Stepping up from Phantom 3 Pro?

[nicoloks]

Hi All,

Have been flying my P3P since August 2015 and up until about 8 months ago had been incident free. Long story short I put my drone in some trees due to brain fade, smashed up pretty bad, several hundred dollar repair bill. Live view has never the same since with choppy fps, lag and drop outs. Repairer could not find faults and advised it was not viable to start replacing boards. This poor live view performance finally brought me unstuck over the weekend were a 3~4 second lag plus a 12fps refresh saw me once again clip the top of an especially tall tree.

Anyway, thinking it is time for a new drone. Things that are important to me are as follows;

1. Obstacle avoidance (trees being high on that list)
2. Video quality not be less than that of P3P
3. Compact size so as to fit in my existing camera bag.
4. Quick setup times

Particulary for any of you former (or current) P3 pilots, do you find the obstacle avoidance in the Mavic a valuable asset (i.e has it saved you hide while flying in the wild)? Given that you can see where you are going on a fully functioning drone, I wonder how much value there is in forward facing obstacle avoidance for a semi experienced pilot.Finally, I relize the POV is different in the Mavic, however ever is the fine detail (e.g foliage) about the same as the P3P?

Appreciate any feedback.

 

[nicoloks]

Before I sign off for the night the other question I guess is, more broadly speaking, do former P3P owners have any regrets having moved to the Mavic as opposed to something like the P4P?

 

[_milo_]

I haven't flown my P3P, since I got my Mavic. The P3P is a great AC, and I wont sell it.

The Mavic occusync connection has been really excellent for me, I also like being able to change the view from normal to HD, the on screen detail and sharpness, is better than the link from the P3P. Im using an Ipad Air2.

If photography and videography are you main goals, then the P4P would be the best choice. I would still use my P3P for shots, since I have an assortment of filters, and it produces good results.

The portability of the Mavic, is such that its so easy to have it with you, fast to get in the air, and it gets flown a lot.

The OA system may not help with fine tree twigs and such, may not work in low light, and can have issues with false detection with a setting sun. I still think its a neat option, but haven't had a need for it.

For me, a person not being primarily focused on photography, I really prefer the Mavic, I may buy a P4P down the road, but the Mavic would still get flown more. I have a number of other AC, the bigger they are the less often they get taken out.

 

[regdawg]

I'm a P3P owner as well and I've been on the fence on getting the Mavic. The portability is the big factor I'm selling to myself. I can just throw it in my inconspicious backpack when I travel by plane. I can keep it in my truck if I ever drive somewhere where I want some aerial footage. The small factor of it and from what I'm reading, its alot quieter when flying compared to the phantom series. Like the previous poster said, if photography isn't your main reason for a drone, the Mavic is the better choice.

I've read that the Mavic has/can have focus issues with the camera....is that correct?

 

[jshah500]

I just went from a P3S to a mavic. I had the standard for about a month before getting fed up with the portability issue. I sold it on craigslist for a minimal loss (5%) and expect my mavic to get in tomorrow.

 

[willhay555]

Setting aside a two week practice with a Syma, I went straight to a Mavic and have just bought a P4P for the upgrade in image quality.

I since decided not to open the P4P box as I couldn't lose the portability of the Mavic.

 

[willhay555]

If photography and videography are you main goals, then the P4P would be the best choice

Forgive me, but what else is there other than photo and video when considering an aerial camera?

 

[DodgeP]

In my opinion I think your crashing issues are due to pilot error, two tree crashes? Forward facing OA is good but if you're clipping the tops of trees that may not help your piloting skills because the issue is with sorting out what you see on screen with how close your drone is to objects and if you're within LOS your depth perception is weak (but that's an issue we all have to deal with).

Image quality - you're only getting two usable modes on the Mavic and they are UHD and 2.7K both at 24 & 30fps respectively. If you're used to shooting at 60fps, forget about it with the Mavic. Bitrate remains the same on both. FOV is more shallow on the Mavic so crashing might still creep into your flights.

Portability - unmatched by anything in the market.

I saw wind mentioned somewhere and here's what I KNOW from flying in windy conditions, the Mavic was no match for even the smallest gusts of wind (in my situation). I tried to fly last week in fairly mild winds and literally had to wait and watch as the mavic drifted further and further away from me because even with full stick, it couldn't fight through the wind.

It has it's advantages and disadvantages. You have to choose what's most important on your list of priorities. Image quality or portability. In my opinion, you'll give up image quality for portability if you chose the Mavic, if you covet image quality your best bet is a P4 and the portability of it is not that bad, I've seen backpacks for them. It's not like you're trying to carry around an Inspire 1 or 2. My Inspire never goes on trips with me.

 

[Malavic]

Forgive me, but what else is there other than photo and video when considering an aerial camera?

I can't speak for that guy, but I will speak as a photographer. If your main goal is photography/Video to the exclusion of all else, then yes, the P4P is it but there are other considerations.

I have a 600MM lens for my DLSR that weighs about 6 pounds. It is a pain to use and it's hard without a Mono/Tripod but when I use it, specially on my crop body, I get an effective focal length of 960MM. The problem is I only take it when I'm planning on shooting birds or wildlife way off, the rest of the time I end up shooting more with my 70-200L or 24-70 because I have it.

The same goes for the Mavic. Sometimes the camera/lens your have is much more important that a slightly better one that's at home because it's too big.

 

[regdawg]

In my opinion I think your crashing issues are due to pilot error, two tree crashes? Forward facing OA is good but if you're clipping the tops of trees that may not help your piloting skills because the issue is with sorting out what you see on screen with how close your drone is to objects and if you're within LOS your depth perception is weak (but that's an issue we all have to deal with).

Image quality - you're only getting two usable modes on the Mavic and they are UHD and 2.7K both at 24 & 30fps respectively. If you're used to shooting at 60fps, forget about it with the Mavic. Bitrate remains the same on both. FOV is more shallow on the Mavic so crashing might still creep into your flights.

Portability - unmatched by anything in the market.

I saw wind mentioned somewhere and here's what I KNOW from flying in windy conditions, the Mavic was no match for even the smallest gusts of wind (in my situation). I tried to fly last week in fairly mild winds and literally had to wait and watch as the mavic drifted further and further away from me because even with full stick, it couldn't fight through the wind.

It has it's advantages and disadvantages. You have to choose what's most important on your list of priorities. Image quality or portability. In my opinion, you'll give up image quality for portability if you chose the Mavic, if you covet image quality your best bet is a P4 and the portability of it is not that bad, I've seen backpacks for them. It's not like you're trying to carry around an Inspire 1 or 2. My Inspire never goes on trips with me.

This is the debate I've been going on with myself. Get a Mavic or not. I'm going on vacation in May (Hawaii) and I think thats the big reason why I want that portability even though I got a backpack and all that for my P3P. I maybe travel once a year by plane (family vacations). On a side note.....my other debate was to sell the P3P to get a P4 if I closed the door on the Mavic. Is the P4 a big upgrade over the P3P?

 

[msinger]

Is the P4 a big upgrade over the P3P?

Camera-wise? No. There are a lot of great new features though. I compiled a complete list here.

 

[DodgeP]

If you're talking about a P4P, I think it is. You're talking a 20MP camera versus a 12MP camera. Full HD @120fps. The camera on the P4P is better than the X3 in my opinion and if I didn't have an Inspire 1 (and the option to upgrade to the X5) I would consider the Phantom 4, my thing is I don't like the look of the Phantom Line (I know, stupid reasoning). Smaller can sometimes be better but not always. As a photographer I used to be a Nikon guy, D3x, D800 all 2.8 Glass, etc etc. The thing was, when I traveled - carrying all that gear was a mess. I got rid of all my Nikon gear and converted to Sony. In my case, I didn't lose any image quality but I was able to drastically reduce my camera bag and bring my Mavic. Kind of win win (in the fact that I can carry everything in 1 bag.

 

[nicoloks]

Thanks for the replies.

In my opinion I think your crashing issues are due to pilot error, two tree crashes?

Both crashes were 100% pilot error, no disputing that. Lack of usable live view definitely did not help with the second crash. 1st crash was by far the worst, was returning to land and had just descended below the tree tops when a pretty decent gust of wind caught my drone. As per the mentioned brain fade I did not inverse my controls when correcting my path as the drone was flying toward me, result being I put the drone into the trees rather than out of them. Poor drone was never the same after that, was just real hard work using live view to compose anything looking like smooth shots.

You have to choose what's most important on your list of priorities. Image quality or portability. In my opinion, you'll give up image quality for portability if you chose the Mavic, if you covet image quality your best bet is a P4 and the portability of it is not that bad, I've seen backpacks for them. It's not like you're trying to carry around an Inspire 1 or 2. My Inspire never goes on trips with me.

Yeah, portability is a huge factor for me, to a point. My first attempt at portable drones a few years back was the original Parrot Bebop which absolutely sucked with fine detail such as tree foliage or shadow detail (think phone video quality from 10 years ago). Guess that experience is always If the back of my mind. If color reproduction and shadow detail of the Mavic Pro is as good as the P3P, then I think that'll do it for me. All the other advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Doesn't help not being able to do a hands on compare. Using youtube with a large pinch of salt you find videos such as this comparing the P4, P4P and Mavic.

I think the poster may have gotten their P4 and P4P labeling in the video back the front, however at about 50 seconds you see what I think is actually the P4P (but labeled P4). At 55 seconds the Mavic and P4 at 1:05. Looking even just at the clock tower to the right there is loads of shadow detail on the P4P footage where the other two seem to struggle quite a bit. As I said though, large pinch of salt as there are plenty of other videos where the Mavic shows plenty of shadow detail and looks awesome.

Sometimes the camera/lens your have is much more important that a slightly better one that's at home because it's too big.

So true. Being used to and mostly happy with the P3P, perhaps I should just stick to looking at comparing the P3P video quality to the Mavic.

 

[brr5]

If you're talking about a P4P, I think it is. You're talking a 20MP camera versus a 12MP camera. Full HD @120fps. The camera on the P4P is better than the X3 in my opinion and if I didn't have an Inspire 1 (and the option to upgrade to the X5) I would consider the Phantom 4, my thing is I don't like the look of the Phantom Line (I know, stupid reasoning). Smaller can sometimes be better but not always. As a photographer I used to be a Nikon guy, D3x, D800 all 2.8 Glass, etc etc. The thing was, when I traveled - carrying all that gear was a mess. I got rid of all my Nikon gear and converted to Sony. In my case, I didn't lose any image quality but I was able to drastically reduce my camera bag and bring my Mavic. Kind of win win (in the fact that I can carry everything in 1 bag.

Hey DodgeP-
Went to your website-Great stuff!! The drone video wasn't bad either-LOL

 

[KiterTodd]

OP - good question. For me, it's the portability. It's the only reason I bought it and enjoy it. If I was shooting professionally, I'd be on a P4P, but I see some very good Mavic footage online. It certainly exceeds my needs.

How is there flight control of the Mavic compared to the P3 or P4? (ease of flying, stability, etc.)

...I saw wind mentioned somewhere and here's what I KNOW from flying in windy conditions, the Mavic was no match for even the smallest gusts of wind (in my situation). I tried to fly last week in fairly mild winds and literally had to wait and watch as the mavic drifted further and further away from me because even with full stick, it couldn't fight through the wind.

I haven't experienced this in moderate wind or gusts. I did see it once in sustained 25 mph wind with 30+ mph gusts, but that is far from moderate. The Mavic could not hold ground...the wind would just take it. However, in that case I was able to apply stick, get the mavic back, and land it. I decided against filming the planned water scenes that day.

I'm hoping to do some wind sports filming in 15-25mph in a few weeks, so will get a better idea then on if the Mavic can handle it vs. other drones I've seen out in similar conditions (Phantom and 3DR). I suspect it'll be good up to the low 20s, but beyond that it would be safer to keep it on the ground. Always have to consider the gusts.

 

[DodgeP]

Hey DodgeP-
Went to your website-Great stuff!! The drone video wasn't bad either-LOL

LOL.. thank you.. I just re-launched last week. Still doing tweaks but it's coming along.