I do have one tiny complaint about the Pro performance. Once landed, I find the machine spins up while shutting down the motors. This is no problem on the ground, but if you’ve landed on the case, it can be just enough to throw the drone over the side. This may be a calibration issue, or just our machine, but please be aware of it for your flights. One of the best and most underrated features of the Phantom 4 Pro is the capabilities of the camera.
In the early 1980s, these squadrons began to transition to the F/A-18 Hornet, starting with the same squadron that introduced the F-4 to the Marine Corps, VMFA-314 at MCAS El Toro, California. On 18 January 1992, the last Marine Corps Phantom, an F-4S in the Marine Corps Reserve, was retired by the “Cowboys” of VMFA-112 at NAS Dallas, Texas, after which phantom 4 the squadron was re-equipped with F/A-18 Hornets. The RF-4C was operated by four squadrons, and of the 83 losses, 72 were in combat including 38 over North Vietnam . Navy and Marine Corps losses of 233 Phantoms, 761 F-4/RF-4 Phantoms were lost in the Vietnam War. On 5 December 1961, another Phantom set a sustained altitude record of 66,443.8 feet .
Once it’s powered on, give the Phantom a minute to ensure that it’s locked onto GPS satellites, and to make sure that the home point is correct. Satellite status is displayed in the DJI Go app, as is the home point. If you’re using a smartphone, you’ll see a world map as a small embedded window in the live feed.
This field of view isn’t quite as wide as a GoPro, but provides a good balance between an immersive perspective with little distortion. The gimble is motorized, allowing full wireless control via the controller. This allows the camera to be moved 90 degrees (i.e. a full range from directly in front to directly below). The iPad shows highlight clipping via zebra lines which I found very useful, especially when the iPad screen was hard to see properly in bright sunlight.
Nearly four full years later, recent drones finally have caught up with 4K/60fps video capabilities . I also look at the wind capabilities and range to ensure a strong connection flying larger projects. The Phantom’s greatest advantage in air combat was acceleration and thrust, which permitted a skilled pilot to engage and disengage from the fight at will.
The new Sport mode lets you get to your location faster or just have some fun. Its Obstacle Sensing System can help avoid head-on collisions as well as track subjects. Slow-motion video is a nice addition to an already excellent camera. Joshua Goldman is a senior editor for CNET Reviews, covering laptops and the occasional action cam or drone and related accessories. He has been writing about and reviewing consumer technology and software since 2000. The DJI dji fly Pro sells for for $1,500, AU$2,600 or £1,590 with the standard controller.
I must say, I am very impressed with the stability of the camera on this drone. It has been windy around here, not ideal conditions to fly a drone, but it’s a loaner that I have to return soon, so I take what I can get. As I am carefully watching the drone to see it jumping around in the wind, I am more than pleased to get home to the footage to find it as smooth as can be. Remember that you cannot legally fly more than 400 feet above the ground, but, the service ceiling on this machine is feet.
Given the new autonomous features available, however, you probably won’t rely on this mode for anything but waypoint navigation. Trying to crash made me physically ill I spent the last few days putting the Phantom 4 through its paces, spending most of my time on the brand new fully autonomous features. It took me a while to get up the courage to fly it full throttle at a wall, and I felt physically sick with fear when I did, but the unit never failed to sense a crash and come to a halt.
You’ve been wowed by incredible 4k video footage taken from hundreds of feet up in the sky, and you’ve probably been tempted to buy your own Phantom 4 drone. The flight package is convenient, providing the battery and all the necessary cables and connectors for a successful flight. As always, second and third batteries would be great to have, this is a pleasant drone to fly, it’s sad when there’s no more juice. Newer aircraft offer some powerful alternatives to the big Phantom series as well. Craft like the DJI Air 2S offer the same size of camera, but with a much newer sensor and software, not to mention the smaller and more agile airfame and lower price tag. No longer is the Phantom series the best if you want a 4K camera in the sky.
But the thing that really deserves commenting on is how good the automated features are. S&F Land Services has flown over 500 missions with their Phantom 4 Pros. To see examples of the work produced using the DJI Phantom 4 Pro with Pix4D software, check out their media-rich website or YouTube Channel to experience some fly-throughs of the data produced for their clients. Simply put, the Phantom 4 Pro will always take clearer photos under the same lighting conditions than even the newest high-tech drones.