Product Review: Phantom 4 Pro Drone

Earlier this year we upgraded our Phantom 3 and bought the DJI PHANTOM 4 PRO. Here is my review of this product.

GOOD
1. Super easy to fly!
This is simply an amazing drone to fly. With 5-direction obstacle avoidance system
sensors you are going to be hard pressed to crash this drone! DJI's new sensors actively scan the environment around the drone, which allows it to autonomously fly if you so wish. This feature is a huge improvement on the Phantom 3. You can set the P4 Pro to circumnavigate a point of interest, create a preset path that it will follow over and over, or even follow a person using the new improved 'Follow Me' mode. They have even added other autonomous modes. These include, Terrain Follow,
Tripod Mode and Active Track mode. Needless to say, these are all amazing and was the very reason why I bought this drone in the first place! DJI have also upped the speed at which it can fly. With a top speed of 72kph and 32kph when flying autonomously this is one fast drone.

2. The camera has had a major upgrade from the Phantom 3.
The P4 has a brand new image sensor that is 2.5cm wide, which is the widest of all drones on the market. Not only that, but they have upgraded the camera to shoot 4K video at up to 60 frames per second. And for those who want to take perfect images - this camera can shoot up to 20 megapixels! This is truly an incredible camera!

3. Build quality
The build quality of the P4 is great. You notice when handling it how sturdy it feels and the 'non-plasticky' nature of it gives you huge confidence. This is a very strong and robust drone, perfect for schools.

AMAZING
DJI have upgraded the Return to Home (RTH) feature hugely from the Phantom 3. When I used to hit this button with our old P3 I was always worried about it flying as fast as it could to it's home position, whether a tree was in it's way or not. When you use the return to home button on the new P4 Pro, the drone will now retrace the flight path you have just used to get back home, all while  automatically avoiding any obstacles that might be in its way. This is amazing!

INTERESTING
DJI have only been able to increase the battery life by 10 minutes. And with everything you read online, this is only under optimal conditions... no wind, smooth flying, etc, etc! Would have been nice if they were able to make a battery that can keep the P4 up for over 45 minutes.

So. My advice - but this drone! It is definitely worth every cent.


DJI Phantom 4 Pro Features
(Source: Best Drone for the Job)

• Accepts any size phone or tablet for FPV video display
• 20 Megapixel Photo Camera w/ 1-inch CMOS
• Shoot 4K Video at 60 fps 
• Take burst-mode stills at 14 fps
• Integrated 3-Axis Stabilization Gimbal
• Easy to Fly, Intelligent Flight System
• Live HD View
• Dedicated Remote Controller
• DJIGo Mobile App w/ Auto Video Editor
• GPS-free Positioning for Indoor Flight
• 30 min flight time
• 45 miles per hour top speed
• 7 km range

Check out some recent footage from our P4 Drone:

   

Product Review: Phantom 3 Advanced Drone

I have been very pleased with our purchase of the Phantom 3 Advanced Drone. After taking it on it's maiden flight and then using it to film some shots for a number of different PES film festival movies, I feel as though I am only scrapping the surface of its capabilities!

The Phantom 3 has an amazing full-HD camera with a fully integrated gimbal that creates the most incredibly smooth professional shots. It has excellent safety features, perfect for new pilots, which include: sensors, satellite navigation and a return to home button (RTH) for when you have to do an emergency landing. it is very easy to fly, especially if you have lots of experience playing Playstation, or the like! My only advice when flying however, is to make sure you have a spotter who is watching the drone from the ground. This allows you to fly using the camera view on your controller.The app is also the best drone flight app tat I have ever used. It's well worth searching for Youtube clips showing the app in action.

A couple of things that aren't as good as they can be are firstly, the battery life. The 20 minutes goes really quickly, especially when you should be heading for home once the battery reaches 10%. If you want to buy more batteries, they aren't cheap! At a minimum of $350 extra battery life isn't coming cheap! Secondly, if you are an android user (if not, you should! It is the superior phone after all!) there isn't much in the way of Android support.

So, it is easy to say...it is well worth spending your money on this Drone!


DJI Phantom 3 Advanced Features
(Source: First Quadcopter)

• Vision positioning system (visual and ultrasonic sensors);
• GPS+GLONASS dual positioning system;
• 2.7K video recording;
• 12MP photo resolution;
• 3-axis stabilization gimbal with remote control of the tilt angle (90° to +30°);
• 720p HD downlink (with up to 5KM range);
• Auto-takeoff through DJI Pilot App;
• One key return to home (RTH);
• Failsafe auto return to home;
• Auto flight logs;
• Versatile mobile APP;
• Intelligent flight modes (Follow Me, Point of Interest, Waypoints, Course Lock and Home Lock)
• Smart flight battery with charging level indicator;
• About 23 minutes flight autonomy.

Some example footage from our DJI Phantom 3 Advanced Drone: