Something you wish you knew before you bought it and/or flown it.

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I am in the process of researching to by the Phantom 3 professional. My first drone was the Hubson x4 just to mess around with and I absolutely love flying that thing everywhere. Is there anything you wish you knew before you bought yours or before you started flying? Articles to read, instructions, etc? Anything would be helpful. Thanks.
 
Is there anything you wish you knew before you bought yours or before you started flying?

1) That it is a pain trying to get the P3's app to work on my laptop. Got the DJI pilot app running but can't connect the controller via USB since laptops usually don't have a micro-usb port.

2) Also research what devices (tablets/phones) work the best and have smooth video feed playback.
So far when it comes to Android I found these are the HTC Nexus 7 from 2013 (!) or the Nvidia Shield tablet (which has two versions, one that has 3G/4G GSM and one that doesn't)
- All Samsung tablets don't seem to work very well (glitchy feedback/lag)

3) CSC.
Most newbs don't seem to have heard of such a thing and some wreck their drones CSC-ing in flight.

(btw. I am a newb too when it comes to RC flying)
 
1) That it is a pain trying to get the P3's app to work on my laptop. Got the DJI pilot app running but can't connect the controller via USB since laptops usually don't have a micro-usb port.

2) Also research what devices (tablets/phones) work the best and have smooth video feed playback.
So far when it comes to Android I found these are the HTC Nexus 7 from 2013 (!) or the Nvidia Shield tablet (which has two versions, one that has 3G/4G GSM and one that doesn't)
- All Samsung tablets don't seem to work very well (glitchy feedback/lag)

3) CSC.
Most newbs don't seem to have heard of such a thing and some wreck their drones CSC-ing in flight.

(btw. I am a newb too when it comes to RC flying)

The Phantom 3 does not require using any desktop computer programs. Everything from the Phantom Tom to the controller is updates via the dji pilot app on your tablet or smart phone
 
Well I have a Nexus 7 2013 so I think I will be fine with that. Everything I've read says that those work well.

CSC? Not quite sure what that means.
 
The Phantom 3 does not require using any desktop computer programs. Everything from the Phantom Tom to the controller is updates via the dji pilot app on your tablet or smart phone

Thank you, I know it doesn't require a laptop, and the app wasn't build having a laptop in mind, but I really want it to work on my laptop as well. Would open up a whole range of possibilities.
Like, I think live streaming still doesn't work well on all tablets, as far as I have read on here. Using a laptop it would be a doozy.
 
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Ahhh that makes sense. I did see that but didn't know that's what csc stood for. Hoping I can get this thing soon.
 
- The 4K footage is a bit disappointing due to poor compression.
- Stress cracks people are experiencing are worrisome.
- The number of places cracking down of flying is rising. Likely due to negative media exposure. Makes it harder to fly, but not impossible.
- Worth the price? Debatable, could be a few hundred cheaper, but I challenge you to find anything that comes close for the same price.

All in all, though, it's a great machine. It combines the fun of flying with stunning photography, and it's very fun to go home and edit your amazing footage. It still makes me gawk every time I fly somewhere new.
 
1) That it is a pain trying to get the P3's app to work on my laptop.
3) CSC. Most newbs don't seem to have heard of such a thing and some wreck their drones CSC-ing in flight.
DJI didn't make the Phantom to work with a laptop.
It is designed for either and android or Apple tablet or phone.

The number of flyers losing their Phantom due to mid-flight is incredibly small.
We've had only two or three mentioned here and the kind of flying that results in mid-air CSC would probably soon result in a crash of some sort anyway.

The P3 is a fantastic machine. It's way ahead of any of its competitors or the previous Phantom.
You'll have a ball.
 
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- Worth the price? Debatable, could be a few hundred cheaper, but I challenge you to find anything that comes close for the same price.
Debatable??? That's not going to be much of a debate.
could be a few hundred cheaper - Before it came out the consensus opinion was that it would cost $200+ and that was before anyone knew that it had Lightbridge.
Go to the DJI store and see what it costs to buy Lightbridge to add to a drone.
It costs more than the P3 but it's included with the price of the P3!!!
The P3 Advanced is about the same price as the P2V+ it replaced despite being many times better.
And for all this, the Phantom 3 is cheaper than any competitors but none can match it's performance.
The P3 is a gift at current prices.
 
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When the DJI Phantom (1, 2 or 3) works - its great! Meets or exceeds expectations...

Understand DJI is a Chinese company, different culture. If you are "techy and can work on the Phantom yourself you're better off as Customer Service is non-defined by DJI... There are a few like Tahoe Ed and Blade Strike that chime in here on the forum - but they can't keep up with the ~3-4% of quality issues from a company that will most likely ship over 1M products this year. I got it and understood that part...

What I didn't expect was the method they engineer, design, test and throw the firmware/ software upgrades at the market.... Be patient, if it flies - don't F' with it is what I learned.
 
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Debatable??? That's not going to be much of a debate.
could be a few hundred cheaper - Before it came out the consensus opinion was that it would cost $200+ and that was before anyone knew that it had Lightbridge.
Go to the DJI store and see what it costs to buy Lightbridge to add to a drone.
It costs more than the P3 but it's included with the price of the P3!!!
The P3 Advanced is about the same price as the P2V+ it replaced despite being many times better.
And for all this, the Phantom 3 is cheaper than any competitors but none can match it's performance.
The P3 is a gift at current prices.

For sure, when you consider the cost of buying components separately. But there's no way the cost of the components in the LiPos comes anywhere near £150, for instance. Maybe more like £50 excluding R&D.

However, as evidenced by your last point, in that the P3A is about the same price as a P2V+, the markup on these machines is huge (given that the technology employed in these machines has not advanced leaps and bounds since the P2). Okay so a lot of that could be put down to R&D, for example the effort put in to designing the new motors to squeeze extra life from the battery. However, I still reckon that, given the total lack of support, the cheap cost of electronic components, and the R&D already gained from the P1 and P2, the cost of these could easily be a few hundred cheaper. This is also re-enforced by the fact that the P3A and the P3P have the exact same hardware (though one is limited by software), yet have huge differences in prices.

Huge markup, flashy marketing - that's the name of the game!
 
Well I have a Nexus 7 2013 so I think I will be fine with that. Everything I've read says that those work well.

CSC? Not quite sure what that means.
Find Out!!!!!:) Combination Stick Command-- Starts the motors and stops the motors-- don't use this command when the Phantom is flying!!!
 
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I wish I had known that when you are buying a bundle (like a P3 with extra battery), that it's not really a "bundle". I love my P3 and it's rock solid with no firmware or hardware issues (aside from VPS), and I'm still constantly amazed by the technology present in this thing. But I'm still operating with only one battery as I'm waiting for the second one to be shipped. I had assumed that if I bought it as a bundle, that provisions had been made so that the second battery would be available and be shipped with the quad. By the time I finished buying all the other items I needed to go with my P3 (tablet, backpack, ND filters, etc.) I just didn't have the cash for additional batteries, even if they were available from other dealers.
 
1) I wish I'd known the DJI Lightbridge ground station will not pick up the video signal from the P3 for live streaming purposes.
2) I wish I'd known that my GP4 with custom lens takes better (sharper, less distortion) real estate and architectural pictures than the P3

I still don't regret buying the P3, it's got unbelievable range and will be great for video or pictures that a customer is not paying for which is when you really want that Lightbridge setup. But for real estate pictures I'm sticking with my P2 unless a custom lens comes out for the P3.
 
I don't immediately have the money to throw into an extra battery. I know the specs say a battery will charge in X amount of time. What has your experience been with charge time? If you travel and want to get some nice footage with one battery, how do you charge it on the go? Power converter in the car? Is the ratio of flight time to charge time decent? If I can fly it for like 20 min while recording and getting pictures I will be happy. The small one I have now lasts for like 3 minutes with recording on the whole time, and the quality is horrible (what can you expect for $50).
 
I wish I hadn't hung on to my f450 for soooo long. P3 advanced is quite an unbelievable craft. I have adjusted the
gimbal angle and changed the configuration of the buttons on the bad of the controller and that is it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Ive also just upgraded from using an iPhone6 to an iPad Air 2. Brilliant. I haven't had so much fun since my gran got her tit caught in the mangle. :)
 
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