[mrtbahgs]

I am looking to get into a prosumer drone this year, basically waiting to see if DJI releases any major improvements with a Phantom 5 that hopefully comes out Oct/Nov or if an updated Mavic has a real camera sensor on it, otherwise I will likely grab a Phantom 4 Pro at a minor discount.

I love the idea of the mavic with portability (especially if ever traveling), but I think the quality of the camera is more important and unless they basically provide the new P4P camera on an upcoming mavic revision I will have to pass on it.
I do not want buyers remorse in the sense of thinking "these photos look good, maybe even great, but certainly not outstanding."
I also want to just jump in and grab a top-tier quality drone and not waste money on a middle market one to then find myself buying the high end again later.

Just curious who out here already has experience with some high end drones for photography and video.
I would imagine a few of you have a P3P, P4, or P4P.

 

[mrtbahgs]

Bumping this one time to see if it gets any interest.
I am surprised no one here has a high end drone already or at least they aren't talking about it, maybe it isn't the right type of forum to grab this interest...

 

[Conspiracy]

ive played with a good bit of drones but personally dont own one. im happy with just about all the DJI ones over the past few generations. ive been happy with the live stream quality of the mavic. ive worked with the phantom a few times when i first got started working with other drone owners and its a fun starter drone with impressive abilities for the price and camera which i always just slapped gopros on it but even the one with its own camera stock was impressive. overall the mavic is the one i like all around although the inspire 2 is pretty wicked as well. i know some people that were happy with their gopro karma after recall and other issues but i have trouble wanting to use one because it feels unreliable from a bad launch. i dont have experience personally with the other brands. i have a friend that has a freefly and LOOOOVES it but i have not been able to check it out but also that is camera sold separate and i think can hold most DSLR's and small cine cameras

if i was going to buy myself a drone and stop using my friends id grab a mavic but the phantoms have also been reliable and a joy to use

 

[PurdueBoy]

I had a P3S for awhile, it was fun but honestly more on the toy side, I'd stay way from the standard edition. I then upgraded to a P3P it was a big step up as far as range, you can take it out of sight with ease. As far as video quality wise it was ok, I wouldn't even say great let alone amazing.
Quote:

Originally Posted by mrtbahgs

I do not want buyers remorse in the sense of thinking "these photos look good, maybe even great, but certainly not outstanding."
I also want to just jump in and grab a top-tier quality drone and not waste money on a middle market one to then find myself buying the high end again later.

I think you'll have to go with the Inspire series if you want that feeling, with one of the higher end camera options. The P5P might be interesting, but it's not out yet and there are just leaks, so it's tough to recommend waiting. It's not going to be better than the inspire, that's for sure.

Thus being said if I were to buy a drone right now it would be the new platinum edition mavic, the new quieter one with more run time. It's not the best image or video quality, but through using the phantom 3's and understanding how I wanted to engage with the hobby the compact size and quietness of the mavic outweighs the quality.

Also you need to edit your footage. I would shoot in a raw/dlog type format that looked pretty bad unedited, but once you go back and add in the colors it looks far better than trying to shoot in a finished video mode right from the drone.

 

[mrtbahgs]

As much as I think it would be awesome to own an Inspire 2, those would be even bigger and less portable not to mention a steep price increase so I have the draw the line short of that one I think. If I did anything major with video or commercial use I would reconsider or perhaps see what happens in 3-5 years.

I don't know much on what the P5 will bring, but I have a feeling the camera won't be touched much and will focus on more sensors, maybe a bit more portable, and try another 5+ minutes battery life. If they do the 5 series like the 4, then the P5P won't come out for a bit of time after the P5 and it may actually see a noticeable camera change or 2nd controls for the camera, etc. I guess they try and trickle down some of the Inspire features into the Phantoms.

The Mavic would be fun to try out I think, but I want the camera still over the portability. If I was one who traveled a lot or on the road all the time those priorities might switch, but that is not the case for me.

I will have to try out the various photo settings, I am no expert on post-processing, but can likely learn or figure it out. I agree you can do more though if actually shot in RAW though.

 

[Conspiracy]

lately improvements have been more on the drone features than the cameras. i wouldnt expect major camera improvements unless someone just comes out with a completely legit game changer

 

[deafboy]

I have a P3P but outside of the occasional work usage I never touch the thing, photos and video are good enough quality for my needs. Especially after editing the RAW files.

 

[Conspiracy]

https://store.dji.com/product/zenmuse-x7-lens-excluded?from=menu_products

 

[mrtbahgs]

Still haven't bought anything yet, but continuing to check around and also hope to see real info on a Phantom 5 release this month.

I did however recently pass the FAA sUAS remote pilot (commercial drone pilot) certification exam.

 

[JackCY]

DJI makes some nice drones of various sizes and prices. But as you've mentioned in a way, the quality of cameras depends on the model or what you slap on it, meaning you can have a nice inexpensive drone you can take anywhere or get a huge film making like setup that will cost you both kidneys and then some.

4k60 is a must IMHO, and the Spark and Mavic might not do that, DJI site sucks they don't even list basic specs. P4P seems to have 4k60 and a decent sensor but it's larger and so on. Even the Mavic isn't that small when you have it in your hands.
Spark is neat. The flight time of all is rather poor. 15-30min only.

DJI probably hard to beat when it comes to consumer drones right now.

 

[Mikeethestud]

I am using drones which i bough for 30K from Amazon .. I don't know whether there are size bigger then that

 

[Vlada011]

Drones are so cool.
Special GoPro Karma.

 

[Erick Silver]

Dronie checking in! I've been away from the OCN forums for a long while now. Life changes etc have led me down a bit of a different path in the last few years. Where I was once heavily into Gaming and Folding I have now moved to Drone Photography and Videography and editing both.

I currently have a DJI Spark that I use for photography. I know that the Spark has now been discontinued by DJI for the upcoming release of the Mavic Mini.

As for an upcoming Phantom 5. I have not seen or heard of anything of that nature coming out for 2019 Q4.

Picture is of my Spark. I have added a few things since I took this picture. Tablet, tablet mount, range extender, new landing legs, gimbal cover for flight and non flight to protect camera and gimbal. I will be adding some filters, batteries, and more props soon.

 

[Erick Silver]

DJI makes some nice drones of various sizes and prices. But as you've mentioned in a way, the quality of cameras depends on the model or what you slap on it, meaning you can have a nice inexpensive drone you can take anywhere or get a huge film making like setup that will cost you both kidneys and then some.

4k60 is a must IMHO, and the Spark and Mavic might not do that, DJI site sucks they don't even list basic specs. P4P seems to have 4k60 and a decent sensor but it's larger and so on. Even the Mavic isn't that small when you have it in your hands.
Spark is neat. The flight time of all is rather poor. 15-30min only.

DJI probably hard to beat when it comes to consumer drones right now.

DJI is pretty much the top standard when it comes to consumer and prosumer drones. Their pricing and features are hard to beat. I know that the Mavic Mini will be able to shoot video @ 4k30fps.

the mavic Pro Platinum shoots at the following:
C4K: 4096×2160 24p
4K: 3840×2160 24/25/30p
2.7K: 2720x1530 24/25/30p
FHD: 1920×1080 24/25/30/48/50/60/96p
HD: 1280×720 24/25/30/48/50/60/120p

You will be hard pressed at this stage of drone tech to get a consumer or prosumer drone that will shoot at [email protected]

The Inspire 2 is a Professional drone that you can buy different gimbal cameras for that will shoot at higher FPS, but then you are spend thousands and thousands. The ZENMUSE X7
runs $3,109 just for the camera. The Inspire 2 runs $3,499. By itself, no camera.