to fly a few hundred feet further..

Currently very very good deals in the US (missing here in Europe) on the P3A compared to just 2months ago - so take advantage.. may be price may even drop a little further in next 2months..

 

[richwoodrocket]

I was in the same boat, and I got the standard. It's range has impressed me enough, and for what I use it for, it's enough.
I got a bundle with the p3s, a backpack case, a Sandisk extreme 32gb card, prop guards, a microfiber cleaning cloth, and a lanyard for $494. Won't be needing the prop guards the cloth or the lanyard but it was worth it for the card and backpack.


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[SamNetwork]

GAH!!! They're both really good! I can't decide! I suppose I could buy a second RC for the P3S and put one of those DBS antennas. To extend range.

 

[toegema]

GAH!!! They're both really good! I can't decide! I suppose I could buy a second RC for the P3S and put one of those DBS antennas. To extend range.

I think that if you are at all thinking about range, I would go for the Adv or Pro, so you DON'T have to think about range or mods! If range is not an issue, and you want a flying camera taking beautiful images from the air around you Standard will do just fine... [emoji2]


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[peterepeat69]

The Standard would share the extremely low possibility of flying away that the Advanced has.
This isn't related to the GPS system used. Both are adequate in that department.
If money is a critical factor, the Standard means you can fly sooner and maybe afford an extra battery.
If you need the additional features of the Advanced, save for longer.
Both are very good and share many features.
Compare the Phantom Series | DJI

That's interesting, well I've been told that with glonass you have less likely chance of losing satellite , and if the s does lose satellite and it's windy, that means it can be taken by the wind in ATTI mode. Wrong right?


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[Meta4]

That's interesting, well I've been told that with glonass you have less likely chance of losing satellite , and if the s does lose satellite and it's windy, that means it can be taken by the wind in ATTI mode. Wrong right?

The P2V+ only had GPS and I never lost satellite lock when I used to fly that
What you've been told might be some theoretical case but it doesn't make much difference in real life.
And if you lost GPS, your Phantom can only be taken away by the wind if you let it.
Without GPS you can still fly your Phantom.

 

[Brian Taylor]

My first quad was the Phantom FC40 (because of price) I then put more $ into it to add a gimbal, SJCam and 2.4GHz video Tx and monitor than if I had gone with the Vision series. Recently I purchased the P3S for the same low $ reasoning and after one flight with the WiFi video ect, I knew I wasn't going to be happy so back to the store it went in exchange for the P3A. LightBridge is awesome!! Picture quality and range are amazing, For me, worth the extra $ to not have that regret every time I fly the next couple of years.

 

[SamNetwork]

My first quad was the Phantom FC40 (because of price) I then put more $ into it to add a gimbal, SJCam and 2.4GHz video Tx and monitor than if I had gone with the Vision series. Recently I purchased the P3S for the same low $ reasoning and after one flight with the WiFi video ect, I knew I wasn't going to be happy so back to the store it went in exchange for the P3A. LightBridge is awesome!! Picture quality and range are amazing, For me, worth the extra $ to not have that regret every time I fly the next couple of years.

Thanks for the advice, but the only problem is that it's so expensive.

 

[Brian Taylor]

Thanks for the advice, but the only problem is that it's so expensive.

It is definitely expensive, but owning both (one briefly ) I can say you get what you pay for with the LightBridge and upgraded remote.
If you're only talking a few months of summer, I would wait until I had the money for the P3A. No REGRETS!

 

[SamNetwork]

It is definitely expensive, but owning both (one briefly ) I can say you get what you pay for with the LightBridge and upgraded remote.
If you're only talking a few months of summer, I would wait until I had the money for the P3A. No REGRETS!

Well, it depends on my income rate.
If I have $350-$400 by May 31, I'll probably shoot for the P3A.

 

[hugedog897]

Only you kmow what you can affors make you dissions on paying for bills first then toys

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[SamNetwork]

Well, I don't have to pay for bills yet, but you have a point.

 

[Squirrel!]

Well, it depends on my income rate.
If I have $350-$400 by May 31, I'll probably shoot for the P3A.

Where can you get a P3A for $350-$400?!

 

[SamNetwork]

Where can you get a P3A for $350-$400?!

No, I mean that $350-$400 would be a checkpoint. Sort of.