Buying Phantom 3 without accessories

badbeerbreath · Oct 14, 2015

Does anyone know if DJI, or anyone else for that matter sells Phantom 3's without controller, charger, etc.? I've sent emails to them and asked on their forum, but no replies back.

msinger · Oct 14, 2015

Yes, but it'll be more expensive to buy it in parts.

Phantom 3 Standard:
- Phantom 3 Standard Aircraft Body
- Phantom 3 Standard Camera (or get it on Amazon or eBay)

Phantom 3 Advanced:
- Phantom 3 Advanced Aircraft Body
- Phantom 3 HD Camera (or get it on Amazon or eBay)

Phantom 3 Professional:
- Phantom 3 Professional Aircraft Body
- Phantom 3 4K Camera (or get it on Amazon or eBay)

alokbhargava · Oct 14, 2015

Search on eBay. You might get.

bmcgnh · Oct 14, 2015

badbeerbreath said:
Does anyone know if DJI, or anyone else for that matter sells Phantom 3's without controller, charger, etc.? I've sent emails to them and asked on their forum, but no replies back.

I've heard back from them (Sept 25, 2105)
Dear sir,
Thank you for your attention on DJI and sorry for your lost .
You can contact your local dealer and purchase a phantom 3 advanced only from them ,without the battery and the controller.
You can find the local dealer through this website(please choose the right area):
Phantom 3 Professional & Advanced - Dealers | DJI
Thanks!

It's cheaper to buy a new drone and try to sell the battery, charger, remote (Inspire 1 users?) for parts on eBay. Buying the pieces separately (hull, gimbal, battery and remote) added up to almost $2,000...

I would think that DJi would cut a break to customers who buy a quad, crash it and then want to get back into the game... Obviously, they're not.

Good luck...

Evel_Knievel · Oct 14, 2015

I think it's a little odd that they don't sell the bird alone as well...

msinger · Oct 14, 2015

Evel_Knievel said:
I think it's a little odd that they don't sell the bird alone as well...

They do. See my links above.

ovyyus · Oct 15, 2015

What is the price for the bird alone compared to the price of a whole new system?

msinger · Oct 15, 2015

ovyyus said:
What was the price for the bird alone compared to a new system?

Currently -- $349 or $680. See my links above.

Evel_Knievel · Oct 15, 2015

msinger said:
They do. See my links above.

Let me clarify, I think it's a little odd that you can't buy the bird (craft with camera) for less than you can buy craft, camera, controller, and battery. In the case of the P3A it's 1089 vs 999 for everything. Seems like there should be a much cheaper option than buying everything for those that end up crashing. A very common event.

bmcgnh · Oct 15, 2015

Evel_Knievel said:
Let me clarify, I think it's a little odd that you can't buy the bird (craft with camera) for less than you can buy craft, camera, controller, and battery. In the case of the P3A it's 1089 vs 999 for everything. Seems like there should be a much cheaper option than buying everything for those that end up crashing. A very common event.

Not to split hairs but if it's a flyaway--or a loss at sea you also have to add a battery.

So to replace "just" the drone from DJI it's $680 for a P3A hull; $409 for gimbal/camera; and $149 for the lost battery. So you'd end up out of pocket to DJI $1238 to replace the bird. OR--$999 for a new bird, battery, *controller*, extra props, and a charger.

Doesn't make sense for sure.

badbeerbreath · Oct 15, 2015

I thought I'd read here somewhere about DJI offering someone a discount on a fully camera equipped P3 minus accessories, providing they send in their old tx ??

Ring a bell with anyone, or am I out to lunch??

MoreGone · Oct 15, 2015

crashed my drone and ended up buying a whole used P3A setup. Just sold the camera and have the remote battery and charger for sale. It is already proving to be the cheaper route to go.

gr8pics · Jan 13, 2016

I noticed the body Dji sells are same for adv and pro, does it mean i can buy a new adv kit, and move over my old gimbal from my pro and convert it to a pro just like that?

msinger · Jan 13, 2016

The only difference between the Advanced and Professional is the gimbal/camera. If you want to update your Advanced to a Professional, you'd need to buy a Professional gimbal/camera and swap it.

MoreGone · Jan 13, 2016

gr8pics said:
I noticed the body Dji sells are same for adv and pro, does it mean i can buy a new adv kit, and move over my old gimbal from my pro and convert it to a pro just like that?

That is what I did when I crashed my pro. Purchased a used Advanced, swapped my camera on to it and then then sold the Advanced camera, remote and battery and charger separately. Ended costing me less overall with a little more out of pocket up front.

gr8pics · Jan 13, 2016

msinger said:
The only difference between the Advanced and Professional is the gimbal/camera. If you want to update your Advanced to a Professional, you'd need to buy a Professional gimbal/camera and swap it.

So then i only need to buy a new advanced then, since i already got my old pro.
Maybe also make some money selling adv gimbal, battery and controller.

gr8pics · Jan 13, 2016

MoreGone said:
That is what I did when I crashed my pro. Purchased a used Advanced, swapped my camera on to it and then then sold the Advanced camera, remote and battery and charger separately. Ended costing me less overall with a little more out of pocket up front.

Awesome, bet Dji didnt think about that, HAH!
Did u have to do some software firmware mods, or just plug and play?

MoreGone · Jan 13, 2016

gr8pics said:
Awesome, bet Dji didnt think about that, HAH!
Did u have to do some software firmware mods, or just plug and play?

It is all plug and play hardware wise, but you do need to flash the Pro firmware. No different than doing a firmware upgrade, just grabbing the pro instead of the advance.

Dirty Bird · Jan 13, 2016

They do but it is cheaper just to buy the entire package. Plus you get a spare controller, extra battery & charger, & extra props.

badbeerbreath said:
Does anyone know if DJI, or anyone else for that matter sells Phantom 3's without controller, charger, etc.? I've sent emails to them and asked on their forum, but no replies back.

gr8pics · Jan 13, 2016

MoreGone said:
It is all plug and play hardware wise, but you do need to flash the Pro firmware. No different than doing a firmware upgrade, just grabbing the pro instead of the advance.

So it will automatically accept the pro fw?
What if i dont change anything on the adv, will it still accept the pro fw?