By James Trew / Source: Engadget

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Almost a year ago to the day, I wrote about the impact DJI’s Phantom 2 Vision+ might have on our skies. Up to that point, drones (or quadcoptors/multirotors, for the purists) had been slowly edging their way into mainstream consciousness. DJI’s ready-to-fly Vision series, with their built-in cameras and easy operation turbocharged that creep into a march. The Phantom 3 Professional is what would have been the new Vision (it’s dropped that branding), and is the first in this consumer lineage to shoot 4K video.

What’s changed in the last 12 months? In some regards, not much. Governments are still figuring out how to legislate quadcopters, while people keep buying them. As for DJI, it’s got a lot more competition, and higher expectations for what a drone should do. I was eager to spend time with the Phantom 3, and get a feel for how the company has evolved, and more importantly, where it’s going — and it looks like taking over our skies is only one part of its plan.

DJI Phantom 3 review

DJI has cornered the consumer drone market by making its products accessible and easy to use. Despite the “Professional” name, the Phantom 3 is a 4K video drone that’s perfect for the masses. Hobbyist video makers and amateur fliers have an easy choice in the Phantom 3, but we’d love to see it get a facelift and some smarter features.

Hardware

DJI launched the Phantom 3 in two varieties: Professional ($1,259) and Advanced ($999). The main difference between them is that the former shoots 4K; the latter, “only” 1080p/Full HD. The craft themselves are otherwise the same. DJI clearly thinks it’s onto a winner with the Phantom’s design, as the Phantom 3 is nearly identical to the Phantom 1. There are some differences, but by and large it’s the same bulbous, white quadcopter it’s always been. It’s inoffensive, but I do wish it’d inherited some of the Inspire 1’s design language, or something other than gold/silver stickers to make it stand out.

Less visible improvements have been added to make the Phantom 3 fly better. These include a new motor tilt for better stability, smart braking and a whole new flight controller (the brains). On the outside, there’s wider landing gear — which helps keep it out of view from the camera — and an extra compartment to house a new downward sensor for indoor flying. The new landing gear isn’t so wide that it prevents it from fitting in the case I have for the Phantom 2, which is good. The battery is different, too. It looks near identical, but if you thought you could use your existing spares from the Phantom 1/2 on the 3, no dice. This is a huge bummer, as many of the long-time Phantom owners will have spares (you can only fly 15 to 20 minutes per charge). Any upgraders will have to re-buy extras, and at $149 for the Phantom 3, they ain’t cheap.

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The controller, on the other hand, is all change. It’s smaller, has more buttons and features an internal battery (no more lugging spare AAs around like before) with an LED power level indicator and a USB connection for your phone. This last addition is important, as it ties into a hidden piece of hardware inside the controller, which enables one of the Phantom 3’s best features: live HD streaming from the camera to your handset. The Phantom 2 Vision+ did something similar, but relied on a WiFi connection between your phone and the controller, which then relayed images back from the drone. It worked, but was one more thing to charge, and then set up pre-flight — and the connection was often flaky.

The Phantom 3 swaps WiFi for DJI’s own Lightbridge technology (a $1,399 accessory on its own), baked right into the ‘copter and the controller. All you have to do is connect your phone or tablet (iOS and Android) to the USB port, and you’re good to go. The Phantom 3 streams video direct to your device in 720p from a distance of up to 1.2 miles. An added bonus is that your phone will charge while connected to the controller. A small detail, but the Phantom 2 Vision+ required you had enough power on three things (the controller, the WiFi extender and the mobile device) before you even switched on the quadcopter. The whole experience is much simpler now.

A huge improvement with the new controller is the slew of buttons and camera controls DJI added. Now, you can change the camera angle, start/stop recording, take photos and more (two buttons are customizable) without using the app; this is much easier to do without looking (i.e., while you’re keeping your eyes on the quad). The more comprehensive controls also mean you don’t have to connect a phone or tablet at all if you don’t want to — you’ll still have access to everything you need. I’d recommend you do use the app, though; it really elevates the experience.

Software

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So how about that app? Anyone who’s flown DJI’s prosumer Inspire 1 quadcopter will already be familiar with it because it’s the same one. DJI Pilot has four sections: camera, director, store and user center. From the camera section you can access everything you need to know to fly the Phantom 3. With your phone connected to the controller, and your Phantom switched on, you’ll instantly get a live feed from the camera. On top of this feed, around the edge of the display are an almost overwhelming number of dials, numbers and other widgets. Once you’ve figured out what everything means, it’s not daunting, but you might want to take a few minutes to get your head round them all if you’re new to flying.

For the most part, these controls tell you things like your altitude, how far away the Phantom is, where it is on a map (in GPS mode) and so on. On the left are buttons for auto takeoff or landing/return to home. On the right, you’ll find a big red shutter button to start recording/take photos and a shortcut to the camera settings. Along the top, you’ll see how strong your connection is, how many GPS satellites the drone sees (and thus whether the drone is safe to fly), plus access to more general settings. I prefer to handle takeoff and landing from the controller, and use the app just to see what the camera sees. Then again, it is useful to see how much battery life/flight time you have left too.

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The first-person view (FPV) from the camera is a big upgrade from the Phantom 2 Vision+. The quality of the feed is much better, and the connection is pretty solid. This makes the flying experience way cooler, as you can reliably use it to see exactly where the quad is (depth perception is trickier than you think). The real win, though, is how much it improves your photography. I’ve had so many shots ruined because the framing was even just a little off, or the tilt of the camera was wrong. The Phantom 3 removes all those problems, giving you a dependable, clear view of your shot.

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One other feature of the app: streaming your drone’s camera footage straight to YouTube. This works fairly well (I had some artifacts, but generally ok), but there’s one big prerequisite: that you’re flying somewhere with decent cell signal. Your stream will be in 720p (though viewers may need to choose this), and audio is taken from your phone’s mic for commentary. However, I did most of my test flights in the hills, away from the crowds and hustle of the city. And, it turns out, the reaches of my mobile operator. Livestreaming is perhaps a bit of a novelty for most fliers, but it does make the Phantom 3 useful in a few niche situations. The idea that you could livestream video from the sky has obvious uses in journalism/reporting or other “live event” situations. Assuming you keep your Phantom nearby and ready to fly, that is. Either way, it’s a nice addition to the Phantom feature set.

Camera

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