Why no waterproof version?

marcel79 · Aug 7, 2016

Even if its waterproof, it still Has to have floot capabilitys, otherwise i like to see you salving you drone from deep in the sea or lake you flew over and crash in

Sent from my SM-G920F using PhantomPilots mobile app

ifsteve · Aug 7, 2016

marcel79 said:
Even if its waterproof, it still Has to have floot capabilitys, otherwise i like to see you salving you drone from deep in the sea or lake you flew over and crash in

Sent from my SM-G920F using PhantomPilots mobile app

Well of course it needs to float.....I guess that was taken for granted in making it waterproof.

WilsonFlyer · Aug 7, 2016

ifsteve said:
Well of course it needs to float.....I guess that was taken for granted in making it waterproof.

There are thousands upon thousands of things that are waterproof that don't float, my friend.

Buoyancy is a whole 'nother problem.

flipper72 · Aug 7, 2016

WilsonFlyer said:
There are plenty of "Waterproof" drones out there. The problem is that you guys want the DJI video system to go with them. You're not going to get that for $1500 anytime soon. Why? Because there's TOO MUCH MONEY TO BE MADE from people willing to pay a helluva lot more for them when they happen. It will be a long time before this is a "$1500 product," gentlemen.

Lily's a nice little machine (will be), but she's not even in the same class as a Phantom, Yuneec, or a Blade camera equipped multi. She's not designed to be. She's an action camera that flies for the action camera folks. TOTALLY different marketing segment for the most part. There's some overlap but not a lot.

People who shoot video with an iPhone and people that shoot with a DSLR like I do are totally different markets. The low hanging fruit is where the money is right now. Why? There's more of them to begin with and secondarily, they ain't near as picky as we are. And, they have money to spend.

i heard the same arguement when apple released it`s ipad and now you can get tablet for under £100 as good or better than the original ipad, waterproofing a p4 isn`t expensive even the camera and gimbal as well, and the competition is getting better all the time, the technology already exists all of it sooner or later, they will be a p4 type quad as good or better than dji and it will be waterproof, and it will be under a grand to buy new within 2 years, do you think dji will allow someone else to reach that peak first.

John Locke · Aug 7, 2016

Why don't you just buy loss insurance from farmers?

younggun84 · Aug 8, 2016

How many drone manufacturers are there now? Just the big ones, blade, yuneek, DR, more I'm not familiar with? Then there are the low grade manufactures like hubsan.

If all of this demand truly existed they would all be putting waterproof drones on the market.

Instead, there are a couple on the market and you rarely see anyone flying one.

The cost is going to be significantly more for a few reasons. A big one not mentioned is quality control. Every one will have to be double and triple checked to insure it's completely water proof or DJI will end up replacing a ton of drones after people try to fly then underwater. And they will.

The demand just isn't there to make it profitable. A few people seem to want more (waterproofing) and may or may not be willing to sacrifice battery life, stability, maneuverability, range in order to get it. 99% of fliers aren't willing to sacrifice those things and would end up going to DjIs competition instead.

If you want to give your drone a fighting chance, there is a spray sold that will waterproof electronics (corrosionX?). Get a DJI, remove the shell, spray everything, close it back up. May or may not cause issues ore overheating. If it hits the water it will still probably break and you can retrieve the waterproof electronics, as long as you have some sort of float attached.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ifsteve · Aug 8, 2016

Assume for minute that DJI could make the P4 waterproof and floatable with the same general flight characteristics as they have now. How much more would you be willing to pay? Why wouldn't most guys be willing to do that. All the videos I see flying over open water that extra protection has to be valuable.

As an engineer I have to think that you could solve these issues and have the product for maybe $200 more. A fully auto plus Splash Drone is $1600. I can't believe that DJI couldn't compete with that price and offer a better product. Looks like you can buy a loaded P4 with a 4K camera for less than $1400. Offer it without the camera (lots of us already have GoPros anyway) and waterproofed and they would sink (ok pun intended) Spalsh Drone.

younggun84 · Aug 8, 2016

ifsteve said:
Assume for minute that DJI could make the P4 waterproof and floatable with the same general flight characteristics as they have now. How much more would you be willing to pay? Why wouldn't most guys be willing to do that. All the videos I see flying over open water that extra protection has to be valuable.

As an engineer I have to think that you could solve these issues and have the product for maybe $200 more. A fully auto plus Splash Drone is $1600. I can't believe that DJI couldn't compete with that price and offer a better product. Looks like you can buy a loaded P4 with a 4K camera for less than $1400. Offer it without the camera (lots of us already have GoPros anyway) and waterproofed and they would sink (ok pun intended) Spalsh Drone.

"Assume for a minute"

Well, if reality isn't a factor...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ifsteve · Aug 8, 2016

younggun84 said:
"Assume for a minute"

Well, if reality isn't a factor...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Of course its reality. There are already two major companies that make waterproof drones that float. And their battery life isnt' much different than DJI. And they fly just fine, when they work. Their quality control appears to be a major downfall. The question was hoping to get some honest feedback from DJI pilots. But apparently nobody is willing to say how much more they would pay for the same drone if it was also waterproof and would float.

SoundByte · Aug 9, 2016

ifsteve said:
Of course its reality. There are already two major companies that make waterproof drones that float. And their battery life isnt' much different than DJI. And they fly just fine, when they work. Their quality control appears to be a major downfall. The question was hoping to get some honest feedback from DJI pilots. But apparently nobody is willing to say how much more they would pay for the same drone if it was also waterproof and would float.

Are you saying that DJI pilots are being dishonest with their feedback? Or are you just surprised they won't drink the kool-aid with you? They obviously do not share the same enthusiasms as you. Believe me, if I saw a value in it for me, I would not hesitate to give you a number. An optional upgraded camera!! Now that would spark my interest. You asked for honest, there it is! It just isn't that important to me.

Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app

younggun84 · Aug 9, 2016

ifsteve said:
Of course its reality. There are already two major companies that make waterproof drones that float. And their battery life isnt' much different than DJI. And they fly just fine, when they work. Their quality control appears to be a major downfall. The question was hoping to get some honest feedback from DJI pilots. But apparently nobody is willing to say how much more they would pay for the same drone if it was also waterproof and would float.

Let's look at them.

QuadH2O:

Cost $3000 after you factor in the GoPro

Your view is from a Sony 550TVL FPV cam so no where near the quality picture.

Gimbal for GoPro is an optional accessory (more $$$) and reduces flight time to 8 minutes.

Appears GoPro recording stop/start controlled by GoPro remote, limited range. May not be able to start recording the shot you want due to distance.

Range:unknown

Oh, and it costs $3000.

Splash Drone:

$1600 RTF with Gimbal

Still need to supply GoPro

Only 1Km range on Tx/remote.

Only 1Km range video

Neither of these come anywhere close to what a Phantom can do and have substantially higher costs. Your previous post does not account for reality.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ifsteve · Aug 9, 2016

Let me try it this way. If you could buy your exact DJI Phantom 4 but you could get a waterproof/floating version
Would you take it for the same price?
Would you pay an extra $100?
Would you pay an extra $200?
Would you pay an extra $500?

younggun84 · Aug 9, 2016

It doesn't matter if I would pay an extra $100 or $200 because it wouldn't be done for that price without making major sacrifices to its current abilities. Why discuss something like this when its not a realistic scenario? You can't ignore reality.

And no, I wouldn't pay 3k for a phantom that works as well as the current one with added waterproofing and buoyancy.

As time goes on and components get cheaper it may be feasible to put some of those saving towards waterproofing, but it still probably wouldn't be a good business decision for DJI because there isn't enough demand to offset the production costs for such a low selling product.

If they go across the board and make all phantoms waterproof their prices are no long get competitive with their competition.

Instead, there are a couple companies attempting to fill that niche market. But one of theirs. The price reflects what you would pay if DJI did the same.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

PlanetPapi · Aug 12, 2016

I thought I saw a YouTube video sometime back making drones water proof. It's like waterproofing your iPhone in the mall, with nano tech Liquipel. I think this is it.

Not sure of the cost. Appears the camera is goPro already waterproof. So this may not work for P3 and P4 which has it's own cams. Check it anyway. Hope this helps.

WilsonFlyer · Aug 12, 2016

If that was the guys I'm remembering, they quickly got back out of that line of business. I contacted them pretty quickly early on and they had already quit doing it. They never offered a reason why.

PlanetPapi · Aug 12, 2016

That explains why that YouTube video comments were closed.

Adam Morrison · Aug 17, 2016

ifsteve said:
1. I could care less about the DJI video system. I am perfectly happy using my GoPro.
2. As for the comment on they all are going to crash sooner or later. I get that. Exactly why I want a waterproof drone. Near 100% of the flying I would do is over water. I get its likely to have a fly away, equipment failure, battery die, pilot error. So when the inevitable happens I want to have some chance that the thing isn't a total loss. A DJI landing on the water is most likely a total loss. Just not going to do that.

I appreciate all the replies. Guess I will just keep holding off until DJI pulls their head out and recognizes a need or Splash starts building something with more reliability. In the meantime I have boats to run and fish to catch!

Being able to land on top of the water without getting wet with a DJI does give you most of what you're looking for -- great camera, very competitive price, and dramatically reduced risk of loss. In addition, it gives the ability to get some super cool on-the-water shots. This can all be had for much less money than the less proven waterproof systems out there or trying to fuss with waterproofing or waterproof shells.

ifsteve · Aug 18, 2016

Adam thanks for posting. I was unaware of that device. What is the expected retail once they are available?

Adam Morrison · Aug 18, 2016

ifsteve said:
Adam thanks for posting. I was unaware of that device. What is the expected retail once they are available?

We haven't went public with the price yet, but we will be doing that very soon. The pre-order notification list has been growing quickly and we're very close to opening up public sales. We want to make sure we're truly ready to meet the expected demand. We have just a few more Kickstarter deliveries to finish over the next week.

Finally, we wanted to finish with the majority of our ocean and saltwater testing before starting public sale. We are in the middle of that testing now. Harbor and bay water trials have been completed with excellent results on performance and no water on the camera. Next we will be testing on open ocean.