Phantom 4 or Pro - is it worth it and when will price drop?

[jase888]

Im a hobbyist Photographer and looking at starting up a part time business taking aerial photos and video in my local area mainly of houses, estates for people, this will be a side project on weekends from my full time job.

Ive flown the P3 Standard a number of times before through a friend and was thinking of the P4 Standard or Pro. Im leaning towards P4 as I see many aerial companies use this and also the price (£1200 with 3 spare batteries n backpack) where as the P4P is £1500 without spare batteries which i'd defiantly need.

Id like the drone image quality to be good for a few years and not fall too far behind. Do the drone prices drastically change, like if I wait 3-4 months will the P4P be a similar price to the P4 now? (My friend got the P3 a few years back for over £1000 and its £450 now )

Any advise appreciated

 

[msinger]

if I wait 3-4 months will the P4P be a similar price to the P4 now?

No. It will probably be close if you wait one year though.

 

[Meta4]

Do the drone prices drastically change, like if I wait 3-4 months will the P4P be a similar price to the P4 now? (My friend got the P3 a few years back for over £1000 and its £450 now )

DJI are the leaders in ready-to-fly drones and the P4 pro is the leader in it's class.
Because demand is strong and competition is weak, DJI typically hold prices until around the time they have a replacement model so I wouldn't be expecting any drop in the price of the P4p for quite a while yet.

 

[jase888]

Ahh right thanks for the responses I didn't think they would just thought I'd check first.

Do either of you think theres a big jump in quality for the photos in the P4P to warrant an extra £400?

 

[Dave steptoe-warren]

I bought my p4 for £1100 with a spare battery.i can't see the prices changing a lot because they are the best on market.

Sent from my SM-G928F using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[Laar]

I believe the P4P has a 20mp camera for stills vs 12mp with the P4. For photos I think the p4p is a big leap. Someone will correct me if I am mistaken.

 

[Meta4]

Ahh right thanks for the responses I didn't think they would just thought I'd check first.

Do either of you think theres a big jump in quality for the photos in the P4P to warrant an extra £400?

I believe the P4P has a 20mp camera for stills vs 12mp with the P4. For photos I think the p4p is a big leap. Someone will correct me if I am mistaken.

The improvement is a lot more than twice the number of pixels.
The sensor is 4 x bigger that the P3 series.

The camera has 12 stops of dynamic range so it can record shadow detail and highlights.
The camera now has a real aperture.
These features are important for serious photographers and mean that the P4pro has a serious point and shoot camera like the Sony RX100 rather than just a mobile phone camera and photographers are very excited about it.

If you aren't a serious photographer, you can still get good results with the earlier model but the P4 pro opens up a lot of possibilities that were previously impossible.
Read this thread to pick up what the buzz is about:
Post Your Still Images Taken With the P4P!

 

[Dave steptoe-warren]

I believe the P4P has a 20mp camera for stills vs 12mp with the P4. For photos I think the p4p is a big leap. Someone will correct me if I am mistaken.

You maybe right but still it has awesome pictures and videos

 

[With The Birds]

If you believe you have a genuine business opportunity holding out for a price drop on your most crucial equipment is seemingly nonsensical.

 

[jase888]

Thanks for the responses everyone. Thinking I may go with the P4P just it will save having to do an upgrade within a few years (hopefully).

If you believe you have a genuine business opportunity holding out for a price drop on your most crucial equipment is seemingly nonsensical.

Yeah i know what your saying, but I don't yet have CAA Approval and understand I have to do the course and then get approval which in all can take 3-4 months i've heard so didnt know if too wait. Decided P4P now makes sense as get chnace to use it and build up portfolio

 

[F3honda4me]

Ahh right thanks for the responses I didn't think they would just thought I'd check first.

Do either of you think theres a big jump in quality for the photos in the P4P to warrant an extra £400?

Yes, hands down. The Pro gives you 12 stops of dynamic range (compared to the 5 of the P4), allows you to adjust the fstop (P4 is fixed 2.8), has less of a "fish eye" effect as its a 24mm equivalent (vs 20mm on the P4), and can record in H265 and also records at 100Mbps giving you true 4k throughput.

I'm a hobbyist, and I upgraded from a P4 to a P4P, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. And that's just the camera, I hadn't yet even mentioned things like side and rear obstacle sensing, max speed increased to 30mph in P mode with osbstacle avoidance, 4 mile range, etc.

 

[jase888]

Yes, hands down. The Pro gives you 12 stops of dynamic range (compared to the 5 of the P4), allows you to adjust the fstop (P4 is fixed 2.8), has less of a "fish eye" effect as its a 24mm equivalent (vs 20mm on the P4), and can record in H265 and also records at 100Mbps giving you true 4k throughput.

I'm a hobbyist, and I upgraded from a P4 to a P4P, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. And that's just the camera, I hadn't yet even mentioned things like side and rear obstacle sensing, max speed increased to 30mph in P mode with osbstacle avoidance, 4 mile range, etc.

Excellent - i went with the P4P in the end after reading numerous reviews on the camera and how its a big upgrade from the P4 as my main use for the drone is photography. Had it not been i would have stuck with the P4 as the features arent much different and not worth the extra cost but the camera is!

Heard people say the cameras as good as a high end point and shoot camera is this right?

 

[F3honda4me]

Excellent - i went with the P4P in the end after reading numerous reviews on the camera and how its a big upgrade from the P4 as my main use for the drone is photography. Had it not been i would have stuck with the P4 as the features arent much different and not worth the extra cost but the camera is!

Heard people say the cameras as good as a high end point and shoot camera is this right?

It has the same sensor as the RX100. It's extremely close to a flying DSLR.

 

[jase888]

Niceee thats good to hear, glad i decided to go with the P4P now