Recommend me a drone

Been flying my P4P + for 6 times now... the biggest issue I had was that I couldn't figure out how to connect my HTC 9 to the controller. Found out that I had to do things in a specific order to make it work.

Apart from that, no issues what so ever, it flies confidently and all near misses were due to poor controlling on my behalf, but damn, that obstacle detection works like a charm!

The shooting into the sun issue... yeah, it does do some nasty flares, but what can you expect from a camera that isn't a typical video camera? Anything you point directly into the sun will flare in some way.

The gimbal has a tilt... for now I'm trying to see if there's a calibration method to clear it, but until then you can compensate by rolling the gimbal in the settings to make the horizon horizontal again. It's pretty simple, but obviously it would be preferrable that the gimbal was just perfect from the start.

Right now I'm waiting for the + controller to arrive, it was in back order. But I'm sure I'll love it as I find my phones screen to be too weak. Time will tell if the software on that controller runs flawlessly.

But in general, I have NO regrets what so ever buying the P4P+... it feels no way near as scary as it would have been flying a GoPro drone that drops out of the sky and was recalled completely.

Mind me asking, where did you read about drones flying away? And were those people who lost signal aware that you have to adjust your antennas according to the drones position? It's not omni transmitting antennas on the controller, they are directional.
 
A trip to the DJI forums found some pretty unhappy customers. I always consider such complaints with some skepticism, but in the case, it was pretty compelling. Most of the issues seemed fixable with software patches.
 
ggrantly said:
A trip to the DJI forums found some pretty unhappy customers. I always consider such complaints with some skepticism, but in the case, it was pretty compelling. Most of the issues seemed fixable with software patches.
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That's good to hear... I haven't been past the forums I have to admit. So my experiences are 100% from operating.
Had it out flying in minus 10 the other morning, even accidentally flew it out of VLOS some 200 metres from myself. Thankfully the minimap on the app has a line that shows my route back to home, so it was easy to turn around and fly home.

Apart from that and frost eating battery capacity like a bleep nothing was wrong (I ended up with around 18-20 minutes of flight time in minus 10C and just under 9 minutes of test footage)
 
To the OP - my experience and 2 cents is thus: Pre-ordered the Mavic Pro. Received early December. Loved the way it flew and handled, and of course the small size, but my camera had problems. Out of focus areas on left and / or right side of frame (in both manual & autofocus). Wasn't 100% certain that I'd get a replacement model quickly and without same problem - so sent it back for full refund. Also had doubts about the 65mbps & cam being "pro enough".
Ended up ordering and just recently received the P4Pro. Not many flights yet - due to cold weather - but no issues with the few I've done with mine so far. Ability to choose an f stop and 100mbps / h265 and just a much bigger sensor in camera - is totally worth the larger size imo. Mine fits inside the styrofoam style case that's about 12"x15"x8" with 3 batts, controller, iPan mini and extra set of blades. Pretty small case to travel with compared to the rest of my equipment.
So... if hobbyist, etc. and of course the cam problems are rectified - then Mavic is fun and you'll enjoy. But if you plan to fly commercially, get a license & use professionally... I feel it's no contest between these two.
 
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I also found that in the case of the Phantom 4 it matters what phone you have...... Until recently I had a HTC M9. But I smashed it up a bit so I ordered a S7 Edge.

With the HTC I had huge issues connecting to DJI GO 4... sometimes it would work right away, sometimes I had to restart the phone etc.

Now with the Samsung, I haven't had a single issue. Program starts up and connects without problems. Go figure....
Will be picking up the + controller today, will be interesting to see if it's problem free :S

Apart from that I'm pretty happy. That obstacle thing has save me a few times by now, flying around in the local woods.
 
ggrantly said:
Any updates on ironing out the Pro+ glitches?

TIA
Grant
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hey Grant.... was just in sweden this week for a small indoor shoot. Aint funny flying any drone in a giant steel shelved warehouse. Loads of interference, but it worked fine.
My biggest problem was my lack of experience with Atti mode. You drift in Atti... no matter how much you calibrate. Cost me a set of props :/

Anyways, I had zero issues with the + controller. It turned on and connected just fine everytime. And that brightness really does work outside with the sun in your back.

So I still have zero qualms buying the Pro + setup.
 
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