DJI has been make remote - control quadcopters for twelvemonth . primitively , you had to strap your GoPro to it , but last class DJI introduced the Phantom 2 Vision , which had its own incorporated television camera organization . It was pretty sugared , but every tiny turn you make your video shook enough to scramble your witness ’s mind .
Today , DJI unveiled the Phantom 2 Vision+ , which admit not only a camera , but also a built - in gimbal with 3 - bloc electronic stabilization . Does it make any deviation ? Holy crap , does it ever !
What Is It?
It ’s a small , outback dominance helicopter that ’s absolutely jampack with technical school , including GPS , Wi - Fi , and a fully stabilized 14MP photographic camera with an F/2.8 lens of the eye that shoot video at 1080p/30 .
Why Does It Matter?
Well , aside from being really fun to fly a helicopter that can flee some 35MPH and reach heights outgo 900 feet ( yes , nine hundred ) , it ’s fit out with a very solid piddling camera . This enables amateur and professional photographers and videographers to get shots that would would otherwise be impossible .
Design
At first glimpse , you ’d think it ’s a kid ’s toy — it ’s basically all blank plastic on the exterior . From the top down it looks like a heavy blanched X , with a formative two - bladed rotor on each decimal point . It stands on two retentive , substantial legs , which also dish out to protect the television camera in its undercarriage .
The camera rig is easy the most complex - bet component . It ’s on a platform that hangs down from the dawdler ’s trunk , connected by four , lenient , pencil eraser bulbs which help dampen palpitation from the motor . Unlike the normal Phantom 2 Vision , the camera has been divided into parts . The hanging platform contains the camera ’s brains , micro SD wit expansion slot , and micro USB chew , but then a wire go down and sequester to the television camera ’s electron lens and sensor . This is very clever .
The large and heavy something is , the bad and heavy the stabilisation rig has to be . DJI realize that all it needed to stabilize was the lens and sensor , hence the split tv camera . The result is what looks a half - sized GoPro at the conclusion of a small mechanical arm . The arm , of grade , is the gimbal , which provides passing quick 3 - axis stabilisation . It react so quickly it ’s almost spooky .
The copter is power by a 5200mAh Li - Po electric battery which is easily swappable ( spare will course you about $ 160 ) . There ’s also a outback ascendance that features two joysticks , two 3 - position switches , and a power - permutation . Attached to that is a phone clamp and a Wi - Fi reach extender . It creates a local Wi - Fi internet you mate your phone ( Android or iOS ) with , and it uses its own rechargeable intimate battery juice to stay connected with the Phantom even when it ’s 2,200 feet by . Using DJI ’s app , you’re able to see what the camera see to it , start / stop video , take distillery , tilt the camera ( up to 90 degrees ) , conform television camera preferences , and see important flight data , like distance , altitude , speed , and battery stratum .
Also , and I flush to take this . But when I was first testing the original Vision , I was just learn how to fly it , and it was wordy … and I crashed it into a tree . When it was about 35 metrical foot off the ground . It throw away like a rock hit the tough ground . The camera split off . It was piteous . Then I reattached the tv camera and WHAAAT IT STILL WORKED ! This is to say that it ’s very well - made . I do n’t know if the Vision+ could pull round such an impact because the gimbal looks a piece more soft , but I would no longer be shocked if it did . Really solid .
Using It
Ho man these thing are fun to vanish . They just go so tight , so far , and so high . The charge plate makes them kind of look like a kids ’ miniature , but do n’t be fooled . These things are no joke . You could do some serious damage with them and , yes , even land yourself in jail . Does this make them more fun to fly ? Of course . Just do n’t be unintelligent .
Now , these thing are far from just flip a switch on and start flying . They ’re deceptively complicated , and the instructions leave a lot to be desired . Before you start vanish you ’ve got to ability on the copter , the remote , and the Wi - Fi repeater , then pair your phone with the habitual criminal ( which often takes a prospicient time for some understanding ) , and start the app . Then you necessitate to riff the top proper switch a cluster of time until the copter lights turn over scandalmongering . Then pluck up the copter , rotate it around the Z axis , then turn it 90 degrees so the tv camera is betoken down , and do another full 360 around the new omega access , which calibrate the compasses . If you did all of that right , then the lights will turn green ( as long as you have GPS lock ) , and you ’re ready to start flying . So intuitive !
To start the rotors spinning , you push the two control stick to the gloomy - privileged corners . The left joystick control EL and rotation ( i.e. which way it will face ) . The ripe joystick verify sales talk and roll ( i.e. makes it travel forward , feebleminded , or side to side ) . When you initiate out it ’s definitely easiest to just deep the copter pointed aside from you and not even heap with the rotation . Once it gets wrench around all of your control are backwards , and that crap it a pot easier to get into trouble until you get used to it .
It pick out a lot of practice to get good at fell this thing . You ’ll be tempted to just jump flying around as tight as you’re able to . Resist this impulse . It can go 35 MPH , which is enough tight enough to do some real damage ( to multitude , things , or at the very least , to your young and expensive quadcopter ) . We also take it out to the eye of nowhere in wine country ( CA ) , carefully await around for other aircraft , and then maxed out the altitude . We beat it up to about 920 foundation before the remote control could no longer reach it and we lost command .
Losing command is n’t quite as scary as it sounds , though . The Phantom 2 Vision+ ( like the Phantom 2 before it ) has GPS and built in altimeters . If it loses contact with the remote control , it will slowly get returning down to where it last had liaison . you could then flip the top correct switch down and then back up , to take control condition again . We did this several times and it work utterly . It also has a return home feature , which is great in case the remote ’s batteries break . We launched it off of a manhole cover , send it 50 curtilage out , and then turned off the remote . The Phantom rises to a height of 50 feet ( so as to avoid ground obstacles ) , then returns to the pip where you originally launched it , and powers down . In our test , it landed about four feet aside from the original spot . Really telling ! That said , we ’ve try some revulsion stories about this feature when launching off a boat . The GPS also mean it will more or less stop and stay in one office if you get go of the sticks , though it does drift a bit more than we ’d like .
Using the app to control the camera is nice and intuitive . Just run into the up or down arrows to set the camera ’s contestation , and start / stop tape video with the press of a button , or capture a still . It purportedly can send TV to your phone in realtime , at 30 frame per indorsement , but we never vex anything virtually that honorable in our testing . Video would freeze completely for ten second base at a time , then fiddle a niggling , then freeze again . Definitely not reliable enough to fly from the camera ’s POV alone , which is disappointing . It can capture stills in JPG or Adobe DNG raw files , which is a cool feature , but when you snap a shot the screenland run short pitch-dark and does n’t wake back up for about nine second , which is a very long time to be in the dark . Everything is saved to a micro South Dakota card , which is quite convenient .
After several practice sessions I started feel more sure-footed with it . The assault and battery hold up for about 25 second of flight of stairs time . finally you get the timing down for doing high - speed banking turn , and it ’s incredibly satisfying . It ’s also just incredible to get these regal , sweeping shots from high-pitched above a beautiful landscape ( or maybe just the small town you grew up in ) . It ’s the kind of matter that was n’t accessible to amateur just a couple years ago , and it really does root on a feeling of awe .
Comparison
Check out the video at the top and it is very wanton to see that the stabilization gimbal makes a gigantic divergence . Look at footage shot from the original Phantom 2 Vision ( start at 1:45 in the video above ) . Every picayune crook and blow of steer shakes the gibe like crazy . The shot right away follow it show the Vision+ making abrupt changes in direction , and there ’s no fitfulness to it at all . When the original Vision climb gamy you could see a noticeable shake in the tv camera from the motors . There is no trace of that shingle in the Vision+ injection that immediately travel along . In other intelligence , the gimbal does its job impeccably well .
compare to theGoPro Hero 3 + Black editionvideo quality does n’t quite measure out up . It ’s a little hard to see , because while both were set at their widest configurations , the Vision+ maxes out at 140 degrees , where the Hero 3 + goes to 170 , so thing reckon a scrap small . In reality , detail is much sharper in the GoPro . The Vision+ suffers from a lot of compression noise . Little things depend blocky , and moiré is a constant problem in thins with patterns , like rooftops , brick walls , and even grass . There ’s also a fairish amount of lens straining , colors skew too warm , and there is just a gross ton of ISO haphazardness in lowly - light .
That ’s not to say that the tv camera is big . It is n’t . It just is n’t as near as the current best action camera out there .
Like
It ’s so fun to vanish ! Seriously , it ’s one of the cool miniature I ’ve ever played with . Ever . Everybody who tried it came away grin . Once it ’s all set up , it ’s really fairly easygoing to fly , as long as you do n’t get carried away and go to fast / high-pitched . The GPS features are all howling and may be a actual biography - saver . The Wi - Fi repeater is a really smart estimation , and being able-bodied to adjust the camera with your earpiece is fantastic . The JPGs it takes are fine , but if you do n’t listen tweak your photos later , shoot in DNG is really gracious . The POV stills embed in this post were all shoot in DNG and then tweaked in Adobe Lightroom .
Also , it just goes so damn gamy , and can take flight so tight . It ’s really unbelievable , and if you get good at flying it , you ’ll be able to make some pretty epic videos , especially if you and your booster are into outdoors / action sports . Battery lifetime is really pretty effective , and the fact that you could swap them out ( and the remote will admonish you when you require to ) is nice . It ’s just a really well - made gadget .
No Like
apparatus is really unintuitive . While it ’s supposed to basically bulk large in space when you let go of the joystick , this was n’t whole reliable . There ’s way too much lag in the video to be able to fly it by the television camera alone . The longsighted screenland dimout in between taking still really needs to be fix .
Here ’s a major job . When the assault and battery gets to about 8 - percentage , it just stop . And by “ stops ” I mean fall out of the sky ! This materialize to us twice , before we settle to just quit flying when it murder 15 - percent . It survived both falls from about six foundation , but we were very prosperous that we did n’t have it higher . Also , powering off the rotor is done the same way as powering them on : you press the two joysticks down and to the inside . Here ’s the trouble : You could easily do that by accident while you were just flying around . Granted , it would be an unmatched maneuver ( descending while backing up and change state ) , but it ’s not unthinkable that you ’d accidentally do that while you were learn , and again , the causes it to drop like a stone . power off should be something than can only go on when the drone is safely back on the ground , and that needs to be fixed .
Despite being an all - in - one system of rules , there are a bunch of components that require to be juggled . The drone ’s barrage and the Wi - Fi extender must both be charged severally , but the remote control condition ( which the extender is attached to ) bring 4 AA battery ( and do n’t forget to charge your speech sound , too ) . Kind of plaguy .
Also , it must be said that the pedagogy are really lacking . A big part of it is that the manual were clearly translated from Chinese , but even seek to rule the tutorial picture online is passing frustrative . There are all kinds of modern modes that we wanted to stress , but often following the instructions give out to switch the mode like it was supposed to .
Should You Buy It?
Okay , so this thing is really , really , really fun and it ’s hands down the unproblematic way of life to get stabilized aerial video . That said , it ’s $ 1,300 ( or $ 1,370 for the outfit with an extra bombardment , which is emphatically worth it ) . For just a bit more , you could buy the Phantom 2 , theZenmuse H3 - 3D gimbal(which is basically the same as the gimbal on the Vision+ ) , and a GoPro Hero 3 + Black . It might pass you a little more , and it would n’t be as wide-eyed as the all - in - one system , but then again , you ’d also have a Hero 3 + you could use for other applications , and image quality would definitely be good .
That said , if you just require something to take flight around like crazy ( to shoot your Friend surfing , or whatever ) , and you do n’t want to deal with juggling all the unlike element , then this system is awesome . [ DJI ]
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