I have had several Phantoms (version 1) I really like them in spite of my challenges; some had mechanical issues, one flew away. I recently got a Vision 2 and a new Phantom 2 to add to my stable of Phantoms (now 3). I thought I would share a couple of things I have noticed with the gang on Phantom Pilots who have helped me enormously!
The good - Vision
1) FPV and iPhone integration is excellent works right out of the box.
2) Absolutely great sustained FPV at 300+ Meters (that's right 900 ft away.. ) surprisingly good.
3) Flew as far away (Distance) as my Phantom 2!
4) I felt more confident flying it further (higher + Further away) than ANY phantom I have ever owned.
The Bad - Vision
1) No way in hell am I going to see 20 mins of flight time. More like 13 mins on a GOOD day. It is still 2x Phantom v1 w/ gimbal and camera.
2) No two axis Gimbal. You will miss this, no joke. The second axes makes the video pretty crappy compared to ANY two axis gimbal. Wow DJI, you should have done better here. If I could, I'd rip that out and swap with a Zenmuse and Hero3+
3) The Gimbal will not look straight down. What the hell? it tilts, but is about 30 degrees from completely pointing down.
Summary: Its a nice piece of work. If you want total out of box FPV, this is it.
The Good - Phantom 2
1) More Agile than the Vision - 1.3X turns swifter and with less chugging. 1.8X better than Phantom v1
2) Further distance than my Phantom v1 - Flying both to max distance V1 went into come home mode sooner than V2. not a lot 30 Meters?
3) Built in Zenmuse and flight system connections.
4) Zenmuse Gimbal for 200 bucks? Hell yes! I have a Hummer on my Phantom v1 love it too - though not as nice as a Zenmuse. You'll recall when the Zenmuse came out they were more expensive than the Phantom!
The Bad - Phantom 2
1) I wish It gave me the same FPV options as the vision, just with my Hero3+ versus that crappy 1 axis camera.
2) I still haven't seen 20 mins of flight time. Best yet was 16 mins. Now, I suspect if I take the zenmuse off and fly without anything I may make it to 20 mins.
Summary Phantom 2: I can see doing things with this I just can't do with a vision. It is a HUGE improvement over the version 1. If you want to build your own FPV, this would be the platform to do it with.
Thoughts;
1) At about 250 meters to 300 away from you - you are going to have a very tough time even seeing your phantom AT ALL. So while it may see really important to be further distances, that is only if you can see it or can FPV it reliably that far away.
2) I found my self frequently getting lost FPV'ing since I didn't always know the ground terrain. flight tests should be in very large open fields (that is what I did to see how far I can fly and should it fail, all I have to do is walk after it.
3) The best Phantom evidently is some mix of V2 + Vision. Where you get the telemetery and the IPhone integration of the vision with the flight hardware and gimbal from Phantom v2.
4) Plan to test putting the NEW phantom V2 props on my V1 Phantom and see if I get more sustained flight time or performance. I'll test and let you know... :roll: :roll:
I attempted to hook up the Ground Station, tried to get it to work but the BTU stayed RED and wouldn't go green to pair. Sadly sending that back for a hardware swap. If I could give DJI a bit of advice it would be to do a LOT better quality control on their products. Phantom version 1 had soo many mechanical issues! 50/50 chance electronics issues. They are good about return and swap, its just the point; if QA is done right you have far fewer returns.
The good - Vision
1) FPV and iPhone integration is excellent works right out of the box.
2) Absolutely great sustained FPV at 300+ Meters (that's right 900 ft away.. ) surprisingly good.
3) Flew as far away (Distance) as my Phantom 2!
4) I felt more confident flying it further (higher + Further away) than ANY phantom I have ever owned.
The Bad - Vision
1) No way in hell am I going to see 20 mins of flight time. More like 13 mins on a GOOD day. It is still 2x Phantom v1 w/ gimbal and camera.
2) No two axis Gimbal. You will miss this, no joke. The second axes makes the video pretty crappy compared to ANY two axis gimbal. Wow DJI, you should have done better here. If I could, I'd rip that out and swap with a Zenmuse and Hero3+
3) The Gimbal will not look straight down. What the hell? it tilts, but is about 30 degrees from completely pointing down.
Summary: Its a nice piece of work. If you want total out of box FPV, this is it.
The Good - Phantom 2
1) More Agile than the Vision - 1.3X turns swifter and with less chugging. 1.8X better than Phantom v1
2) Further distance than my Phantom v1 - Flying both to max distance V1 went into come home mode sooner than V2. not a lot 30 Meters?
3) Built in Zenmuse and flight system connections.
4) Zenmuse Gimbal for 200 bucks? Hell yes! I have a Hummer on my Phantom v1 love it too - though not as nice as a Zenmuse. You'll recall when the Zenmuse came out they were more expensive than the Phantom!
The Bad - Phantom 2
1) I wish It gave me the same FPV options as the vision, just with my Hero3+ versus that crappy 1 axis camera.
2) I still haven't seen 20 mins of flight time. Best yet was 16 mins. Now, I suspect if I take the zenmuse off and fly without anything I may make it to 20 mins.
Summary Phantom 2: I can see doing things with this I just can't do with a vision. It is a HUGE improvement over the version 1. If you want to build your own FPV, this would be the platform to do it with.
Thoughts;
1) At about 250 meters to 300 away from you - you are going to have a very tough time even seeing your phantom AT ALL. So while it may see really important to be further distances, that is only if you can see it or can FPV it reliably that far away.
2) I found my self frequently getting lost FPV'ing since I didn't always know the ground terrain. flight tests should be in very large open fields (that is what I did to see how far I can fly and should it fail, all I have to do is walk after it.
3) The best Phantom evidently is some mix of V2 + Vision. Where you get the telemetery and the IPhone integration of the vision with the flight hardware and gimbal from Phantom v2.
4) Plan to test putting the NEW phantom V2 props on my V1 Phantom and see if I get more sustained flight time or performance. I'll test and let you know... :roll: :roll:
I attempted to hook up the Ground Station, tried to get it to work but the BTU stayed RED and wouldn't go green to pair. Sadly sending that back for a hardware swap. If I could give DJI a bit of advice it would be to do a LOT better quality control on their products. Phantom version 1 had soo many mechanical issues! 50/50 chance electronics issues. They are good about return and swap, its just the point; if QA is done right you have far fewer returns.
