Review - DJI Phantom 2 v2.0 + Zenmuse H4-3D Review

[Canon Rumors]

Discuss our review of the DJI Phantom 2 v2.0 + Zenmuse H4-3D Review here.

 

[takesome1]

I didn't even bother reading the review. I doubt at this point I need to. If you have money to waste on a DJI product buy it.

We bought the top end model about 5 months ago. Of course we read where the person says they just watched the drone fly away.

The problems we had, one time it decided to leave on its own and we were able to chase it down.
Another time it decided to just nose dive into the ground.
Hours were spent with customer service about software problems.

Then a few weeks back it happened, the screen on the ipad goes black and it takes off in a direction to never be seen again.

And "We just watched the drone fly away..."

Everyone panics and try and chase it down, but the thing is white and hard to see against the sky. They should make these things orange.

In panic mode the insurance company is called, after all we are next to two major highways and an active air force base is a few miles away. Guess what, many insurance companies will not cover a drone with a basic liability policy. It is one of those loopholes like flood and earthquake insurance. If you do not specifically add aviation it is not covered.

So several thousand dollars gone.

But, it did take great videos and was fun while it lasted.

 

[HaroldC3]

Curious what this has to do with Canon?

 

[infared]

Dustin...great review as usual...I love the fact that this was posted here on the Canon website by someone who's reviews I read all the time (20mm Art NEXT!? LOL)..I like the fact that you kept it simple with a capable yet cost-effective set of equipment, keeping it reasonable for the "curious" who may want to dive in. I also like the fact that you were right up front with the newbie/humble approach ....I think that we are all "drone curious"...how can we not be as visual artists...and this satisfied my curiosity for the time being (especially after reading takesome's post above!).
What keeps me away is:
1.The money
2. I don't shoot video and have no desire to do so.
3. Safety
4. Legal/Liability/Accident issues(I live in NJ and there are a whole lot of people, property, phone lines.etc..etc..etc EVERYWHERE!...and TONS OF LAWYERS..more per square foot that anywhere else in the world I think! LOL!).
5. The fact that one of these things can just fly off on its own...bye..bye ( thanks takesome..I NEVER knew that was an issue!!! ).

Thanks for the post...I REALLY enjoyed it! ...now..I gotta go make some images!!! 8)

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

I didn't even bother reading the review. I doubt at this point I need to. If you have money to waste on a DJI product buy it.

We bought the top end model about 5 months ago. Of course we read where the person says they just watched the drone fly away.

The problems we had, one time it decided to leave on its own and we were able to chase it down.
Another time it decided to just nose dive into the ground.
Hours were spent with customer service about software problems.

Then a few weeks back it happened, the screen on the ipad goes black and it takes off in a direction to never be seen again.

And "We just watched the drone fly away..."

Everyone panics and try and chase it down, but the thing is white and hard to see against the sky. They should make these things orange.

In panic mode the insurance company is called, after all we are next to two major highways and an active air force base is a few miles away. Guess what, many insurance companies will not cover a drone with a basic liability policy. It is one of those loopholes like flood and earthquake insurance. If you do not specifically add aviation it is not covered.

So several thousand dollars gone.

But, it did take great videos and was fun while it lasted.

I'm surprised at the whole "flying away" issue - it's not one that I observed at all, nor do I think it is common at all (or DJI would have been out of business a LONG time ago). You mentioned an iPad - were you controlling it through the iPad?

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Curious what this has to do with Canon?

Valid point, but the reason why we chose to share this review is less about Canon and more about the fact that a number of photographers are curious about quadcopters/drones (see the comment below yours) - and Canon doesn't make any.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Dustin...great review as usual...I love the fact that this was posted here on the Canon website by someone who's reviews I read all the time (20mm Art NEXT!? LOL)..I like the fact that you kept it simple with a capable yet cost-effective set of equipment, keeping it reasonable for the "curious" who may want to dive in. I also like the fact that you were right up front with the newbie/humble approach ....I think that we are all "drone curious"...how can we not be as visual artists...and this satisfied my curiosity for the time being (especially after reading takesome's post above!).
What keeps me away is:
1.The money
2. I don't shoot video and have no desire to do so.
3. Safety
4. Legal/Liability/Accident issues(I live in NJ and there are a whole lot of people, property, phone lines.etc..etc..etc EVERYWHERE!...and TONS OF LAWYERS..more per square foot that anywhere else in the world I think! LOL!).
5. The fact that one of these things can just fly off on its own...bye..bye ( thanks takesome..I NEVER knew that was an issue!!! ).

Thanks for the post...I REALLY enjoyed it! ...now..I gotta go make some images!!! 8)

Thanks for the feedback. If there is any upside to more regulation in the future it should be that the chances for litigation will be reduced so long as the appropriate regulations have been followed.

 

[takesome1]

I didn't even bother reading the review. I doubt at this point I need to. If you have money to waste on a DJI product buy it.

We bought the top end model about 5 months ago. Of course we read where the person says they just watched the drone fly away.

The problems we had, one time it decided to leave on its own and we were able to chase it down.
Another time it decided to just nose dive into the ground.
Hours were spent with customer service about software problems.

Then a few weeks back it happened, the screen on the ipad goes black and it takes off in a direction to never be seen again.

And "We just watched the drone fly away..."

Everyone panics and try and chase it down, but the thing is white and hard to see against the sky. They should make these things orange.

In panic mode the insurance company is called, after all we are next to two major highways and an active air force base is a few miles away. Guess what, many insurance companies will not cover a drone with a basic liability policy. It is one of those loopholes like flood and earthquake insurance. If you do not specifically add aviation it is not covered.

So several thousand dollars gone.

But, it did take great videos and was fun while it lasted.

I'm surprised at the whole "flying away" issue - it's not one that I observed at all, nor do I think it is common at all (or DJI would have been out of business a LONG time ago). You mentioned an iPad - were you controlling it through the iPad?

IPad was used for the video feed, controls through its controller. The problem is in the software and a similar issue happened several times. If the drone loses signal it is supposed to be programed to returned to its landing site. I think the problem is that the drones internal gps is faulty.

And it is very common. Even before this one was bought we were reading reviews. All of them had a few reviews that commented about fly aways.

And if you haven't seen all the threads and complaints just do a DJI flyaway search on google. Somewhere I read that on average 20-30% of units sold are flyaways. Is that true or not? I can say that 100% of the DJI drones I have been involved with flew away.

But the drone is fun and no doubt use full. I would do some research before I laid out a huge amount of cash on one.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

I didn't even bother reading the review. I doubt at this point I need to. If you have money to waste on a DJI product buy it.

We bought the top end model about 5 months ago. Of course we read where the person says they just watched the drone fly away.

The problems we had, one time it decided to leave on its own and we were able to chase it down.
Another time it decided to just nose dive into the ground.
Hours were spent with customer service about software problems.

Then a few weeks back it happened, the screen on the ipad goes black and it takes off in a direction to never be seen again.

And "We just watched the drone fly away..."

Everyone panics and try and chase it down, but the thing is white and hard to see against the sky. They should make these things orange.

In panic mode the insurance company is called, after all we are next to two major highways and an active air force base is a few miles away. Guess what, many insurance companies will not cover a drone with a basic liability policy. It is one of those loopholes like flood and earthquake insurance. If you do not specifically add aviation it is not covered.

So several thousand dollars gone.

But, it did take great videos and was fun while it lasted.

I'm surprised at the whole "flying away" issue - it's not one that I observed at all, nor do I think it is common at all (or DJI would have been out of business a LONG time ago). You mentioned an iPad - were you controlling it through the iPad?

IPad was used for the video feed, controls through its controller. The problem is in the software and a similar issue happened several times. If the drone loses signal it is supposed to be programed to returned to its landing site. I think the problem is that the drones internal gps is faulty.

And it is very common. Even before this one was bought we were reading reviews. All of them had a few reviews that commented about fly aways.

And if you haven't seen all the threads and complaints just do a DJI flyaway search on google. Somewhere I read that on average 20-30% of units sold are flyaways. Is that true or not? I can say that 100% of the DJI drones I have been involved with flew away.

But the drone is fun and no doubt use full. I would do some research before I laid out a huge amount of cash on one.

Thanks for the follow-up. You are right - that fly-away should not happen (they should perform the "return home" function). I am somewhat skeptical about the 20-30% figure. I guess between you and I we are at 50%, though, since I didn't have any flyaway.

I suspect that one of the biggest advantages to newer models is having a more reliable link to "seeing what the camera sees". It seems like third party solutions (app support) aren't the ultimate solution.

 

[infared]

Just an observation from afar...(about the fly-aways)
Dustin..I know you to be an INCREDIBLY thorough guy. Unusually so. (I read all of the instructions, too!LOL!)....
I noticed in the "The Painful Part" of your review...that the set-up, i.e. compass calibration, etc....was difficult and/or frustrating ..and required quite a bit of patience....but from what you said...um...you could fly the drone anyway without calibrating it, right? Is it possible that there is a connection to "people-in-a-hurry" not setting up the drone correctly at take-off and the number of fly-aways????? ...because if you do not take the painstaking time to get the drone to calibrate...it would not know how to return to the launch site, Right? (I think most people in NJ would not have the patience to calibrate the drone!!! LOL~~~). I am laughing...but I actually am not kidding about that!!!!
Could that cause the problem in some instances?

I might be misunderstanding exactly what calibration does.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Just an observation from afar...(about the fly-aways)
Dustin..I know you to be an INCREDIBLY thorough guy. Unusually so. (I read all of the instructions, too!LOL!)....
I noticed in the "The Painful Part" of your review...that the set-up, i.e. compass calibration, etc....was difficult and/or frustrating ..and required quite a bit of patience....but from what you said...um...you could fly the drone anyway without calibrating it, right? Is it possible that there is a connection to "people-in-a-hurry" not setting up the drone correctly at take-off and the number of fly-aways????? ...because if you do not take the painstaking time to get the drone to calibrate...it would not know how to return to the launch site, Right? (I think most people in NJ would not have the patience to calibrate the drone!!! LOL~~~). I am laughing...but I actually am not kidding about that!!!!
Could that cause the problem in some instances?

I might be misunderstanding exactly what calibration does.

That certainly could cause an issue as you do have more limited control until calibration (which is mostly about the internal compass) is complete. I started a few times a little impatiently but brought the drone down before going up too high because I knew I didn't have full control.

Without being there, however, it would be pretty hard to determine what is a drone defect and which is user error. I won't pretend to know enough to make that judgment.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Someone on my YouTube channel took my to task in the comments for my ignorance (in my defense, I was very clear that I wasn't an experienced user). Still, in the midst of taking me to task they did share some very useful information that potential buyers/users might find helpful. Here goes:

"But in the spirit of the Thanksgiving ......... Here's my 2 cents: Calibration should really be done AFTER the system has completed it's own internal boot up process. Wait until you see the green lights flash rapidly for several seconds.This can take several minutes. Pay attention or you could miss it. You to the calibration dance AFTER that. And be sure to do it at a reasonable distance from your vehicle, powerlines, buildings, etc for best results with no magnetic interference. Learn the light color blinking sequences and what they mean. Could save you one day. The red and green color choice was dumb on DJI's part as red/green color blindness is the most common type. And flying blind is not recommended at all as there's no way to see what you're shooting. This is the equivalent of whipping out your 6D, holding it above your head and just pushing the button. As a pro shooter, you need to be able to frame / compose shots. Invest in a monitor and video transmitter. It's an absolute must (both for quality of shots and safety). And get the IOSD mini for your Phantom, it will give you all the info you critically need on screen for safe and responsible flying. There's a canbus plug on the landing gear of your copter already there for it. So it's virtually plug and play. Place the gimbal in a relatively level position before powering up. This will help it calibrate properly. If you're having trouble with balancing it in a static position, remove the battery from the gopro. It doesn't need it as it gets power from the Zenmuse gimbal. And seems to balance better without it. Be sure you have low voltage settings properly entered in the software (30% is a good conservative setting) and be sure you have the RTH, CL and HL settings all properly mapped on the controller. There's a lot more little things. But those are the basics off the top of my head and are an absolute must for safe and responsible flying. Watch the video tutorials on DJI's product page or Youtube on the software assistant. You'll get much better results that way. And that doesn't even cover the Gopro settings. But quick tip there is to use 2.7k @30fps in medium FOV or 1080 @48 or 60fps in medium or narrow for most things. Much more pleasing to watch and decent quality give the bitrate limitations of the camera."
-YouTube user "sprinklememang"

 

[privatebydesign]

DJI didn't choose red and green. Just go look at any boat, plane, helicopter etc etc..........

 

[takesome1]

DJI didn't choose red and green. Just go look at any boat, plane, helicopter etc etc..........

But they did choose white, I guess they did that for stealth against a bright sky.

 

[infared]

Someone on my YouTube channel took my to task in the comments for my ignorance (in my defense, I was very clear that I wasn't an experienced user). Still, in the midst of taking me to task they did share some very useful information that potential buyers/users might find helpful. Here goes:

"But in the spirit of the Thanksgiving ......... Here's my 2 cents: Calibration should really be done AFTER the system has completed it's own internal boot up process. Wait until you see the green lights flash rapidly for several seconds.This can take several minutes. Pay attention or you could miss it. You to the calibration dance AFTER that. And be sure to do it at a reasonable distance from your vehicle, powerlines, buildings, etc for best results with no magnetic interference. Learn the light color blinking sequences and what they mean. Could save you one day. The red and green color choice was dumb on DJI's part as red/green color blindness is the most common type. And flying blind is not recommended at all as there's no way to see what you're shooting. This is the equivalent of whipping out your 6D, holding it above your head and just pushing the button. As a pro shooter, you need to be able to frame / compose shots. Invest in a monitor and video transmitter. It's an absolute must (both for quality of shots and safety). And get the IOSD mini for your Phantom, it will give you all the info you critically need on screen for safe and responsible flying. There's a canbus plug on the landing gear of your copter already there for it. So it's virtually plug and play. Place the gimbal in a relatively level position before powering up. This will help it calibrate properly. If you're having trouble with balancing it in a static position, remove the battery from the gopro. It doesn't need it as it gets power from the Zenmuse gimbal. And seems to balance better without it. Be sure you have low voltage settings properly entered in the software (30% is a good conservative setting) and be sure you have the RTH, CL and HL settings all properly mapped on the controller. There's a lot more little things. But those are the basics off the top of my head and are an absolute must for safe and responsible flying. Watch the video tutorials on DJI's product page or Youtube on the software assistant. You'll get much better results that way. And that doesn't even cover the Gopro settings. But quick tip there is to use 2.7k @30fps in medium FOV or 1080 @48 or 60fps in medium or narrow for most things. Much more pleasing to watch and decent quality give the bitrate limitations of the camera."
-YouTube user "sprinklememang"

WOW!...that is a mouthful from sprinkleme...but an informative one.... I really think that droning (done well) is an entity onto itself...like I think video and stills are two separate disciplines. (Just how I see it...)
That is one of the things that keeps me at bay with the drone thing. ..but done well, like everyone else I enjoy watching it. I have seen some really great footage...and a lot of mediocre ....more so. I also saw a groom get hit in the face with one on YouTube. Whoa.
Don't know why you got "taken to task"....you totally admitted that you were a newbie...and hey...looks like you did damn well AND had fun with your kids!!!!!!!!! Its all good!
I learned a lot from this "non-Canon" thread. Oh my! :
THANKS!

 

[privatebydesign]

DJI didn't choose red and green. Just go look at any boat, plane, helicopter etc etc..........

But they did choose white, I guess they did that for stealth against a bright sky.

Ever try to find a landed drone on pretty much any ground? White shows up best. So then the next question, why not white on the top and something darker on the bottom? Because when you lose them they often land wrong way up!

But if you asked me for a solution, I'd have it like a search and rescue vehicle, white with orange stripes, easy to see from top and bottom and against light and dark.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

DJI didn't choose red and green. Just go look at any boat, plane, helicopter etc etc..........

But they did choose white, I guess they did that for stealth against a bright sky.

Ever try to find a landed drone on pretty much any ground? White shows up best. So then the next question, why not white on the top and something darker on the bottom? Because when you lose them they often land wrong way up!

But if you asked me for a solution, I'd have it like a search and rescue vehicle, white with orange stripes, easy to see from top and bottom and against light and dark.

In all fairness, they do include a number of brightly color decals that can be applied to make them show up more easily. I didn't apply them to the tester because it was being returned after my review.