DJI Phantom 3

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Not sure if this is the right place to post this, if not feel free to move it mods.

I have been considering a drone for awhile now for photography and video. Has anyone used the Phantom 3 and if so what are your thoughts? Think I am pretty much decided on this model, was a toss up between this and the Inspire 1 model but found the Phantom provides most of the same features at half the price.

Also if there is anyone here that owns one, did you insure it? Id imagine there is quite a few catches to cover something like this...

thanks in advance
 
Hi there,

I've got the Phantom 2 (with the Zenmuse gimbal and GoPro 4) and understand the Phantom 3 to be even more stable.

Re insurance that's were it gets complicated. I'm in the BMFA (www.bmfa.org) so covered for pleasure use from a public liability side but there is strick guidelines on what and were you can fly, in other words not over people etc and not for commercial gain. The other thing is that it doesn't cover the craft if it crashes and they do (I fly planes and helis as another hobby and they do go down).

Some insurance companies will cover for the craft and commercial insurance like Aaduki but you'll be talking around £600-800. The other thing is to do it for commercial gain you need to become a licensed operator with the CAA and that tends to cost around £1500.

As you can see the costs escalate at a staggering rate!

Sorry if you already knew all of that.

Stevie
 
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Thanks Stevie. Yes checked with the gear insurance and it seems OK. I'm more excited about getting this than any of my other gear I have previously purchased. I trust they will be grand to fly along high cliffs and strong winds ?

Thanks dude
 
Phantom 3 has the same range as the inspire 1 model. The light bridge is meant to be very good too for real time viewing
 
No doubt about it, they are good fun. In fact I'll be flying mine tonight. What the 3 has which I don't with the GoPro is the ability to get .dng still images and the horizon is vertical as opposed to fish eyed. Haven't used Lightbridge but it certainly looks to be a great system. Have fun and I look foward to the images.

Stevie
 
Thanks Stevie. Yes checked with the gear insurance and it seems OK. I'm more excited about getting this than any of my other gear I have previously purchased. I trust they will be grand to fly along high cliffs and strong winds ?

Thanks dude


As a Phantom and Inspire owner, I can confirm that the the Inspire is a much more stable platform in gusty conditions.
One of the major differences between Inspire 1 and Phantom 3 is that you can't rotate the gimbal on the Phantom, so in theory, you can be a lot more creative with your video using the Inspire.
Lastly, if quality of video is of the most importance to you, then I'd go for the Phantom 2, Zenmuse 3 axis gimbal, GoPro Hero 4 Black combo. The GoPro lens distortion is easily removed using the (free) GoPro Studio.
 
As a Phantom and Inspire owner, I can confirm that the the Inspire is a much more stable platform in gusty conditions.
One of the major differences between Inspire 1 and Phantom 3 is that you can't rotate the gimbal on the Phantom, so in theory, you can be a lot more creative with your video using the Inspire.
Lastly, if quality of video is of the most importance to you, then I'd go for the Phantom 2, Zenmuse 3 axis gimbal, GoPro Hero 4 Black combo. The GoPro lens distortion is easily removed using the (free) GoPro Studio.

You don't get the range though from the phantom 2 that the 3 gives? Also has the same sensors etc to the inspire? Yeah there's no doubt the inspire is better built. Would the phantom 3 cope ok though in windy conditions along the coastline?
 
You don't get the range though from the phantom 2 that the 3 gives? Also has the same sensors etc to the inspire? Yeah there's no doubt the inspire is better built. Would the phantom 3 cope ok though in windy conditions along the coastline?

You should only be flying less than 500m LOS anyway. Those Phantoms are so small I'd not send mine out more than 200m. With regards to wind, anything over 20kts would have me worried.
I believe it is the same sensor in the Phantom 3/Inspire 1 cameras, but video from the Hero 4 is better in my opinion.
 
Not sure if this is the right place to post this, if not feel free to move it mods.

I have been considering a drone for awhile now for photography and video. Has anyone used the Phantom 3 and if so what are your thoughts? Think I am pretty much decided on this model, was a toss up between this and the Inspire 1 model but found the Phantom provides most of the same features at half the price.

Also if there is anyone here that owns one, did you insure it? Id imagine there is quite a few catches to cover something like this...

thanks in advance
Did you eventually get one?
 
Did you eventually get one?

Bought it and it's been out of stock at wex for awhile now. Torturing them every day to no avail pal. It's really annoying waiting on it. Thinking of cancelling and sourcing elsewhere
 
I would buy it from a dedicated Drone seller, I would hazard a guess that you would get faster and better back up from them should anything go wrong ( warranty or user error).
You will love it. when it arrives.
 
Bought it and it's been out of stock at wex for awhile now. Torturing them every day to no avail pal. It's really annoying waiting on it. Thinking of cancelling and sourcing elsewhere
Both places I've bought drones from (RCGeeks & First Person View) have them in stock.
 
Heliguy and Buzzflyer are another couple of companies with great reputation and support.
 
Have a P3 Advanced and love it, very easy to fly and the lightbridge streaming is great, I only use it for personal stuff so can't comment on insurance but a few random tips that might be useful:

  • Read the manual (you will need to download it since it isn't in the box)
  • Join a forum like phantompilots.com and read the sticky threads (and any others that sound interesting)
  • Read up on battery maintenance, IMU calibration, firmware updates, using RTH, avoiding accidental CSC as a few minutes reading could save you headaches/money later
  • Budget for an iPad or iPhone if you don't already have once since the Android app is not as good as it should be
  • Find yourself a nice open space clear of obstacles and people where you can practice flying before you worry about the video/photo side
  • Get yourself a case or backpack, there are cheap ones that do the job but the pricier ones have some nice features if you want to spend a bit more
  • Budget for a second battery at some point
Have fun!
 
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