Why I ended up going with the Phantom 3 Standard?

I did a lot of research when deciding on what drone to buy. I ended up going with the Phantom 3 Standard due to US government regulations: you can’t fly more than 400 feet in the air or make your drone beyond your line of sight, which made it unnecessary for me to buy a super high-end drone if I couldn’t use it to its full extent. So I just needed something with a decent camera and a good control.

My Phantom 3 Standard arrived on time. You can detach the quadcopter’s battery from the quadcopter and charge it separately. Meanwhile, the controller also needs to be charged. You stick your smartphone in a clamp at the top of the controller the way you may put it in a holder on the top of your car dashboard for map directions.

The quadcopter comes with stickers so you can replace the red bands. At first I didn’t know how to use it so I wasted my bands by putting them on top of the red ones, not realizing I could remove the red bands first. I ruined my pink bands that way.

Some random facts for people who have never owned a drone:
-You can’t use these to spy on people because they’re loud. Not leaf-blower loud (thank goodness), but hair dryer loud. A lot of people who don’t own drones talk about using them to spy on people so that’s why I brought it up.
-You do have to register your drone, but it was 5 bucks and the registration lasts 3 years so I wasn’t bothered.
-It is fairy light. The weight of a filled coke bottle or so. When I carry it around I can stick my arm through the leg handles as if it were a weird plastic handbag.

As for flight, the quadcopter has its own SSID when you turn it on. You go into your phone, connect to the SSID, and that connects your phone to the quadcopter. You go into the DJI GO app and you will see a livestream through the app.

Now, nothing can be poking your camera. That means a completely flat surface, not grass, because the grass will keep the camera from turning which then means the drone automatically will not fly. It took me a while to figure that out. That can be annoying when you’re testing it out in a park so I wish there were a way to override that and say go ahead and fly anyway (or maybe there already is? I have my drone on beginner mode).

Flying is automatic. You drag your finger across a bar on the screen and the Phantom 3 Standard rises on its own. Landing is the same way–your drone can be a few hundred feet in the air and you just have to slide your finger across the screen and it descends slowly and carefully. In that sense it’s idiot-proof, although once I flew the drone into a wall on a windy day so it’s not completely idiot-proof, heh. Nothing broke but the propellers got a little scratched up, there’s a black smudge that I can’t get rid of no matter how hard I rub with soapy wet cloth.

The battery lasted me maybe up to 30 minutes but it starts shutting down at around 30%. I get a good 20 minutes of flight out of it though. I find myself staring at the phone’s live feed. The live feed lets you either take pictures or start recording a video, so I like to fly up and then slowly turn the drone with the video recording on. I don’t know whether I can include sound, as all my videos have been silent, but there are a lot of features so maybe I haven’t discovered it yet. Best of all the live feed measures the height and distance from the controller you are holding: that way you can see whether your drone is 100, 200, 300 feet in the air and you don’t break government regulations. I don’t dare fly above 200 because I’m paranoid it will stop receiving signals from my controller.

You can also put a radius limit so that if you try to take your Phantom 3 Standard beyond that distance it will not go any further. If you keep trying to make it go beyond that point it will simply hover in place. Great protection for a newbie like me.

Now, the wind can screw things up for you because the Phantom 3 is fairly light. The wind once blew my Phantom 3 into a wall, another time into a bush. Thankfully both accidents happened pretty low so then Phantom 3 fell only a few feet. The actual quadcopter is fine, only the propellers are a bit scratched up.

Overall it’s an excellent product, I just wish I lived somewhere where I have more excuses to use it.

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Parrot Bebop 2 test

The Parrot Bebop 2 is a high-end drone with surprising capabilities! This drone is the main competitor of the DJI Phantom 3. We tested for you the different features of this drone!

Before being able to fly the drone it is first necessary to update the firmware. This is done simply by downloading the Freeflight application and updating the internal program. Once this step is done, it will be necessary to parameterize the magnetometer of the drone. Simply follow the instructions and orient the drone in the different positions indicated by the setting screen of the Freeflight 3 application.

Once this stage is completed you are on track to take off your Parrot Bebop 2! Once the drone is on the ground, a simple button will take off.

Piloting the Parrot Bebop 2

This drone is childlike simplicity, take-off and landing are assisted by the embedded electronics and the drone is particularly stable and pleasant to fly. The flight controls respond quickly and during our tests we did not feel latency between the controller and the drone movement, so it’s a very good point!

The Parrot Bebop 2 also has a very nice feature of automated looping! Indeed by pressing a simple button on the smartphone, the drone is able to realize a figure of 360 degrees which will impress your friends. This function is a bit “bluffing” because even if the figure appears complex all this maneuver is managed electronically, observers will be impressed even if you do not do much.

In flight, the drone is very aggressive but despite its record acceleration and its high speed it is extremely maneuverable and finally very nice to drive even for a beginner pilot. This drone will be suitable for all persons starting the piloting of quadcopters.

Parrot Bebop 2 Features

One of the exciting features of the Parrot Bebop 2 is of course the “route” functionality that will enable you to program a specific path that the drone will traverse! Indeed the drone Bebop 2 being equipped with a GPS chip, it is able to locate in the space and therefore to follow predefined paths! Moreover, thanks to the management interface, the programming of this route is extremely simplified. Simply click on the different points of stops on a map so that the drone starts to make the course. At each stopping point the orientation of the HD camera is also defined to record an aerial shot of the hair! A view of the route and the recorded points of sight you can go about your activities while being assured that the drone will carry out the task that you have recorded. It’s just the perfect feature to shoot you in action and to keep timeless memories!

Conclusion

The Parrot Bebop 2 isn’t going to match more capable drones on performance, features, or video quality. But if you are happy with a quadcopter that can comfortably tool around your backyard at a modest maximum altitude, the Bebop is worth a look. If you want a model that can fly further, higher, offers better video quality, and is absolutely steady in the air, consider instead one of the DJI Phantom 3 models.

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Parrot Bebop 2 vs Phantom 3 Standard:The choice may come down to…

The Phantom 3 Standard has a famous reputation for being an affordable all-rounder and quite frankly it is the best choice that can be made. The Parrot Bebop 2 on the other hand is most certainly a very well thought out machine. Both of them are fit for beginners, are lightweight and compact and deliver 25mins flight time according to the drone companies. Both drones can fly faster than the 15 m/s average (36 mph) and have the same flight features. So which one you’ll be purchasing?

Design&Remote Control

Coming to the more hardware oriented side of things is where the Parrot Bebop 2 really starts to shine like the little gem it really is!  The Bebop features a feather light (almost 400g) fully reinforced ABS molded quadcopter frame and finished off with a very light yet extremely durable EPP (expanded-polypropolene) foam body that protects the parrot p7 dual-core CPU and quad-core GPU with its internal 8GB flash memory built onto a magnesium shelf that essentially acts as a cooling plate that shields all software from electromagnetic interference!

The Parrot Bebop 2 has all of its function buttons layed out on an app which is a bit too crowded to concentrate on everything that’s going on. Some of the functions, like the Emergency button, is well marked and at the middle-top of the tablet on the app. All the other nice features that can be utilised when filming or just when flying for fun require going into different menu’s while flying which is not very user-friendly.

The Bebop 2 does become a very well tamed machine once the use of the Parrot skycontroller is incorperated and is definitely a neccessity if you plan on filming with the Bebop. It can be flown directly from the Parrot freeflight3 app (which is free) but is much harder to fly by use of the accelerometer on your tablet or smartphone. The one other issue with flying the Bebop from the App itself is that the drone will only fly as far as the WiFi connection will allow between the drone and the apple or android device.

The Phantom 3 Standard on the other hand, has a iconic white plastic body. It is a very good machine to learn on due it’s gimbal and camera being removable and of course the size of it. It’s a large drone but it is big enough to handle wind quite nicely. It’s GPS system works very well and has all the function buttons marked with nice icons in a very comfortable and easy to operate layout for the user.

The remote control reminds me of a scaled-down version of the one that shipped with the Phantom 2 Vision+. It’s streamlined, so there’s no need for a separate Wi-Fi extension module, and the AA batteries are replaced by an internal rechargeable battery. A micro USB port sits at the bottom to recharge. Four LED lights indicate the charge level, and a single power switch turns it on. A clamp sits on a metal rail to hold your smartphone—it’s big enough to hold an iPhone 6 Plus, but it can’t handle a tablet like the remote for other Phantom 3 models can.

Range

Parrot Bebop 2: 300m (2000m with skycontroller )

Phantom 3 Standard: 1000m

Camera

The Phantom 3 Standard records footage at 2.7K (1520p) resolution at 30fps or 24fps with a 40Mbps bit rate. The Standard tops out at 48fps when shooting at 1080p, but can shoot at 50fps or 60fps at 720p. All standard lower frame rates—24fps, 25fps, and 30fps—are supported for those resolutions.

Image quality is on par with the Phantom 3 Professional and Advanced. The 1/2.3-inch sensor captures 12-megapixel JPG or Raw DNG images at a 4:3 aspect ratio. Image quality is similar to a point-and-shoot camera with Raw support.

While the Parrot Bebop 2 boasts a 14-megapixel camera that can capture 1080p video. For capturing images and video, the Bebop 2 takes a different approach than most drones: it uses a fisheye lens attached to the nose instead of an external camera mounted on a gimbal. Instead of using a remote to manually pan and tilt a camera, you can shift your focus within the wide field of view generated by the fisheye, a trick accomplished through software.

The Bebop 2 has done a nice job improving the quality of video when you are panned straight down to the ground, a viewpoint that is unique to aerial filming and can produce some magical results over interesting terrain.

Unfortunately, the camera itself hasn’t been upgraded much. When you compare the blurry, compressed footage to what some pilots shot at identical locations with camera from Phantom 3 Standard, the Bebop is clearly far inferior.

( Video via Patrick Jourdheuille )

Price

the Parrot Bebop 2 is priced at $483 and $549 with FPV Bundle, while the Phantom 3 Standard is $499.

The last choice may come down to the camera and price.

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To anyone thinking the Phantom 3 Standard is substandard

The Phantom 3 Standard review is from Amazon.

THE GOOD: To anyone thinking the Phantom 3 Standard is substandard. I own one and love it. It is the perfect drone for a first-time pilot, and I know several experienced pilots who buy the Phantom 3 as backup drones. The main limitation of the Standard is that the range it can fly is about half of the higher up models, and it uses fewer GPS signals and has no downward looking visual “eye” like the Advanced and Pro, so it will drift more up down and sideways (but not a whole lot) and not land quite as accurately at the take off point automatically. I give mine a 15-foot radius for safety in landings and sometimes it will land 10-12 feet from take-off point on auto-land. Advanced and Pro stay within 2-6 feet usually. The controller is more limited with older technology. BUT the Phantom 3 standard flies just as fast, and as high, takes just as good video and pics and is just as much fun as the $1000 models for 1/3 the price. In the beginning, you always want to fly within line of sight (Standard’s limitations keeps you there) and legally you are ALWAYS supposed to fly line of sight.

THE BAD: DJI leads a new user to believe all the built-in guidance system will do everything for you from takeoff to landing. And it will, until it doesn’t. That will happen, not and if – it is a when… you have 3 sensitive components talking to each other (controller / drone / smartphone) using both Wi-Fi and radio, plus very sensitive onboard compass and GPS. This overly complicated plumbing will fail at some point and it can happen even a few feet away. At that point, you need to switch to manual control immediately – and hope you have time. I have had compass errors happen 3 feet off the ground in auto land and the dreaded “crazy flying meat slicer with 4 exposed blades” needed to be grabbed by the landing gear to stop it from hitting things as it got confused and would not respond to the controller. By the way: A pair of chef’s slice proof gloves is a great idea at take offs and landings, don’t ask how I know.

RULE NUMBER ONE: Always be prepared for the unexpected! Like flying a private plane the phrase “hours of calm punctuated with seconds of panic” applies here. Best advice for new pilots – learn to do everything manually first – especially landing – because at some point you will need that skill and need it FAST! Also never ignore the long boring preflight compass calibration. I do it every time I set up for flight. Not only does it recalibrate your compass – more importantly – it warns you if there are magnetic disturbances. If there are – my advice is pack it up and move elsewhere, or fly totally on manual control. Ignore any of those warning at your own risk. Compass or GPS warnings for a new pilot mean WAIT or RELOCATE.

SAFETY: Never forget how dangerous these drones are. 3 pounds with spinning blades plummeting from 400 feet is a deadly weapon. Don’t fly over people or roads. Warn folks near by to be aware of the drone. A drone, under the right set of circumstances with a simple malfunction could kill a pet or a human. It’s like owning a gun, be responsible or don’t own it. Never do like these YouTube folks and fly it miles away to see how far it can go or push the limits to see how fast you can swoop over a crowd of people. That is inviting disaster.

THE MIDDLING – should the worst happen with the Phantom 3 Standard, and you make a fatal flying error – more likely when a new pilot – then you are out only $400 or so max, instead of a grand, and actually less if you sell the remaining controller and battery etc. on eBay. Every piece of a DJI is worth money and easy to sell, so pick up the pieces if you can. If you can find your crashed drone DJI may fix it under warranty if it was the drone’s fault, but don’t count on it. DJI at this point in time has horrible support, if that changes, it would be wonderful. I would buy a 3rd party crash warranty over DJI’s coverage any day of the week, if that is important to you.

NICE PART: Battery lasts longest of all the DJI P3 models in the Standard version by 2 – 3 minutes because of fewer sensors. If you step up to a Phantom 3 Pro – batteries and case can come along (But not Phantom 4) and at $100 plus per battery, that is good news. Eventually you will want 3 or 4 batteries so you can fly an about hour with juice to spare for landings, trust me.

BOTTOM LINE: Most of the “Bad” I listed applies to any drone, from $49 to $5000. You can watch at least 3 videos on YouTube of folks crashing $3000 DJI Vision Drones on their very first flight, despite the Vision having much more tech and more sensors and collision avoidance. Sensors or not, if you tell it to go into a wall because you are disoriented and unfamiliar with the controls, it’s going to do what you say. This sad story happens every day. This is why I don’t encourage a new drone pilot to drop a grand or more on a first drone. Fly a while first and you will never get that disorientation that can cost you a fortune, as you will understand the principles and react instinctively to the inevitable unexpected situation. On the other hand, most any drone any cheaper or similarly priced as this is not a “real” drone, so you can’t take as many of the skills with you when you step up. Many drones in this price range have nothing better to step into. Once you learn to fly a DJI and get familiar with their software and controllers – you can fly their whole line pretty much. I haven’t yet mentioned the excellent camera that makes me often joke “for the price of a GoPro, I got a comparable camera with a stabilizing gimbal that flies.” Put all this together and that is why, in my opinion, this is the BEST DEAL in drones right now – by far.

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Xiaomi drone vs Phantom 3 standard

Surely you already know the DJI and Xiaomi? Xiaomi is a famous smart phone brand , while the DJI is an old player that focuses on the drones (unmanned aircraft) for commercial and personal activities of aerial photography and videography.

Xiaomi Drone was introduced on May 25, 2016. Today we will compare the Xiaomi drone with Phantom 3 Standard to help those who are confused in choosing the drone.

Design

The drones belong to the category of quadcopter, which means that this drone has four motors and four propellers. Xiaomi drone has a simpler design than its rivals, but DJI Phantom 3 standard looks slimmer. But Xiaomi mi drone had a stent design and camera gimbal that can be folded while the DJI Phantom 3 standard stents fixed type. Given its portability, it looks like Xiaomi drone is superior to Panthon 3 Standard.

Specification

Secondly, we will compare its specs. Xiaomi provides two options for the quality of the camera. Namely, 1080p quality and 4K quality camera. The drone is priced at $460 USD for the 4K version reaching a distance of 2 km and $380 for the 1080P version reaching distance of 1 km.While the Phantom 3 Standard is price at $499 with 1km.

Phantom 3 Professional: EXMOR 1/2.3” Effective pixels: 12 M, 720P at 30 fps.

Xiao mi drone:The Mi Drone has two variants, the 4k and the 1080p variant.

• 4k: 12.4 megapixel Sony sensor, with an Ambarella image processor and can shoot 4k (3,840×2,160-pixel resolution) at 30fps.
• 1080p: 16.4 megapixel Sony sensor and an Ambarella image processor and can shoot 1080p video at 60 fps.

Both of them come with 3 axis gimbal mounts and provide excellent stutter correction.

Xiaomi drone 1080P also has its own advantages in video shooting. Lens with field of view of 104 ° will shoot more content than Phantom 3’s 94-degree. Xiaomi drone is more transparent than P3S in the screen resolution of the image. So it would be better to take a static photograph. The 4K version has a maximum video resolution of 3840 × 2160 which is the same as DJI Phantom 3 standards. But we should note that Xiaomi drone only have two functions with a single photo and video catching, slightly worse than the Phantom 3 Standard with the shooting mode.

Phantom 3 Standard is not equipped with an ultrasonic sensor that allows it to fly low over the floor in the room, while Xiaomi drone has an ultrasonic positioning module, although it was not open to the indoor function. Both of them are equipped with a GPS system that is useful to know the position when operated drone in the air, but the GPS function of mi more is more sophisticated than Phantom 3 Standard’s. Xiaomi drone can fly 27 minutes, which is two minutes longer than the Phantom 3.

Remote Control

In terms of function remote control, Xiaomi drone have some innate features such as Automatic Take Off / Landing, one key to return, holding altitude, guidance flying, airline planing, hovering automatic, real-time power monitoring, electricity shortage reminds return. DJI Phantom 3 Standard also has the same features as above, but DJI Phantom 3 Standard has the advantage that features a “Follow Me” which will follow wherever its controller holder.

Conclusion

According to the comparison above, both of them have advantages and disadvantages. DJI is the old brand and professional, but Xiaomi drone is one of the new players in the drone industry. So consider well before buying.

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Hover Camera:Your new selfie stick?

If you are a selfie addict, this gadget should be in your arsenal of selfie accessories. Introducing the Hover Camera Drone.

Toss that selfie stick away. You can now get a flying selfie drone that will buzz around and take your photos for you. The Hover Camera from ZeroZero Robotics folds up small enough to fit in your backpack, so you can take it along on all your selfie adventures. Don’t worry, you don’t need to send your phone flying to use the Hover Camera ; it already comes with a built-in camera.

The drone is designed to fly around autonomously, following you and filming you from the air. It’s like a very fancy airborne selfie stick. Set it to automatically track your face or body, or control it like a regular drone using an app.

One big disadvantage to the Hover Camera is that it lacks a gimbal. Instead, it uses electronic image stabilization(EIS) to counter shake in photos. But EIS is only available while taking photos and cannot ensure that video shooting goes smoothly and stably.

In addition, the Hover Camera has a maximum hovering time of up to 10 minutes without wind. Though you get two batteries in the package, 20 minutes is not a lot of time to enjoy taking your selfies while hanging out. Excluding the time it takes to strike a pose or mug for the camera, you’re not going to get that many shots off before your battery is out of juice.

What makes it intriguing despite them is the clever folding design. A cage-like structure protects fingers from the propellers. You can even grab it right out of the air when you’re done filming.

It’s on sale now, but you may balk at the $599 price, which is a lot to ask for a personal selfie drone. You can get a very capable DJI Phantom 3 Standard $499 for less, after all. But if you love capturing your own image, and want to put an aerial spin on your selfies, the Hover Camera looks like a promising option for narcissists with deep pockets.

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Yuneec Breeze is good if you understand what you’re getting

I received my Yuneec Breeze 4K half a month ago and I have flown it every opportunity this wet and windy Kentucky winter has provided. I think the Breeze drone is a very solid product if you understand what it is made for and the limitations of the device. Like Yuneec’s tagline for the product, this is “Your Flying Camera” rather than a competitor to the DJI Phantom, 3DR Solo, or other entry to mid-level drones.

WHAT YOU GET: It comes with the Yuneec Breeze, a nice hard box (no handle though!), two batteries, a charger, a USB cable to transfer footage, extra props, and prop guards.

WHAT IT DOES: It’s a highly portable, stable, and easy to fly drone for recording 1080p footage and taking pretty nice still photographs. It’s meant to stay firmly within line of sight, which is a good idea for this drone’s target market. I’ve had mine 300′ feet away and nearly 200′ foot up using my iPhone 7 as the controller, and it flew perfectly fine. The batteries have been lasting me around 12-14 minutes per charge, and charge in about 40-45 minutes. Aside from the manual pilot mode, it has autopilot modes like Orbit (taking 360° video or photos of a point of interest), Journey (flies away from a POI to a pre-determined distance, then returns while taking video roundtrip), a couple of Follow Me modes (following a POI from a fixed point or the classic following behind the POI), and the ability to fly in first person view with an available headset and controller.

That being said, I’ve read a lot of comments on Amazon and on other discussion forums that one of the software updates for the drone dramatically affects the reliability of the Wi-Fi, so as of 1/17/17, I would not recommend upgrading the firmware until Yuneec has published and tested a corrective update.

WHAT IT”S NOT: The Yuneec Breeze is not going to fly miles away or exceed the FAA’s 400′ ceiling for UAS. It’s not going to take dramatic 4K footage for your next movie. It is capable of recording 4K video, but it is not mechanically stabilized, so you must run it through a filter during post processing to avoid pretty severe jitter. It’s not a speed demon because it prioritizes stability and ease of use. Think of this more like a floating cameraperson rather than full-fledged drone.

THE FINAL VERDICT: I can see why a lot of folks are disappointed. Had I updated mine and have the crappy Wi-Fi issues currently affecting many owners, I’d be upset as well. However, mine has been pretty much flawless with the out-of-the box firmware. I also knew before purchase that this wasn’t a drone that flies miles away. I’d be disappointed if I thought this was a direct competitor for a Phantom 3 Standard. It has pretty aggressive geo-fencing to help the pilot stay firmly in control. The Yuneec Breeze is a beginner drone for me, and over time as I become a more skillful pilot and video editor, the limitations will likely frustrate me. It will be time to upgrade. Until then, I’m enjoying the Yuneec Breeze and looking forward to spring weather!

The review comes from a buyer on Amazon.

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DJI Mavic Coupon code!?

Now many great DJI drones are out there to choose from.Here are part of drones come with DJI Coupon codes to save a lot for you. Don’t forget to use.

Inspire 1

Price:$1999 ( 5MDG9H4F )

The DJI Inspire 1 is probably one of the most advanced quadcopters I’ve ever seen. There isn’t much that the Inspire 1 CAN’T do. it comes standard with all of the features of the Phantom 3 Professional, but with a much bigger, cooler and higher quality design. It’s almost twice as big and twice as fast as the Phantom 3 and with it’s transforming design, the propellers will almost never be seen in your videos. Additionally, the Inspire 1 comes with a 4K camera on a 360 degree panning gimbal, which means that you can control the motion of the camera completely independently of the Inspire 1. This makes it great for dual pilot operation, but also for getting locked in shots in almost any wind conditions.

For Professional video use, the Inspire 1 comes in two other variants with superior image quality to even the most expensive aerial platforms in its size. If you need a high quality camera for shooting pro quality video The Inspire 1 Pro is a version of the Inspire 1 that features a micro-four-thirds 4K camera with 13 stops of dynamic range, interchangeable lenses and a sensor that’s 8 times larger than the standard Inspire 1 camera. If you’re looking for an even higher end solution, DJI now offers the Inspire 1 Raw, featuring a 500GB SSD and 4K Raw video recording for working in professional post-production environments. The great thing about all of the inspire 1 models is that the camera is detachable, so even when your not in the air you can use cameras like the X5R with DJI’s Osmo to get professional ground shots as well.

If you want to learn more about the Inspire 1, you can find a ton of info about it in this article: ” WHY YOU’D WANT TO GET AN INSPIRE 1 INSTEAD OF THE PHANTOM 3? “.

Pros

• 4K video recording
• 360-degree camera rotation
• Excellent operating range
• Very fast
• Superb carbon fiber build quality
• Separate flight and camera control possible with second remote
• Removable, upgradeable camera
• Vision Positioning System for indoor flight
• Includes carrying case

Cons

• Bulky
• Roughly 15-minute flight time per charge with standard battery

Phantom 4 

Price:$1199 ( MCBRYFU9 )

The DJI Phantom 4 is a small quadcopter that measures about two feet from wing-to-wing and weighs 3 lbs. A 5,350 mAh (milliAmpere-hour) Intelligent Flight PH4 battery powers the aircraft’s electronics, four motors, and camera. The Phantom 4 has a non-detachable camera that puts out 12+ MP (MegaPixel) photos and 4K UHD (Ultra High-Definition) video. The Phantom 4 flies up to 45 MPH and as long as 28 min. The Phantom 4 camera shoots 1080p in slow-motion 120fps (frames per second).

The Phantom 4 also uses advanced satellite navigation and hi-def live streaming. The US Global Positioning System (GPS) and Russian GLObal NAvigation Satellite System (GLONASS) can geo-locate the Phantom 4 anywhere on the globe. Even better: DJI’s integrated “Lightbridge” system allows the aircraft to live-stream HD video to a user from over a mile away. See more about how the Phantom 4 stacks up to its predecessor at our Phantom 4 vs Phantom 3 page.

Pros

• Easy to fly
• Extremely stable
• Obstacle avoidance
• Incredible operating range with 720p Live View
• Return-to-home and other safety features
• Automated flight modes
• High-speed Sport mode
• Smooth 4K video capture
• 20mm wide-angle lens
• Subject recognition and tracking
• Raw and JPG still capture

Cons

• True mission planning requires third-party app.

Phantom 3

Price:$499 (PFV2GSZ5)

If you’re looking for the easiest drone to fly with the most flight time, features and great video quality, the Phantom 3 is the only option that I would recommend to just about anyone. There are a few other drones that have similar functionality to the Phantom 3, but nothing else is going to give you a great all around experience with all of the most popular features for the same price.

When I flew the Phantom 3 for the first time, all I could think was “this thing flies like a mini Inspire 1!”. It’s much more stable than the Phantom 2 and the video quality is exactly the same as the inspire 1, however there are some big differences between them. If you aren’t sure which one to buy, read this article comparing the two.

Pros

• Very stable in the air.
• Easy to fly.
• Smooth 2.7K video capture.
• 20mm wide-angle lens.
• Raw and JPG still capture.
• Relatively affordable.
• Built-in GPS.
• Return-to-home function.
• Automated takeoff and landing.

Cons

• Propellers intrude into footage
• Battery requires more than an hour to recharge
• Requires Android or iOS device

Mavic Pro

Price:$999 (Not available now,but it can ship within two weeks if you order now)

Rather than have a large, rigid quadcopter design, the Mavic Pro is foldable, and it’s small enough to fit in your bag. Similar to the GoPro Karma drone , the four quadcopter arms fold in to the body, but do so in a very neat and incredibly compact fashion.

Although it’s small, don’t let that fool you in to thinking it isn’t powerful and full of top-notch features. For instance, it can last up to 27 minutes in flight on a full battery, and it takes less than a minute to set up and calibrate to get it flying. Mounted to the 3-axis stabilisation mount is a camera capable of recording up to 4K resolution at 30 frames per second, or full HD up to 96 frames per second.

It has a minimum focusing distance of 0.5m and a 12-megapixel sensor equipped with the ability to take still RAW pictures tuned purposefully for aerial imagery. Perhaps more impressive is that the new transmission system has a range of up to 4.3 miles and can live stream 1080p footage directly to Facebook Live, Periscope, and YouTube through the connected DJI GO app.

To immerse you more in to the experience of flying the drone, DJI says its new gadget will pair with a new set of immersive DJI goggles. With these on your face, you’ll see 90-degree view straight from the drone’s camera in 1080p.

Pros

• Small, foldable design
• Obstacle avoidance system
• Sharp, distortion-free stabilized 4K video camera
• 12MP Raw and JPG stills
• Records in portrait or landscape mode
• Compact remote control
• Strong operating range
• Orbit, follow, and other intelligent flight modes
• 23-minute flight time

Cons

• Requires a smartphone for full experience
• Unable to take off from grass in testing
• Not as steady in strong wind as Phantom models

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