Hey everyone, New to the forums; my cousin got the Phantom 3 professional a few months ago and it was really impressive to fly it around. I'm seriously considering getting my own drone and have been researching for the last few months to learn more. At this point, I'm willing to spend up to 800-900 total for the drone but really would like to keep the cost around 600-700 if possible (or less!). I don't neccesarily need the same level of the Phantom 3 professional though it wouldn't hurt. Here's some quick thoughts of mine of the major models right now: 1. Phantom 3 Pro, best deal out there recently: 830ish: At the very high end of my price range and really doesn't bring much that the Phantom 3 advanced brings so I'd probably prefer that over this one. It has everything I'd like except for the ability to control the camera with a different controller (I've found very few drones have this ability; any you can think of?). 2. Phantom 3 Advanced, best deal recently: 600ish: one of my top picks right now. Has great range with 3.5-5km (wow that's way farther than most other drones!). 3. Phantom 4: outside of my price range 4. Autel X-star, price: $699; Looks like a good alternative to the Phantom 3 advanced but a little more costly and the range is only 1km vs 3.5 on the advanced. According to some youtube reviews it is of better general quality, is a little faster, and has more features than the 3 advanced. 5. Autel X-star premium, price: $899: Has 2km range which seems good enough to me (for those that already have a drone; what kind of range do you need generally?), 4K camera, comes with carrying case, etc. 6. GDU (formerly Prodrone) Byrd, $749: been looking at this one for a while as it has the really cool ability to be folded up and easily transported. I'm really into hiking so I was giving this a nice plus when considering drones. I have heard of other people transporting their Phantoms, etc, though so it wouldn't be impossible to go backpacking with another drone. Also, from what I read it has the ability to have the camera controlled with a separate camera. There have been major production delays though so that's kind of a red flag. It has 1km transmission range, 2.4ghz HD Wifi downlink system (is that bad?) , 1080p camera. 7. GDU (formerly Prodrone) Byrd Premium, $1359: Has 2km range, 4K camera, portability but is too pricey for me. 8. Ehang Ghost 2.0, $599: 1km range, 4k camera on board for this low price, does not use a controller though so that might be a minus. When looking up reviews people said it was pretty lackluster, anyone else have thoughts on this one? 9. Yuneec Typhoon Q500, $699 (includes case, 3 batteries, etc): only a 600m range at most and 1080p camera. Looks like it is lesser than the Phantom 3 advanced or Autel as far as I can tell; what do you think? 10. Yuneec Typhoon 4k, $899: From what I hear it was a good copter but it's a little lesser than the Phantom, is that true? Plus it's at the top of my price range; I havent' looked into it too much though 11 Yuneec Typhoon H, $1299: Looks great, only other drone other than the Prodrone that appears to have ability to control camera separate from actual drone, 4K camera, descent transmission range at 1.6km, retractable gear for easier transportation, etc. Too expensive though 12 Walker Scout X4, no reliable price found: haven't looked into it too much other than reviews that say it is somewhat outdated at this point for the price Any thoughts on this initial review; it looks like based on this i'm considering the Phantom 3 advanced, X-star regular, and Prodrone Byrd standard. Thanks for any help in making the decision,
Simple decision - the P3A, which has long been the best choice when budget and features are weighed out. Some of the others are 1/2 decent, but they do not provide a better value - so the choice is easy, IMHO.
And also tons of YouTube videos covering all aspects of operation and dedicated, busy forums to help with any other questions or problems.
Yes. P3A is the right choice if you are balancing the price and features/performance in your budget range. By the way, P3Pro has 4k video, as compared with P3A. As known, currently, when you buy a new TV or monitor, they are 4k mostly. So, considering it is one time investment to buy a very good gadget, if P3Pro is almost still in your budget range, I would like to suggest to buy P3Pro.
Just bought my first Drone the X-star Premium....Video is even better than my friends P4 and its onlt $899 with a case and tech support is super!
I would go with the P3 Adv. Its a really cool craft.. The X-Star looks like a Phantom but I dont really know much about Autel.
