When DJI’s Phantom 3 was first announced in April, it seemed like every media outlet ran a story about it. Everyone praised the Phantom 3 for being the next step in consumer drone technology. 4K! Livestreaming! Built in Lightbridge! A $1,259 price tag! A billion-dollar drone company! Oh, what a world!
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But since the Phantom 3’s release just over a month ago, very few have publicly said what the experience is like. None of the major tech publications have run a “One month with the Phantom 3” review yet. (And I am not counting Amazon reviews.)
Where are all the DJI Phantom 3 Reviews?
Granted, the delayed release of the iOS Pilot App impeded most people from flexing all of the Phantom 3’s muscles for a couple weeks, but there are so many features packed into this little drone, there is plenty to test without an FPV display.
So, as we wait for our Phantom 3 to arrive in the mail (I’m looking at you, unnamed DJI employee, but you know who you are), we thought we would see what the blogosphere was saying.
As it turns out, there aren’t a ton of Phantom 3 reviews there either and about half of the results for a “Phantom 3 Review” Google search link to articles and videos that are unboxings or initial ‘Hands On’ stories.
Below we have aggregated some of the better reviews for you to peruse for now, but stay tuned to DroneLife for our upcoming Phantom 3 review.
Elia Locardi, proffessional photographer – blamethemonkey.com:
“I was already a huge fan of the DJI Phantom 2. So when I picked up the DJI Phantom 3, I was immediately impressed with the responsive control and agility in the air. What I didn’t expect was the dramatic increase in power. Where the Phantom 2 flew extremely well, the new Phantom 3 zips through the air with pinpoint precision and even more responsiveness. It’s not like flying an upgrade, it’s like flying a completely new product. The Phantom 3 is a finely tuned bad ass little piece of engineering mastery.”
Read his full review here. (It starts about halfway down the page, but really you should read his whole post… this guy gets it.)
Colin Smith, photographer, digital artist – Photoshop Cafe:
“On testing, its obvious that the power has been drastically increased. The quadcopter is much faster and much more responsive. So much so, that I was taken surprise by it. I am very impressed with the responsiveness. Even yawing (rotating) in place produces a very smooth spin rather than the old “toilet bowl” effect. The controls are very quick and snappy.”
Read the rest of the review here or check out his video review below (the beginning is a little unbox-y, but stick with it).
Craig Issod, droneflyers.com:
DJI has promoted the idea of a “flying camera” and that is exactly what the Phantom 3 is. This is not a drone you’d want to buy for racing around the park, lifting other payloads, experimentation and/or hacking, rather it’s a tool which allows the hobbyist to takes pictures and video from new perspectives.
The pilot feels a sense of control while navigating this quadcopter through the air and the smooth response of the Phantom builds confidence. After about 30 minutes of flight we felt totally comfortable with the sticks and were able to navigate to get the pictures and video that we desired.
It’s safe to say that no consumer drone on the market gives you anywhere near the functionality of the DJI Phantom for a similar price. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find this combination of features even at triple the price. If you are looking for a photo and/or video quadcopter that is RTF (ready to fly) and provides the state-of-the-art in current drones…look no further.
Read the full review and see some test pictures and videos here.
Overall we believe the DJI Phantom3 to be highly advanced, extremely efficient, and incredibly priced. This is one of the best drones for sale on the market…
The DJI Phantom 3 is one of the most badass drones on the market for any avid pilot. We aren’t joking when we say we’re seriously impressed.
Read the full review here.
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As these reviews demonstrate, the Phantom 3 appears to live up to all the hype. And with a product this good, you would think DJI would push the TechCrunches and Engadgets of the world to do official reviews.
Of course, this is the internet, so TechCrunch will probably publish its review on Monday and render this article pointless.
Or maybe we will finally receive our own Phantom 3 this weekend and get form our own opinion. Stay tuned.
Alan is serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, and a drone enthusiast. He co-founded DRONELIFE.com to address the emerging commercial market for drones and drone technology. Prior to DRONELIFE.com, Alan co-founded Where.com, ThinkingScreen Media, and Nurse.com. Recently, Alan has co-founded Crowditz.com, a leader in Equity Crowdfunding Data, Analytics, and Insights. Alan can be reached at alan(at)dronelife.com
$1300 for a Drone when there are some drones a fraction of the cost and it does the same thing.
Finally had chance to fly this drone and it is fantastic. DJI quads are always enjoyable and responsive to fly and it’s easy to see why they have such a big share of the market. I’m glad to see that the standard has been released at the lower price point, as I think people are gonna get a great quad for the money.
Where are all of the reviews? I believe one of the major reasons why there aren’t already hundreds of reviews is this – most drone enthusiasts simply lack the skill to efficiently pilot one of these beauties. It takes a while to learn to pilot a 8 channel quad skillfully. You’ve got to start with a 4 or 6 channel quad, learn the ropes, use a simulator and then try your hand at flying a 8 channel model. Many people lack the patience to go through all of this. You cannot expect a newbie to unbox the DJI 3, plug in the batteries and fly it like a pro.
And then there’s the cost. For most people, $1300 isn’t exactly chump change.
This is my review of the Phantom 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uhJi9XRuKE
Everything I’ve seen about the Phantom 3, including some great videos, points to it being one of the best drones on the market. Good to see others agree!
It is a pretty awesome machine!