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Inspire 1 vs. Phantom 3 vs. 3DR solo

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Hi all,

I am new to the forum and would really appreciate a few views from experienced users

I am considering buying my first drone but find the tradeoffs between the currently available models quite confusing. DJI's poor customer communication does not help... I am not too concerned about $. Here are my observations so far:

I1: great camera, best camera mobility, best flying characteristics, best looks, no visual distraction through landing gear / props, good case, good new app but no waypoint programming / limited programmed manouvres, uncertain future upgrades / key features eg waypoints, high price, ok battery time

P3: same as I1 with lesser flight characteristics, less fancy looks, limited camera mobility and rotor / gear in pics, but great price, great battery time

3DR Solo: gopro 4k which is great but creates fishbowl effect (can this be overcome?) so inferior video results vs. above models, unknown flight characteristics but probably ok, poor battery time, ok price, big advantage: waypoints and lots of sophisticated flight programming eg orbiting, cable car, true follow me, selfie etc

I'd much appreciate your view. I think if I could be certain that proper waypoint programming and follow me will come to the I1 I'd immediately go for this model and hence find it very disappointing that DJI seems to be unwilling to commit to this feature that in my (possibly naive) view is purely a function of software so could be easily provided?? Why can the P2 do this but not the other models?

Many thanks for your help!

Cheers,
Dom
 
The inspire is geared towards a different segment than the other two, its more professional capabilities more than outweigh the cost, if you'll be using them. The camera, meh, but the ability to use two operators and have a completely unobstructed view allows for some pretty impressive camera movement. Waypoints are nice to have, but even if I did have them I likely wouldn't use
 
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I bought an Inspire in March. It has been pretty flawless. I had one incident of a compass error in flight. It switched to Atti and luckily I was prepared for such event and controlled it until all was right. I just wanted to be sure so I pulled the flight logs and sent them to DJI. I can tell you from that experience, their CS/Support SUCKS!!!!!! With that said, I am contemplating the 3dr Solo when it hits. The biggest reason is I have heard good things about their after sales support. Also, 3DR's main guy Colin Guinn is on a youtube video talking about the solo and that it is logging 500 points of flight data 10 times a second to the Transmitter. If anything happens and you crash or loose your AC you upload your logs through the app and if the logs show that it was a malfunction of the equipment they will replace your AC, Gimble, & GoPro for no cost to you. That is a tall promise and if true will win my business.
 
I find follow me, waypoints etc to be a bit like those new-fangled features they always tend to add on mobile phones... A lot of marketing BS that once one manufacturer has it everybody feels like they need it... but in practice is more than a gimmick you'll end up never using.

I've had waypoint/POI/follow me functionality on several quads over the years (Mikrokopter had all that like 5 years ago already...), but while I played with them once for testing I never used them for anything real apart from one very special assignment but that called for a dedicated purpose-built machine in the first place.

So I'll favor what I use and see, i.e. video quality, stability, control...

A GoPro IMO is out of the question due to the fisheye, and it would be hard to go back to not having the full manual exposure control of the I1. Same with lack of HD downlink, would be a huge step back.
 
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Phantoms are super fun to fly. If you are not serious about video/photography and want to have fun learning then I would suggest the P2 or P3. You can get great images with the Phantoms but If high end media is your goal then the Inspire is the way to go! Both are amazing.
I have no experience with the 3dr but can say that GoPro 4 footage is great. The free app from GoPro fixes fisheye with the click of a button but there is distortion. I usually shoot in 4k and then crop the edges to get rid of as much of it as possible. Good luck!
 
Phantoms are super fun to fly. If you are not serious about video/photography and want to have fun learning then I would suggest the P2 or P3. You can get great images with the Phantoms but If high end media is your goal then the Inspire is the way to go! Both are amazing.
I have no experience with the 3dr but can say that GoPro 4 footage is great. The free app from GoPro fixes fisheye with the click of a button but there is distortion. I usually shoot in 4k and then crop the edges to get rid of as much of it as possible. Good luck!

I can get the same pic from the p3 as my i1. No different in that regard. Sure the i1 drives like a Ferrari but the p3 might drive like a Prius but capture wise are equal.
 
I find follow me, waypoints etc to be a bit like those new-fangled features they always tend to add on mobile phones... A lot of marketing BS that once one manufacturer has it everybody feels like they need it... but in practice is more than a gimmick you'll end up never using.

I've had waypoint/POI/follow me functionality on several quads over the years (Mikrokopter had all that like 5 years ago already...), but while I played with them once for testing I never used them for anything real apart from one very special assignment but that called for a dedicated purpose-built machine in the first place.

So I'll favor what I use and see, i.e. video quality, stability, control...

A GoPro IMO is out of the question due to the fisheye, and it would be hard to go back to not having the full manual exposure control of the I1. Same with lack of HD downlink, would be a huge step back.

+1
 
Hi all,

I am considering buying my first drone but find the tradeoffs between the currently available models quite confusing. DJI's poor customer communication does not help... I am not too concerned about $. Here are my observations so far:

I1: great camera, best camera mobility, best flying characteristics, best looks, no visual distraction through landing gear / props, good case, good new app but no waypoint programming / limited programmed manouvres, uncertain future upgrades / key features eg waypoints, high price, ok battery time

P3: same as I1 with lesser flight characteristics, less fancy looks, limited camera mobility and rotor / gear in pics, but great price, great battery time

You mention this will be your first drone. I bought a Phantom as my first drone and I think I crashed into trees twice, into a metal pole once and finally fell out of the sky having accidentally shut down the motors in an attempt to bring the craft back towards me and down at the same time.

The point I'm trying make is that you'd be better off learning on a less expensive and easier to fix quadcopter first before you invested in the Inspire 1. I've yet to crash my Inspire 1 but I am extremely cautious now.

Quality wise the cameras on the Inspire 1 and the Phantom 3 look the same ( 2 versions available - 4K and 1080p ) and with the narrower field of view you'd be unlikely to get your legs in shot with the Phantom 3. Those buying the Phantom 3 series will now get an amazing deal compared to those who bought a year ago. Built in Lightbridge, advanced remote controller and self contained camera ( no more faffing about with bits and pieces hanging off the underbelly of the aircraft )
 
I can get the same pic from the p3 as my i1. No different in that regard. Sure the i1 drives like a Ferrari but the p3 might drive like a Prius but capture wise are equal.
Photo yes, Video maybe. The I1 retracting landing gear and 360 gimbal make it easier to get dynamic shots, especially with pilot and camera man. It is possible to acheive the same shot with the P3 I guess, but the pilot will have to be **** good to get smooth results.
 
Hi all,

I am new to the forum and would really appreciate a few views from experienced users

Hi, Dom. Welcome to the forum!

Like you, I was new to buying all this. Needed it for aerial video/photography. The fish-eye result was not an option for me. To make a long short, the Inspire 1 was/is my first quad. It's a genuine camera platform, not a toy with a camera added. It's a joy to fly. Rock solid. There is a video somewhere of a P2 hitting a I1. The P2 crashed and the I1 kept flying.

These other "Inspire 1 wannabes" are just that, wannabes. The Inspire 1 is a professional piece of equipment that has the ability to morph and change with the advancements.

The complaints you've seen here are the tip of the iceberg (the squeaky wheel syndrome). There are many more of us who have been flying without any issues (you won't hear any complaints from us). So far, my limited experience with DJI customer service has been as good as any.

You will not go wrong with this copter. You get what you pay for. Those who say the P3 and I1 are the same, have no idea what they're talking about. Period. You can buy lesser quads (and that's fine), but when you quickly outgrown them, you'll want to move up to the Inspire. Why pay for the same real estate twice?
 
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You will not go wrong with this copter. You get what you pay for. Those who say the P3 and I1 are the same, have no idea what they're talking about. Period. You can buy lesser quads (and that's fine), but when you quickly outgrown them, you'll want to move up to the Inspire. Why pay for the same real estate twice?

Well apart from the form factor, size and purchase price ( the Phantom 3 when it comes out will be half the price of the Inspire 1) there are a lot of similarities in the two products such as same camera, same RC controller more or less, same light bridge technology and same Pilot App. And five months on some of the technology in the Phantom 3 might be even more advanced than the Inspire 1.

There are several advantages in having a smaller form factor, less weight, easier portability and a lower public profile. On the other hand the Inspire 1 is superb in a heavy wind and because of its larger motors and propellors it is actually quieter, producing a lower pitched less annoying noise than the Phantom which can sound like a angry hornets nest.

The huge advantage of the Inspire 1 is the ability to have a separate RC for a camera operator.

Both machines can be described as prosumer models, not least because of the limited quality of the camera which, whilst in my opinion producing better results than the GoPro4, is still limited by a tiny sensor and very low bit rate. At the launch of the Inspire 1 there was a lot of talk of the possibility of higher quality cameras being developed by 3rd party companies but nothing has materialised yet.

To get a big step up in quality and professionalism requires deeper pockets and far more complex aircraft, cameras and support systems.
 
Thanks for some great points I have spent a fair bit of time trying to decide on my first machine



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I just watched this video... This dude absolute drank all of the 3DR KoolAid.


Coming from working with a lot of high tech network appliance industry I can tell you that 3DR Solo has a lot of promises that they most likely not keep.

Some features may already be available once purchase but the talk about all these accessories and features are just that talk. They never showed any of these accessories nor any roadmap. A typical firmware upgrade (unless it is an urgent one) will take approximately 6-10 months. People should calm down about who has the better product. They should focus more on what tools and feature they need to get the job done.

Talk is talk.
 
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I like the Inspire because the current features and functionality is what I currently need. That is except for the cost.

The 3DR Solo does seem to have lots of bells and whistle but some of the features they promise breaks the rule of LOS and having full control if you are running solo is very questionable.
 
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I just watched this video... This dude absolute drank all of the 3DR KoolAid.


Coming from working with a lot of high tech network appliance industry I can tell you that 3DR Solo has a lot of promises that they most likely not keep.

Some features may already be available once purchase but the talk about all these accessories and features are just that talk. They never showed any of these accessories nor any roadmap. A typical firmware upgrade (unless it is an urgent one) will take approximately 6-10 months. People should calm down about who has the better product. They should focus more on what tools and feature they need to get the job done.

Talk is talk.
Exactly what dji is doing with the inspire and all the talk of future cameras/accessories for the gimbal port. I own an inspire but I will be purchasing a solo aswell. I think they satisfy different areas of need. Why does one have to be better than the other. Why can't they both be awesome and worth it.
 
^^^
exactly. It is just all this talk as I been seeing on forums and YouTube bashing DJI products while these commenters have not owned and fully used the product. Plus I can not find any independent review of the 3DR out in the field.
 
what 3dr can do to beat DJI is copy the inspire retracts, same stream line application and cut out the no fly zone b.s. and understand 2 person flying team is stupid pointless and flawed design.it will be a no brainier decision in another year or 2 because DJI wont be the 1 kid in town, the no-fly zone crippling drawback will be their demise. for 20 bucks someone could fly a fry's electronics rc whatever into a airport and not realy be out anything other then a good laugh, and that's the reason we have no fly zones. that same person(unless money is no object) would never do something to put their 3500 dollar drone in harms way... thus no-fly zones are POINTLESS.

here we are with our inspires and i'd say 75% of the features are being held back with software constraints, mean while other stuff is coming out that can now doing what the inspire should be for far less money. next year will be interesting.

DJI needs to make the inspire a solo act like the 3dr solo is (appearing to be) with the option for 2 people flying modes. all this is possible, it's already been done, DJI is trying to re invent the wheel and it's not gunna work. if you had a choice between 2 drones and they both did the same thing except one needed one person and the other needed 2 its pretty obvious which the majority would pick. if one could do everything with 1 or 2 people now you got a game changer. if one had no-fly zones and the other didn't which would you pick.
 
I can understand everyone's concern as I am on the same boat. I would love to have waypoint capability but for me to purchase a P3 or a Solo at their $1800 price point just to have it that feature? I'll pass.

Right now I just need to be a better pilot/videographer and I should satisfy at least 85% of what I need to get done.

In regards, to DJI's operations they really need to have a team solely dedicated to the Inspire. That mean one team, say 4-5 techs to support repairs and another 4 to work on software development. DJI doesn't need a marketing team as you could probably tell it sells itself. In fact, some online retailers can't even keep them in stock and eBayers can sell their used Is for the same price as a new one.

Go figure.
 

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