The Phantom 3 Looks Amazing
I just ordered the DJI Phantom 3 directly from DJI. I will be able to directly compare the Phantom 3 to my Inspire 1 and hopefully help everyone with questions. I have obviously not flown the Phantom 3 yet but on paper this is the drone to get for aerial photography and aerial photography businesses. Before this was released, I would always get so many questions about where to start and what to buy but now the answer is now easy and simple: The Phantom 3 is the drone you should buy. There are only a few situations where you might actually want the Inspire 1 but the cost difference is so extreme I think most people will just opt for the Phantom 3.
5 Reasons The Phantom 3 is Awesome for Aerial Photography
How is the Inspire 1 Better Than the Phantom?
Phantom 3 Professional vs Phantom 3 Advanced
Not sure if you need to pay for the extra $259 to get 4k video? Let me help you make the decision. The more expensive Phantom Professional is your choice if you must film with 4k. Filming with 4k at 30fps looks great for real estate videos and slow moving fly overs. It really doesn't look that good if you are trying to fly really fast and chase something that is moving quickly. Working with 4k video is also cumbersome and you need good software. For someone strictly taking pictures for real estate, the Phantom Advanced is a good choice and you can invest the savings into an extra battery or two. It still films in 1080p at 60fps (they both do) and would be great for someone only interested in pictures and fast moving subjects.
The Choice is Easy: Buy the Phantom 3
To sum all of this up, you need help choosing which drone to buy for your aerial photography business. I think the choice is now easy and simple. The original Phantom was ahead of every other drone when it came out. I was really impressed with the Phantom 2 when it came out too because it had so many innovations and thoughtful features. With the Phantom 3, I expect to have all of the functionality and features from the Inspire 1 in a much smaller and cheaper package.
The Phantom 3 is a third generation product and should hopefully avoid the new product hiccups that I experienced with my Inspire 1. Regardless, I decided to buy directly from DJI this time to make dealing with any potential warranty or repair issues easier. If you found this post helpful in making your decision to buy a Phantom 3, consider clicking any of these links as I get a little bit of a referral. As always, I am here for your questions and comments about this! Buy the Phantom 3 directly from DJI with Free Shipping
Comments
I do not have any good media yet for the Phantom 3 but I will provide it as soon as I can. From everything I can gather, the Phantom 3 advanced is basically the Inspire 1 without retractable landing gear for 1/3 of the cost. It has the HD downlink called lightbridge, buttons on the remote for taking a picture and starting / stopping video, 4k @ 30fps from the very same camera that is on the Inspire 1. Anyone who flies like I do is now questioning what the point of the Inspire 1 is - I would rather own 2 Phantom 3's and have 6 batteries than one Inspire 1. For drone shots of surfing and other action sports, you could cut the cost down even more because you would want to film at 60 fps.
The speeds for ascent and descent are slightly improved from the Phantom 2 at 5 m/s up and 3 m/s down (the Phantom 2 is 4 / 2). This is the only area where the Inspire really stands out - it is faster. The Phantom 3 also has a 4 cell battery which is actually a solid improvement over the 3 cell Phantom 2, however all of your Phantom 2 batteries will not work with your new copter. You also can't fly the Phantom 3 with the two man setup like the Inspire 1. If you have been waiting to make a purchase, I can easily recommend the Phantom 3 over the 2 and the Inspire 1. If you are going to use this mainly for real estate photography and stationary stuff, I would recommend the advanced version. If you are going to be filming fast moving subjects only, you could easily get away with the regular version that is only $999 because the only difference is the ability to film in 4k@30 and fast moving subjects don't look good at such a slow frame rate. The cheaper version films in 1080p @ 60fps which is great for action stuff. The Inspire 1 also has a removable camera that *might* make it able to survive one round of upgrades from DJI but if history is a guide the Inspire 1 will be obsolete before we get the option to purchase a new over priced camera for it. Bottom line lesson here, stick with the Phantom line for affordability and features!! The new Phantom 3 will have LightBridge, 4k recording and 12mp stills. Officially wondering why you buy the Inspire 1..
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