Sundance Kit for Phantom 2 from DSLRPros?

[Mastermind]

Hey everyone! First post here, but been lurking for a few weeks and reading up I am trying to get familiar with the terminology, community, and rules of piloting a multi-rotor before I ever fly one. I'm sure I'll have more questions in the future, but for the time being I was hoping I could ask you all about Phantom 2 kits. I have been doing research for about a month and I think I may go the route of the Sundance Cinema Phantom 2 Kit from DSLRPros.

http://www.dslrpros.com/brands/sundance-aerial-kit.html

I am a film major who would love to add aerial footage to various movies and shorts that I am working on, as well as weddings. I know a bit about the FAA rules, so I'm still doing research on the legality of getting those shots.

Anyways, has anyone purchased this specific kit and if so how have you liked it? Even if you haven't bought this kit, do you think it is worth getting? I love the idea of it containing everything I would need including a case, extra batteries, Futaba transmitter, etc. If you would do me the big favor of looking at that kit and letting me know, I would be much obliged! Really excited about becoming a part of this great community and hopefully I can share some videos with you soon! I'm going to be in Tahiti (yayyy!) on Thursday and would love to have aerial footage there but I'm afraid it will be too late now

Thanks!

P.S. 2 other random questions that aren't as important as the one above:

1. Are FPV goggles worth it?
2. I have a GoPro3 Black. I assume it is better to go with the Phantom 2 (non-vision) as opposed to the Vision 2+? Still unsure, but I know how good the GoPro can be.

 

[lvzx14]

There are better options for that kind of money to be honest. And to be frank I would buy a regular P1/P2 to practice before adding all the other equipment even tho you won't. Or the vert least buy a hubsan x4 along with the kit for practice while you read over the manual.


Go buy a Discovery for that kind of money

 

[Meta4]

Hard to justify the cost of that outfit. It costs as much as two P2+ but doesn't really give you that much more - just a battery and case. If you are interested in film making you are probably not interested in sending your machine off to the far reaches of the galaxy so the long range FPV probably isn't much use.
Their claim of 3 batteries = more than 2.5 hrs flying is just impossible - the real flying time would be less than 1.5 hrs.
I would think you'd be a lot better off to start with a P2+ for half the $$ and get plenty of experience finding out what you really need. There's not going to be much difference in the final product and it's a lot less to lose in a beginners accident.

 

[Gator113]

I have owned a Sundance Kit for Phantom 2 from DSLRPros for about a month. I have no regrets and I love it.

I have never flown anything before this craft..... well, except my paper airplanes and my water powered red rocket.

I have found the crew to be very accessible and always helpful. For me, the learning curve is steep, and they have helped me most every step of the way. This is a company where customer service actually means something.... for me, that has greater value than any bargain I might have found. It is my impression that these folks actually care and want their customers to be happy.

I have logged 20 successful flights with no crashes and each landing has been a piece of cake, except the one where I landed on top of a juniper bush, without penalty.

I am a conservative pilot and have been taking "baby steps". This past Saturday, I put the gimbal and camera back on.... the results knocked my socks off.

I found that two of my plastic props were defective, so called them.....within 4 days, 6 new props showed up ay my door, at no charge.

While the flying gives me great pleasure, I take every flight as serious as the last. These flying monsters are not a toy to me, they are tools that allow me to do and see things I wouldn't be able to do and see without them. Their power deserves respect.

Perhaps I am a bit more cautious because I am doing all of this with only my right hand. I suffered a stroke during heart surgery a few years ago and I have refused to let lefty keep me down. The Futaba radio works great for me. My left hand is learning to help out a bit.

Anyway, there seem to be many good approaches to this and a few competent customer orientated sellers, but DSLRPros has all that I require.

Fly safe....

 

[BrentHG]

My son and I purchased this kit a few months ago and it crashed after only 4 flights. After careful inspection and review of the video, it was obvious the screws came out of one of the motors that caused the crash. We returned the kit to DSLRPros and after several weeks, they replaced our entire kit with a brand new one.

Since then we have flown more than 30 flights without incident. This kit is a complete ready-to-fly Phantom 2 with all the bells and whistles. We are very happy with the Phantom 2's performance and ease of learning how to fly. Our only complaint so far is that we are still getting a lot of vibration and jello-effect (rolling shutter) in our videos and have been testing with Neutral Density filters to smooth out the jello-effect.

For those (like us) who are new to radio controlled model aircraft who are photographers and not hobbyists, this is the kit for you. I'm sure there are cheaper alternatives, but for our needs, we are very happy with our choice, even after our initial crash malfunction, that comes with this kind of new cutting edge technology.

Happy Flying,

Brent

 

[sanderx1]

I recently bought a Sundance kit from DSLRpros and so far I am very happy with it. Actually I am happier with the video results of my p2 and h3-3d gimbal than I have been with my discovery pro as the h3-3d gimbal provides superior results vs the gimbal on the disco pro (I have spent many hours dialing in that puppy and the h3-3d beats the gimbal of the disco hands down - and straight out of the box). Yes, my disco pro with ezuhf and 2.4ghz video tx can go 20 miles far (if the battery would get it that far) but to be honest, I never fly farther than a mile out so the standard 2.4tx and the 5.8ghz fpv is more than enough. The Dslrpro kit comes fully dialed in with 3 p2 batteries, regular and CF props, upgraded tx, mini osd and fpv monitor in a custom case.

I am sure you can get all the components yourself and build the kit for appr. 30% less. Been there, done that and if you have never flown quads before, I actually recommend that route as you learn the working of each component and how they interact with each other but man, I liked getting the kit, charging the batteries and just fly, without spending hours and hours dialing your quad in. The thing just flies (at least so far) and the stability of the footage has been stunning. If this is your first kit I do recommend you take the gimbal off and learn how to fly first (without fpv). That way you don't have to replace the gimbal and can master the p2 before you venture into the (awesome) fpv and aerial video capturing world. However, if you decide to ignore that advice and go all out with using fpv and the gimbal, I don't blame you, that is what I did when I got my first quad.... however, in that case be prepared to spend some serious money....

 

[ianwood]

I'd like to know more about the "Black Edition" Futaba. It looks like an 8FGS with a slightly different cover. And the "Fluid Pan Mode" seems like it's a dual rate setting on the rudder. Is there anything else on the controller that is special? I wonder if there is anything in their profile that we're missing.

 

[FASTFJR]

Thats one expensive kit......I've never bought anything from DSLRPro's but I have called to ask them questions in the past. I would not hesitate to buy anything from them. Each time I called I was talking with someone within 30 seconds. They were always very professional, knew what they were talking about and very helpful.