DRONE :DJI Phantom 3 review

The most important feature of any drone is that you can trust it will follow your commands once you put it in the air. A computer and a drone can both crash, but only one will fall out of the sky. I’ve been flying the P3 for almost a month and have not once experienced any erratic or buggy behavior. In fact, the first thing you’ll notice about the P3 is how rock solid its positioning is. Most drones use GPS satellites to find and hold their place, but DJI has added the ability to work with GLONASS, a Russian counterpart to GPS. This means the P3 finds more satellites, and finds them faster, all of which translates into terrific performance. 



DJI IS EXTENDING ITS LEAD OVER THE COMPETITION

When you can’t find a satellite signal (like when flying indoors), the P3 uses a visual positioning system enabled by a downward-facing camera. This feature, which first appeared on the more expensive Inspire 1, works well when the conditions are right. If you’re flying over a surface with good contrast, say a checkerboard tile floor, the P3 is quite stable, and will return to position when pushed. If you’re flying over a surface with a uniform color and texture, maybe a white linoleum floor, there isn’t much for the system to see, and it doesn’t work well.

I GOT STUCK REPEATING THE COMPASS DANCE

Getting the most out of your position systems requires calibrating the compass whenever you arrive at a new location. You need to do an odd little "compass dance," spinning the drone 360 degrees on its X and Y axes. Sometimes this worked right away, other times it failed to calibrate after several tries, warning me that there might be electromagnetic radiation about, and forcing me to repeat the whirling dervish act.

When all (or even some) of those positioning systems are working, the P3 feels a bit like magic. It goes where you tell it and doesn’t waver. Nine times out of ten when I was ready to land I would just bring the drone down and catch it with my hand, a sign of just how much I trusted this thing.

There are several models of the P3: all have the same body and flight controllers, but different cameras. I only got the chance to test one model: Professional, so my experience is limited to that. That said, I got great 4K video in all different kinds of light and crisp 12 megapixel still images. If you leave the drone to hover, the video looks as though it was captured on a tripod, even when you’re several hundred feet in the air with moderate winds. The only drawback of the incredible stabilization is that when you rotate the drone horizontally, or pan the camera, the footage has a strange, stilted quality. This is a category-wide problem, although I’m hopeful that the Solo, from 3D Robotics, will solve it by building in what Hollywood folks call "easing."

HOVERING IN THE AIR LOOKS LIKE SHOOTING ON A TRIPOD

The battery life on the P3 was a nice improvement over its predecessor. I routinely got 20-25 minutes of flight time, versus the 15-20 minutes I got on the Vision 2+. The upgraded battery means this unit is not compatible with older versions of the drone or charger, and vice versa, which hurts if you already shelled out for extra batteries on previous Phantoms. And you only get one battery with your purchase. It takes 40 to 50 minutes to get a full charge, and the charger can now power up your battery and remote control at the same time.