Phantom 4 review - how good is it? | RCSchim

See the Phantom 4 reviewed from an experienced FPVers perspective. Not just gimmick and gadget show off :)

►Video Index:
01:18 Remote
03:02 Copter
03:32 Gimbal, Cam, SDCard
04:50 flight characteristics, windy
05:12 Return Home, Autolanding
05:30 Lightbridge, Range
06:04 AWESOME sample footage
06:55 Gimbal and Cam performance (Sport mode?)
07:45 how stable is the gimbal?
08:30 gimbal 90° down shots!
08:46 very short about the APP
09:06 camera (Sharpness, features)
10:00 latency / lag of lightbridge
10:34 noise, ultra sonic
10:46 CONCLUSION!
11:19 is it flying FPV?
12:00 please dont fly it everywhere!

Chargetime Battery: 1:10
Flighttimes: avg. 19.5mins
I flew in around 600-700m ASL, not only hove but nice roundtrips at normal speed and landed between 20 an 30% left in battery.

►Videolink:
DJI Lightbridge works really well in the Phantom 4! I used an iPad Air2 as tablet (read that Android devices dont work so well?)
Had good and smooth image even flying 150m directly over my head (antenna null) and super range (the allowed 500m are no problem and I guess more than 1mile is no issue at all. If you are far out and hold the radio (antennas) too low you get "Weak RC Signal" warnings - but if you hold them correct it has really good range.

►HDMI output:

►LATENCY: 170-230ms

►Camera:
quality of P4 was increased over P3
- sharper, less chromatic abberations
- slightly unsharp at the edges (left bottom on my test model)
- lesser distortion - straight lines dont get bent!
4k30 (3840x2160/30fps) was my favourite mode. 30fps 4k is smooth and looks super sharp and is rich of details on a suitable, big 4K TV. First you fly, see nice scenery on the iPad (get a sunshield!) but at home on the TV you see a lot of details! No it's not about spying but about the beauty of nature!

►Flight performance:
in P mode it flies really stable, smooth - no weird turns or unwanted movement even in mid windy conditions.
if in S (sport) mode - it's really fast - but you get props in the view and you gotta whatch out (no obstacle avoidance, more space needed to break...)
! The bigger brother, the Inspire1 is of course better in shooting good, stable footage at higher speeds.
In P mode I had around 9m/sek (32kmh)
I S mode I saw 20m/sek (72kmh)


►Links, Tips:


related Playlists:

▼Music▼
freestylemix - hisboyelroy - Revolve

[HoverbotTV]

70kph hmmm without a gimbal I had moments at 65kph that were steady. Your stable comment cracked me up thanks. Like "the veyron will reach 320kph until you hit a corner and it becomes a quadcopter without a controller. Lightbridge has come a long way. Your onto something with the picture in the sky idea! you could make looped video for thos cheesy tft picture frames. ;-)

[smitthone]

Mario, great review. Tempo is quick at the right speed, essential information is given.

(Very) well done.

[Depronkleber]

Klasse gemacht! Kommt kompetent und ehrlich rüber.

[WildCaptures]

Great review, I just got the Phantom 3 standard two days ago and I have not flown it yet. I am taking the time to learn the DJI Go app. and study videos. It's hard to believe people spend all kinds of money on these craft and don't take the time to learn how to fly it. The Phantom 3 requires a lengthy update in order to get started and I just calibrated the IMU. I am waiting for the rain to stop so I can Maiden in the next couple of days : )

[wolkenkreuzer]

... ha... erster ;)...lol... schöner aufs wesentliche reduzierter Überblick... die wichtigsten Dinge hast Du gut und übersichtlich dargestellt... danke dafür, dass keine lange Weile trotz der Tatsache, dass sie mich kaum interessiert, obwohl es ja grundsätzlich schon ein tolles Teil ist... aber ich freu mich trotzdem auf meinen neuen Typhoon H und hoffe der kommt bald ;)))

[blackmennewstyle]

Very nice review Mario :)
Love all the cons and pros provided all along!
I can fly 20 minutes with my P3A but i am using the black carbon fibers/plastic props maybe you should give it a try on the the P4 if they are available now and if you still have have it of course since it was provided by DJI for testing!
I reached also (still with my P3A) 4KM by setting the lightbridge at the lowest bitrate and manual channel selection, it seems to be the way to go for decreasing slightly latency too, you will loose some HD quality FPV feed but it's still pretty flyable honnestly, you still have ton of details on the screen!
Thanks for sharing and happy midweek

[-meganeura]

HI! so you didn't notice any major altitude drop or drift? do you recommend it over a P3P? what would you buy?

[dramida]

Hi, can you specify what is the black device attached on the landing gear? Is includede in the kit or is custom added. What is its purpose?

[hotliner]

... looks really good this new phantom 4 but as you mentioned it's like a flying camera :-) ... there is one think I would have in my FPV gear and this is some sort of lightbridge if it has less latency :-D ... wish you all the best Mario! I'll see you! Paul

[arnepetry]

Great Review.
However, I disagree on the"flying sensation" part: I absolutely love flying my P3 with the litchi app and Google cardboard! I think for exploring and looking around with the high lightbridge resolution and long flying time it beats any other fpv platform based on analog 5, 8cuz or similar tech in my opinion.
P.S. I also do mini quad racing (currently 8 different miniseries from 100 to 280 size) and fpv fixed wing flying (mostly waterplanes) - so, yes I know what I am talking about... ;)

[angelocincotta]

I thought it was great but before you all spend your hard earned cash, check out the Autel X-Star Premium... I am so impressed with the whole package. Video quality is fantastic too. Yes I own 2 Phantom but DJI support is crap. Love this bird.

[maxkraus]

Naja ohne Brille ist das doch grausam zu fliegen oder ^^?

[Prometreus]

Der Prius unter den Coptern, gut durchdacht und technisch top. Trotzdem peinlich unter Kennern ;)

[SshahrouzZ]

first of all dji did not sent that unit for you to try it for a while! second of all jever coil up that wire against that metal handle near the antenna!! your info is not enough and confident!!! anywhays