DJI - Phantom 4 Quadcopter - White

This review goes in depth on a couple things and touches on many. This is meant for those looking for more info then usually found on short reviews. With the LightBridge technology and it's 6.2 mile radius, (5km out each way) in excellent conditions, easily go a mile and a half! No other company offers anything beyond 1000m because they're using WiFi. DJI uses a mature technical effective range controller and the best distance on the market, period. It doesn't seem to have the crazy distance us P3P/A users came to expect, which is a letdown to be sure, but I don't fly 2 miles away anyway so it doesn't bother me, what I have seen is 500m thru super dense trees in TX @ 100' canopy, so in the open she'll fly far. The battery isn't giving me or anyone 28m so don't expect that, it's doing about 24m which is pretty dang good. That's where any "complaints" end. This is static (meaning she doesn't move around at all) and with the vision position system being upgraded from a measly 3m to 10m really improves stability as it uses both systems (vision +GPS) to keep it stabile and static, compared to a P3P which moves around a little in flight, the P4 does not! Amazingly the collision avoidance is actually effective against tree branches without leaves on them at like 1/2" to 3/4" can actually be seen and avoided! Of course small branches are leathal and should be avoided like the plague. The active trac is just beyond cool, avoids obstacles while tracking autonomously, way far ahead in the game. Tracks like a military drone, way way cool. Fit and finish is exemplary and perfect, new motors are strong and push on props rock. To me the biggest improvement is the twin IMU and compass units (IMU is the inertia math unit, or Inertial Movement Unit and are the brains for tracking itself) with duals it not only compares and with lock-out a unit with algorithms preset to check bad influence and wrong calculations, same with compass. Now 3 units is the real way to go, using two to check the one in question, like real planes do, so it's not foolproof, but it's one more brain box then any other drone in this price range for sure. With twin units and smart RTH (return to home) obstacle avoidance fly always seem to be very rare if at all so far nothing on the web of a P4 flying away. I like the way the "radar" shows on screen and works very well, better then most expected. They added slo-mo and reduced chromatic aberration by 56% and lens distortion by 36% over the 4K P3P camera. The whole system is just "sweetness" on steroids. I upgraded from a P3P and am totally happy, even tho I got it for a song due to Best Buy and their awesome customer service, due to a TV purchase I had about $400 off. Best Buy is the best place to get this type of hi tech flying camera, due to the nature of these, you want to be able to exchange if for some crazy reason it doesn't update or something small makes it not 100%. Order from another vendor and you might be sol or have to wait weeks for mailing and RMAs, with Best Buy, they'll take care of you that day on the spot! It's $1400 sure, but your getting bleeding edge technology that no other companies can offer at this time. Lightbridge is the shiznit! Until others do likewise, Yuneek is offering 1000m range for video and controller, the P4 claims 3.1miles, which may be pushing it for normal usage, but surely out in desert or wide open might do, even if it doesn't and your in open area, no worries as so far, 100% of the time a P4 returns to home safely! What more could be said? I do wish it had raising gear, but it's not needed as props don't get in view like the P3P/a and earlier versions. Sport mode is crazy fast, even the pros are talking about how cool the speed is, and they know speed. Again, the "tap to fly" and "active track" along with follow me, "home point" and a few other smart functions it's a crazy efficient machine for photographers and hobbiest both. DJI has made it easy to really get the shot you want, and track subject easily using your tablet or phone. Buy an Asus 8s from Best Buy as its a great 4XHD screen and right at home on the controller, and won't break the bank either, to get the very most out of the DJI GO app, which in itself is pretty powerful and compliments the craft well. Unless your a range freak, which they have external antenna to alieve the range issue, you will be impressed, it's pretty well documented the P4 doesn't have the range of the P3P/A. Of course there are those that have gotten 4 miles also, but in same vs same conditions the newest quad does get less range usually, which hasn't been my consensus yet, but it's still very new. I didn't buy an extra battery and kinda wish I did, other then that, it's ready to fly out of the box after updating firmware. The case is comes in is a great little plus that is definitely a nice addition to save a little cash on initial purchase. So recommend this, to a friend or family, anyone interested in this awesome hobby! Don't forget to register, and something I had to learn, FAA doesn't send you your stickered numbers like I was waiting for, instead once registered your given your number, print out the info on two photo size photo paper (5X7), keep one with the case so it's with you, the other cut out the number and affix to the craft itself, that's the law, it can be placed in battery compartment as the batt. can be taken out without tools, so in the back of the battery holder is perfectly acceptable, good flying!

The dji phantom 3 was such a nice quad copter. With its sleek design and clean looks not to mention the epic shots with the video you thought this would be the best drone company around. Well that's what I thought until I crashed it due to a GPS error sending it into a tree when I wanted it to go home. The best part was after the crash there were no performance issues at all it ran just like it did before and I felt incredibly lucky. However, there was a lot of terrible scratches on the body and even a severe dent on the top of it as well as one leg almost being chipped completely off. So, I thought big deal nothing expensive got damaged and everything technical-wise was fine and I just send it in to get a new body for it. To start off, I called support and it took around 40 minutes to get in contact with someone. Then when I did and explained what had happened the lady on the phone (who I could tell was foreign) instructed me to update the firmware. I thought this was obviously a joke as that had nothing to do with it so I said alright I did and she said, "Ok everything works now?" Then it got to me she was serious and when I explained again I had extensive cosmetic damage she said exactly this "Sorry, fly tomorrow to see if ok, really busy now need to talk to other person" and hung up on me. Stupefied I called right back and got a hold of someone who sounded like they were actually from the U.S. they then told me I could send it in but they are NOT able to replace the body. I would have to swap it with a new drone and after evaluation if everything really performed right I am looking at $300 USD. This price to me was outrageous, they are basically telling me the cost of a body is $300 when just the gimbal itself is around that much. After asking if I could talk to a supervisor regarding the price he told me a supervisor cant speak to me on this issue and either I pay the money to swap or they can't do anything else. I finally surrendered my wallet and sent it in, I told them before hand I needed the thing back no longer than 4 weeks as I needed to use it for my photography business. They said I could but need to pay an additional $50 which I did but tried fighting against. 3 Weeks later I call to check up on it and they said they received it 3 days ago when FedEx said they received it 2 weeks before I called them. The man told me they haven't begun evaluation of it to see whether I can do the swap but he would expedite the process. 3 days later I call back to make sure and still get the same response. Not until 5 weeks after they got it did they evaluate it and confirm the swap getting a free $50 out of me for "expedited evaluation". Then it wasn't until the 7th week I got the thing and boy, was I infuriated. This company lost me money not being able to get me back the drone for a certain date I was supposed to take pictures for a customer, more money than the drone in fact. This is when I called to make a complaint that I saw the full ugly side of DJI support, the lady I got told me, " We are so sorry! We would be happy to offer you 10% off another drone if you but one." Being ticked off I told her straight up that your company has such an amazing product but due to its lousy support I will never EVER buy from DJI again and tell everyone I can not to buy DJI just because of the support. So here I am spreading the news. A year after receiving the phantom from DJI I have since bought from autel whose drone is up to par with DJI's and has unparalleled support to them. After flying it I was dumb and didn't lock a propeller (I know pretty bad for someone who flies these for a living) and broke the gimbal, they said it usually costs around $320 but since they feel bad they would give me a replacement for $120. So I sent them it and in 1 week I had something done that would've taken DJI a 7 week fiasco and I did it for less money than DJI. So, there you have it. DJI has a company with an amazing product with the worst support known to man while autel has almost a just as good product with unparalleled support.

Good stuff: Excellent 4K video quality, even in relatively low light. Good raw (.dng format) image quality, there are some distortions especially towards the edge of the image. Gimbals works really well, the video is rock steady even in very windy conditions. The obstacle avoidance sensors are pretty cool, but it's usability is to be debated (can't see smaller objects or wires). Fly well over 25 min on one battery (best to get a backup battery for any serious work) Sports mode is freakishly fast! App is well designed and easy to use. Cool functions such as follow me or points of interest, as well as click to go. Cons: Famously horrendous customer support (had a small ordering issue, tried to call, no answer, tried online chat, the rep just connected and closed my chat window right in front of my eye.) When doing 4K Video recording, the drone splits file evey 4GB, but it does it so horribly, that when a clip is split, there is a 0.5-1 second delay (thus a good amount of frames lost) If doing 4K, your best bet is use start/stop record button more frequently so the file does not get split during important takes. Hard to grip the drone if you have smaller hands. (I put some sandpaper tape on the side of the drone to help with gripping) Hard to take the battery out of the drone for charging. The buttons are not designed well to be able to grip the battery and pull it out. (also put some sandpaper tape on the battery grips and now they are fine) Almost never reaches advertised flying distance, the signal would lose pretty quickly if not in an open field, despite frantic attempts at adjusting the antenna according to DJI user manual. In conclusion, it's probably still the best drone money can buy at this price range. So I would still recommend it to anyone who's interested. However for better value with less useless bells and whisles, the DJI Phantom 3 Professional is a real steal at current price ($799)

I purchased a DJI Phantom 4 drone at Best Buy a few months ago for $1,400.00. I didn't use it for a couple months and started using it about six weeks ago. Over the course of using it about 20 times, it malfunctioned on its own and crashed itself into a buildings and to the ground. On the second malfunction, it broke the gimbal. I went to Best Buy with the drone and they did everything they could to warranty the product, but they found that they were not allowed to offer a warranty because DJI does not stand by their product- even for their largest retailer, Best Buy (says a lot when the largest electronics store in the country is not allowed to stand behind a product). I returned the drone to DJI for repairs, explicitly explaining the details of the incident. DJI would not stand by their product. DJI blamed me when it was their product, specifically their forward motion sensors, that failed. The gimbal had been damaged in the crash and did not rotate left to right any more, but it was still attached to the drone by its bracket and servo. DJI took a number of weeks to run diagnostics- they did not run any repairs, I can only imagine how long that would have taken. I explained the situation to DJI, and was never listened to. I realized that the company would not stand by its product so I requested that they return my drone 'exactly as it was sent' if they were not going to fix it. A full week later, I received my drone and found that the camera was completely severed from the gimbal, except for the wire strip which was partially torn. Not only did they not repair my aircraft, they damaged it more, rendering it unusable! Hands down the worst customer service I have ever experienced. Lazy and inattentive staff. Long wait time. They won't stand by their product. They damaged my property while it was in their care. I am telling everyone I know about this, regardless if they are using a drone or planning to. Do not buy any product from DJI. There are much better competitors out there who will respect the price tag they place on their products and actually care about their customers. Best Buy management knew about and warned me of this marked lack of good business practices at DJI when I first considered returning the drone, I should have listened to them, I would have saved a lot of time and headaches. As I am writing this, I am on the phone with Best Buy to recommend they do not carry DJI's product any more. I will also be calling any and all other retailers I can find with DJI products and warning them about my experience. I tried to post my complaint to DJI, labeling all of the review site’s fields at the lowest rating (which was appropriate). I hit ‘submit’ and all I got was a small green label written in Chinese letters with a small ‘x’ button. DJI appears to have set up their review site not to accept poor ratings!

Ok in my opinion this is not a product to upgrade to if you already own a Phantom 3 professional. 1- The battery life on this product is not as advertised 28min is false considering you don't want to push your battery to the limits that way you can extend it's life and avoid a crash. 2-The avoidance system don't work on high contrast or night so it's useless plus that the system will recognize something from about 500px so it is blind to little branches and electric lines also those sensors are in the front that's it!, just 60 degrees of field of view from each one. 3-You don't really see any improvements on image quality at least I don't see it, same 12mpx camera not mentioning the slow bitrate. 4- Now the gimble is attached to the Phantom and it can be just fixed by DJI or any of their retailers not like the P3P that you can buy it separated and install it yourself in case of a crash and damage. I can go on and on but I just want to point that this is a company that will fight against you to the end and not give you any refund or anything if you have any problem with this product their reputation is really bad in terms of customer service and they will always try to blame you even if you're right. I don't have anything against them and I really like this product but my advice is don't go and spend your money on this if you own a previous model is just not worth it, again is my own opinion take it with a grain of salt and do a lot of research before buying this product.

I purchased a DJI Phantom 4 drone at Best Buy a few months ago for $1,400.00. I didn't use it for a couple months and started using it about six weeks ago. Over the course of using it about 20 times, it malfunctioned on its own and crashed itself into a buildings and to the ground. On the second malfunction, it broke the gimbal. I went to Best Buy with the drone and they did everything they could to warranty the product, but they found that they were not allowed to offer a warranty because DJI does not stand by their product- even for their largest retailer, Best Buy (says a lot when the largest electronics store in the country is not allowed to stand behind a product). I returned the drone to DJI for repairs, explicitly explaining the details of the incident. DJI would not stand by their product. DJI blamed me when it was their product, specifically their forward motion sensors, that failed. The gimbal had been damaged in the crash and did not rotate left to right any more, but it was still attached to the drone by its bracket and servo. DJI took a number of weeks to run diagnostics- they did not run any repairs, I can only imagine how long that would have taken. I explained the situation to DJI, and was never listened to. I realized that the company would not stand by its product so I requested that they return my drone 'exactly as it was sent' if they were not going to fix it. A full week later, I received my drone and found that the camera was completely severed from the gimbal, except for the wire strip which was partially torn. Not only did they not repair my aircraft, they damaged it more, rendering it unusable! Hands down the worst customer service I have ever experienced. Lazy and inattentive staff. Long wait time. They won't stand by their product. They damaged my property while it was in their care. I am telling everyone I know about this, regardless if they are using a drone or planning to. Do not buy any product from DJI. There are much better competitors out there who will respect the price tag they place on their products and actually care about their customers. Best Buy management knew about and warned me of this marked lack of good business practices at DJI when I first considered returning the drone, I should have listened to them, I would have saved a lot of time and headaches. As I am writing this, I am on the phone with Best Buy to recommend they do not carry DJI's product any more. I will also be calling any and all other retailers I can find with DJI products and warning them about my experience. I tried to post my complaint to DJI, labeling all of the review site’s fields at the lowest rating (which was appropriate). I hit ‘submit’ and all I got was a small green label written in Chinese letters with a small ‘x’ button. DJI appears to have set up their review site not to accept poor ratings!

This is the best drone you can get in this price range!!! Please consider this over the Yuneec selections, as its range, live HD view, features, and obstacle avoidance are far superior to the Yuneec selections!! As far as this drone goes, here is what you need to know: -it's crazy stable due to GPS and optical stabilization. Let go of sticks and it hover perfectly in place!!! -it's obstacle avoidance works great unless there are small twigs and tiny power lines, otherwise, flawless!! -The Lightningbridge used for live HD is amazing, almost zero lag, and has better range than wifi!! -The quad takes insanely nice video and pictures -the advanced features such as active track are awesome and offered no where else (active track follows and object using the camera to follow a highlighted item optically, so no remote or GPS tag is required) -idiot proof features such as return home (while avoiding obstacles) and obstacle avoidance make it the safest drone to fly. Not to mention 20-28 mins of flight time, which beats most other brands!! -DJI GO app is heads and feet above any other brand!! It's easy to use, not cluttered, records every flight. And bonus for new pilots, has a built in simulator that was very important to my beginners success!!! Overall, you can't beat this quad!! The only copter I would recommend over this one may be the DJI inspire, but only for professionals that need a 360° gimble. For professionals and hobbyist, this drone does everything flawlessly and easily!! My 5 year old nephew can fly it safely! So if your looking for a feature packed, safe to fly, awesome drone. This is the one, no doubt!!

I purchased the DJI Phantom 4 about a month ago. Since then I've logged about 15 hours of flight time and taken several videos and photos. The Phantom is extremely easy to operate and the photo and video editing software in the free DJI Go app makes sharing my flights on social media or with my friends a breeze. The obstacle avoidance system provides another layer of comfort in flying safely without damaging property or my phantom. The intelligent flight modes, like "point of interest," allows me to take really professional looking shots in just a few simple steps. Buying the phantom 4 at Best Buy has proven to be a smart decision. After I got it home from the store I realized the SD card was not seating properly. I took it back and Best Buy exchanged it without any hassle. Two weeks later the Phantom 4 went on sale for $200 less and came with a free battery. Best buy sent a free battery to my local store and credited the difference from my original purchase price. I was apprehensive about making such a big purchase for a hobby item but the quality of the Phantom 4 and the support I've received from Best Buy has set my mind at ease.