Starting out with my first real drone.

[Cometstorm]

For me personally, it’s P3A all day long for a number of reasons...

I have no 4K setups, and don’t want to get involved with the higher processing (and electronic delivery) issues.

The overall costs is about half (comparing new to new), and P3A support items cost less.

I’m sure Mavics and Sparks are fine too (I think they both came out more recently).

But something about the “meatiness” of the Phantom build draws my attention... and has more attachment points?

This allowed me to buy a ton of super accessories... six batteries, multiple chargers / dischargers, numerous filter sets, high end heli-pads and carry cases, higher end ground placed landing strobes, multiple on-board Cree strobes, brand new dedicated IPad Air 2, range boosters, prop balancer, standby parts, Marco Polo retrieval system, yada yada.

But then my uses are STRICTLY for recreational hobby and fun. No 107 stuff.

Personal needs vary, of course!

PLUS...If I happen to lose my bird I will cry, but I won’t put a gun to my head.

And I’ll still have most all of my accessories!

By the way, your $2500 budget does seem to support a P4P with most of the items I mentioned.

My post is just to offer some variables....

Fly safe out there!

 

[FL_Mike]

For me personally, it’s P3A all day long for a number of reasons...

I have no 4K setups, and don’t want to get involved with the higher processing (and electronic delivery) issues.

The overall costs is about half (comparing new to new), and P3A support items cost less.

I’m sure Mavics and Sparks are fine too (I think they both came out more recently).

But something about the “meatiness” of the Phantom build draws my attention... and has more attachment points?

This allowed me to buy a ton of super accessories... six batteries, multiple chargers / dischargers, numerous filter sets, high end heli-pads and carry cases, higher end ground placed landing strobes, multiple on-board Cree strobes, brand new dedicated IPad Air 2, range boosters, prop balancer, standby parts, Marco Polo retrieval system, yada yada.

But then my uses are STRICTLY for recreational hobby and fun. No 107 stuff.

Personal needs vary, of course!

PLUS...If I happen to lose my bird I will cry, but I won’t put a gun to my head.

And I’ll still have most all of my accessories!

By the way, your $2500 budget does seem to support a P4P with most of the items I mentioned.

My post is just to offer some variables....

Fly safe out there!

Thanks for the input. I'll consider it when I start pricing everything out this weekend.

The image quality pushed me away from the mavik. It was the route I was going to take originally, but I have the budget for the p4p and I tend to buy the best tech I can afford when I get it.

 

[Phill2]

Mike. I got a Samsung tab 2 in eight inch. Fits perfect in the dji p4 controller. It was on sale for 300. Retail is 359ish. I Bought the more costly one up from 200 for the tab a. I like it.

I have the same one.
Great little unit.

 

[African wildlife]

Mike: Rather than repeating what I've said before here, you might be interested in my three month review of using our P4P+ as a work tool. Here's the link to the correct forum thread:
Three months

You're obviously not an idiot and I'm sure you'll do well. When in doubt, just take your hands off the remote controller and the drone will simply hover whilst you think.

All the best.

 

[FL_Mike]

Here are my must-have accessories for the P4P:

• Extra batteries (get one extra for every additional ~25 minutes you want to fly)
• A short cable to connect the mobile device and remote controller (I like this Cambond cable for Apple devices)
• Camera lens cleaner (like the LensPen)
• Case or backpack to protect the Phantom (see a sortable list of commonly used cases/backpacks here)
• Tablet/phone to run DJI GO (check out commonly used tablets/phones here)
• A few extra memory cards (I usually go with 16/32 GB memory cards since I swap them out often)
• Memory card reader (like this one) to transfer files from memory cards to a computer
• Camera filters for cinematic video footage (check out these brands)
  
• Battery charging hub or parallel charger for more convenient and/or faster charging (check out these options)

Well, I'm in. Picked up what I feel is a good stater package. I'll still need filters and I see a quality case in the very near future, but this seemed like a good place to start.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MXY3XMO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For the tablet I went with the Huawei M3 mediapad 32 gb. The hardware simply our classes the apple. I may hate it and still buy an apple down the road, but Andoid is what I know and from reading around this one does work.

Thank you for all the advice and links.

 

[Fun Flyer]

I love my Phantom 4 Pro and the iPad Mini 4 w 64GB of RAM. I find that 2 batteries are all I have ever needed. You can always buy more of them if you find your requirements differ. I see Amazon has iPad Mini 4's with 128GB for around $337.

flyboy73, if I may. Are you sure the 64GB of RAM you refer to above isn’t actually 64GB of storage on the HD? I just checked my iPad and all I see is storage capacity, no RAM shown in the “About” menu.

 

[zlot]

Hello all, new poster and soon a new pilot as well.

I've been dreaming of owning a real drone for about 5 years and am finally in a position to be able to afford one. I've read and read, watched hours upon hours of videos and reviews and I think I've settled on the P4P.

Up until now my only experience with drones is using toys with no GPS and a joke of stability control. I've actually gotten pretty good with it, flying near obstacles (not people!) landings takeoffs etc. Again, this is just a toy, but from the research I've done they are much harder to actually fly. They are also low risk. Losing a $60 toy is nothing compared to any DJI craft, let alone a P4P.

My primary uses for the drone will be personal photography and with experience and a license entry level professional work such as real estate, weddings, etc. Yes, I know there is a lot of rules and I know I still have a lot to learn. I'm not thinking I'll buy a drone and be running an empire a few weeks later. I would honestly be happy with just a little side money to support the hobby to start out and I know that could be far down the road. The first step will require becoming a pilot capable of work before I can even look for it.

So, my question to the board is:

If you were going out for a new P4P, had a budget to cover the craft and quite a few optional gear and had nothing to start with what would you be shopping for?

The more important question I have is the type of tablet to get. I'll also be getting a new tablet intended only for use with the drone and I need much more research in this area. I'm not a fan of Apple, but that is mostly because I have no other apple products in my life.

Again, all new hardware and just starting out. What would your dream setup be. Oh, I'll throw in a budget of $2500 tops just for a reference point.

Thanks in advance and I love the site. I've already learned quite a bit from all of you.

Answering your question is only my secondary reason for posting, but to answer - I got an iPad just for this purpose. Get the latest model mini - 9.7" standard ipad is a little large, although the viewing is nice. But ESPECIALLY since you have experience with cheap drones, avoid getting caught up with the tech. It's TOTALLY AMAZING! You sound like you probably have more experience and sense than me, but I started to REALLY lean on the tech, attempting a distance record in high wind. Duh!!! Needless to say when I saw my return to home proceeding at 12 MPH, I knew I was in trouble, and rather than have the presence of mind(and experience) to try to make a controlled landing in an open area, I jumped into my car in a total panic. It went down in a seriously inaccessible area - wooded hillside. I looked around once to no avail, clawing and crawling my way back up the hillside. Came back 2 months later, this time armed with GPS software indicating last known point and I FOUND it! Never would have believed it possible! It was just where it was supposed to be! And what is even more unbelievable, it only had a slightly cracked landing strut and a couple broken props. What's more - it WORKED after being out in the winter weather for 2 months! 40.40457673 -80.62991382 are the coordinates, if you want to check it out.

 

[zlot]

Operator errors is a big issue. Phantom drones are easy to fly, which can cause operators to get over confident. Little things like taking off over metal can be a disaster, be it from rebar in concrete or just hidden in the ground.
I use an I pad and an android phone. I pads are the best. They are the first to get updated. They are one company, not like android, which are many.
If you have I pad, get extra lighting cords in case one goes bad. Get a small screw driver, hex repair kit, just in case something gets loose. Trackers are great. Battery warmer for cold weather. Of course a cleaning kit.
If it is in your budget, also buy a P3 and play a lot. You will enjoy flying, be more relaxed and culminate your skills. If you get bored, sell it or give it away.
Make sure computer can handle 4 K.

Overconfidence is an UNDERSTATEMENT!!! Check out my little story above....

 

[Jomani]

Well, I'm in. Picked up what I feel is a good stater package. I'll still need filters and I see a quality case in the very near future, but this seemed like a good place to start.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MXY3XMO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For the tablet I went with the Huawei M3 mediapad 32 gb. The hardware simply our classes the apple. I may hate it and still buy an apple down the road, but Andoid is what I know and from reading around this one does work.

Thank you for all the advice and links.

Looks like a great starter package. I am still relatively new to the sport myself. I got my P3 4K with a similar package in October of last year and have logged over 300 hours of flying time. I did add a 4th battery and three more 64 Gb memory cards - sometimes I go weeks without access to my desktop computer and 4K video is huge.

You don’t have to be “scared” of this sport, just always cautious. One of the things that I have to keep reminding myself is to follow a pre flight checklist like I did the first couple of dozen flights.

I always take the P3 when traveling by car. If I see something interesting, in an area where it is legal to fly, I stop and send her up to capture it on “film”. Sometimes, when you get in a hurry you tend to forget things like checking the signal strength, making sure that you are in the appropriate flight mode, recalibration of the compas, auto return settings, checking the available space on the memory card, checking the battery life on the tablet and controller, etc. Don’t ever ignore the warning messages that come up, follow your preflight checklist, and you will enjoy many hundreds of flights without the worry of crashes or fly always.

 

[Nickcrad]

DJI Phantom 4 Pro Wheeled Case | GPC, Inc.

That looks like a pretty nice case that holds everything you recommend.

I've seen some "deals?" With the fly more package 3 batteries, a backpack etc around 1700. I've just gotten all of my funds saved up, this weekend I start to officially shop for the pro.

I won't say I'm a little nervous, I'll say I'm a lot nervous. I have the budget, but I have a fear of quite literally watching money just fly away. There are a lot of horror stories out there, but if I keep my head in it and acrually read about them they are almost always based on rushed flights and not setting everything up before taking off.

Thanks for the reply. Any specific tablets I should look at? Based on my own research I'm leaning apple even though I'm not a fan.

 

[Nickcrad]

Hello all, new poster and soon a new pilot as well.

I've been dreaming of owning a real drone for about 5 years and am finally in a position to be able to afford one. I've read and read, watched hours upon hours of videos and reviews and I think I've settled on the P4P.

Up until now my only experience with drones is using toys with no GPS and a joke of stability control. I've actually gotten pretty good with it, flying near obstacles (not people!) landings takeoffs etc. Again, this is just a toy, but from the research I've done they are much harder to actually fly. They are also low risk. Losing a $60 toy is nothing compared to any DJI craft, let alone a P4P.

My primary uses for the drone will be personal photography and with experience and a license entry level professional work such as real estate, weddings, etc. Yes, I know there is a lot of rules and I know I still have a lot to learn. I'm not thinking I'll buy a drone and be running an empire a few weeks later. I would honestly be happy with just a little side money to support the hobby to start out and I know that could be far down the road. The first step will require becoming a pilot capable of work before I can even look for it.

So, my question to the board is:

If you were going out for a new P4P, had a budget to cover the craft and quite a few optional gear and had nothing to start with what would you be shopping for?

The more important question I have is the type of tablet to get. I'll also be getting a new tablet intended only for use with the drone and I need much more research in this area. I'm not a fan of Apple, but that is mostly because I have no other apple products in my life.

Again, all new hardware and just starting out. What would your dream setup be. Oh, I'll throw in a budget of $2500 tops just for a reference point.

Thanks in advance and I love the site. I've already learned quite a bit from all of you.

Have you thought about buying the P4P Plus which includes a good screen? I'm very happy with mine and 4 months ago I was exactly the same as you. Just ordered a new battery which is a must as otherwise you're limited to 20 ish minutes.. there are deals. Post production software is next and on a computer capable of handling 4k video. I have ended up with a Predator gaming laptop which works fine. My old laptop wouldn't play the videos at all. Ohh and in UK it's about a grand to obtain the caa approval for commercial use to try and claw back some of your expenditure. It's good fun tho!

 

[Sea Pilot]

Welcome to the site Mike.
Probably the most important thing, (IMHO) that I could suggest is that you read the manual over and over and then read it again. All the other information that is posted here is very important, but you must read the manual. Many, because of being over anxious, have not done so much to their detriment. Be safe, knowledgeable, and have fun.

 

[FL_Mike]

Welcome to the site Mike.
Probably the most important thing, (IMHO) that I could suggest is that you read the manual over and over and then read it again. All the other information that is posted here is very important, but you must read the manual. Many, because of being over anxious, have not done so much to their detriment. Be safe, knowledgeable, and have fun.

I just read the entire manual. P4P should be here Monday, so I printed out the manual from DJI to get a jump on things. I think this is the first manual for any electronic item I've read cover to cover.

Excited and less nervous now that everything is in place and one the way. Just got the tablet today and as soon as it is charged up I'll download the software and start getting acquainted with it, again, before the P4P even arrives.

 

[FL_Mike]

Have you thought about buying the P4P Plus which includes a good screen? I'm very happy with mine and 4 months ago I was exactly the same as you. Just ordered a new battery which is a must as otherwise you're limited to 20 ish minutes.. there are deals. Post production software is next and on a computer capable of handling 4k video. I have ended up with a Predator gaming laptop which works fine. My old laptop wouldn't play the videos at all. Ohh and in UK it's about a grand to obtain the caa approval for commercial use to try and claw back some of your expenditure. It's good fun tho!

I thought about it, but the locked down nature of the display for additional apps turned me away from it.

The display looks amazing and I'm sure it is great, I just wanted the versatility.

 

[Droning in AR]

Lots of great advice in this thread.

But once you get this drone and have taken some great video with it, do you have a way to edit the videos?

Do you have a computer with a decent video card and memory to run something like Sony Movie Studio to edit, add effects or titles and a soundtrack to your footage? Otherwise you will just have files of long aerial videos with no sound.

 

[Russ43Phantom]

Any tablet or phone I have tried, even the extra bright ones, will suffer from light reflection/glare on sunny days. As a photographer, you really want a high contrast, clear/bright color image to help frame your images or videos. I don't think any tablet or phone meets this criteria. If you can afford it, I'd try (before buying) a set of Epson BT-300 glasses and a large brimmed baseball cap. That's #1 !!!

Then ...
- a high quality carrying case
- several extra batteries (I have 5)
- a battery charging hub (charges several at one time)
- ND filters
- extra Micro SD cards

Most of my prior experience was with photography with cameras. I am now (at 74) enjoying the process of learning aerial photography and cinematography. Here is a sampling: www.schundlerphoto.com (check under gallery/video or gallery/aerial photography)

 

[FL_Mike]

Any tablet or phone I have tried, even the extra bright ones, will suffer from light reflection/glare on sunny days. As a photographer, you really want a high contrast, clear/bright color image to help frame your images or videos. I don't think any tablet or phone meets this criteria. If you can afford it, I'd try (before buying) a set of Epson BT-300 glasses and a large brimmed baseball cap. That's #1 !!!

Then ...
- a high quality carrying case
- several extra batteries (I have 5)
- a battery charging hub (charges several at one time)
- ND filters
- extra Micro SD cards

Most of my prior experience was with photography with cameras. I am now (at 74) enjoying the process of learning aerial photography and cinematography. Here is a sampling: www.schundlerphoto.com (check under gallery/video or gallery/aerial photography)

Those glasses look awesome. I'll do so.e more research on them, but they'll likely need to wait for that xmas bonus time of year.

The package I ordered comes with 3 batteries, sun shields and a cheap backpack. I'm still researching filters and I imagine a much better case will be ordered shortly. I need a waterproof case for travel on the boat.

 

[FL_Mike]

Lots of great advice in this thread.

But once you get this drone and have taken some great video with it, do you have a way to edit the videos?

Do you have a computer with a decent video card and memory to run something like Sony Movie Studio to edit, add effects or titles and a soundtrack to your footage? Otherwise you will just have files of long aerial videos with no sound.

I have a gaming level laptop that should fit my needs for now. I plan on building a new desktop in a couple of months and it will be purposely built for video editing.

 

[cneedelman]

DJI Phantom 4 Pro Wheeled Case | GPC, Inc.

That looks like a pretty nice case that holds everything you recommend.

I've seen some "deals?" With the fly more package 3 batteries, a backpack etc around 1700. I've just gotten all of my funds saved up, this weekend I start to officially shop for the pro.

I won't say I'm a little nervous, I'll say I'm a lot nervous. I have the budget, but I have a fear of quite literally watching money just fly away. There are a lot of horror stories out there, but if I keep my head in it and acrually read about them they are almost always based on rushed flights and not setting everything up before taking off.

Thanks for the reply. Any specific tablets I should look at? Based on my own research I'm leaning apple even though I'm not a fan.

If you ever want to travel with your drone the wheeled case will cost you in checked bag fees. I use a drone backpack and carry it on flights. You might also want to consider looking into State Farm Insurance
Gotten insurance with State Farm? If so please read!
You also might want to look for a thread of the most common errors with a P4. Here are a few
Set your return to home height higher than anything in the area you are flying in
Make sure your battery is completely clicked in top and bottom
Always take off with a fully charged battery
If you are flying down wind make sure you have enough battery to get back
Beware of trees, they eat drones
I’m sure others will chime in

 

[FL_Mike]

If you ever want to travel with your drone the wheeled case will cost you in checked bag fees. I use a drone backpack and carry it on flights. You might also want to consider looking into State Farm Insurance
Gotten insurance with State Farm? If so please read!
You also might want to look for a thread of the most common errors with a P4. Here are 2,
Set your return to home height higher than anything in the area you are flying in
Make sure your battery is completely clicked in top and bottom
If you are flying down wind make sure you have enough battery to get back
I’m sure others will chime in

Good info. I plan on calling state farm tomorrow. Thanks for the links on that.

As for flying I just won't do it anymore. Costs too much and then the entire system treats you like ****. I drive on vacation and if I'm leaving the country I'll take a boat.