Hi. I'd be interested in any feedback or thoughts from experienced Drone pilots about the new Phantom 3.

In addition to the upgraded cameras, it seems the GPS tracking and other software "safety" features have been improved yet again over previous models, and the speed is now 16 m/s up from 10 m/s Phantom 1.

So if 16m/s is 31 knots according to Google, does this mean I could expect to be able to film kiting / windsurfing in say 20 knots, and be able hold ground & fly upwind ? Most of the stuff i do is light wind foiling, but Id like to understand how useable they are in a normal WA seabreeze.

I'm dead keen to get into some aerial photography, but I'm sure its much harder to get decent footage than DJI suggest. This seems like a fair option for the price.

The Phantoms are pretty much plug and play... well charge, compass dance and fly.
I had a self built Hexa flyaway with a DJI FC, so I'm a pissed at DJI.

I really like the Inspire, I've seen it in action and footage from it, which is pretty good. The P3 Pro has basically the exact same camera.

If you're new to multirotors it's solid, if you're not, it's a little expensive and toy like.
I've got over 10 multi's now, only 4 in flying condition... last one was the Align M470 ($1200), and I've got my eye on the M690L. So the P3 isn't really my thing... but I like the Inspire.

You'll need a hexa with lots of battery (>12ah) for filming in wind, the P3 will drain it's battery in <5 mins trying to maintain position.
The P3 will struggle in anything over 18kt.

The Inspire will do wind much better.

This one only cost me $160 to build and it flies great...

The future... hexoplus.com/

I'd be interested to see the comparison between the hexoplus, the lily-cam (about which there are currently 3 threads on here inc mine) at half it's price and there was another one.. Airdog www.airdog.com/

Lilycam is waterproof which is a major plus for us water users.. but no changing batteries so one charge and you're heading home. Hexoplus lets you change batts.

Airdog says 28kts, hexo says 15mph. etc.

lilycam includes cam, so don't need another $400 on a gopro. However need to see results gimbal vs lily's digital stabilisation.

vs DJI I would check this one out too:

http://www.hubsan.com/productinfo_14.html

My money is going on one of these when they come out in a few weeks...

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kiteboy dave said..
I'd be interested to see the comparison between the hexoplus, the lily-cam (about which there are currently 3 threads on here inc mine) at half it's price and there was another one.. Airdog www.airdog.com/

Lilycam is waterproof which is a major plus for us water users.. but no changing batteries so one charge and you're heading home. Hexoplus lets you change batts.

Airdog says 28kts, hexo says 15mph. etc.

lilycam includes cam, so don't need another $400 on a gopro. However need to see results gimbal vs lily's digital stabilisation.

vs DJI I would check this one out too:

http://www.hubsan.com/productinfo_14.html

I've seen the Lily and it does look amazing, but that U.S. $499 is the introductory price and it will sell for $1000 or so when released (early 2016 at this stage). Somewhere on that website they also state it shouldn't be used in winds over 15 mph which wouldnt work for kiting. Having followed the Airdog product since kickstarted, I'm a bit wary about buying anything that is not in commercial production today. Airdog is something like 6-12 months behind schedule isn't it ?

im also not convinced that having to be always in frame ( with the autonomous flight - tracking drones) is the right way to go. Sure I can then film myself, but it seems a bit limited for anything else. Plus, the 18-20min battery life means having come back to shore and retrieve my drone almost immediately, otherwise it'll nicked from the beach. So that could be annoying having to launch and land kites all the time.

Im thinking for more general purposes, a drone that I can control and take all sorts of shots (panoramic, cruising down the beach etc) with might be the go.

The 3DR one looks pretty amazing, especially with the predefined shots like orbit. I read the guy behind it was DJI North America at one stage. And the fact it uses GoPro is a pretty big plus.

Anyone reading this thread should be across the others too, same conversation...

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/Seriously-OMG/

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Throw-and-shoot-camera/

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/General-Discussion/Chat/New-drone-to-drool-over/

My Inspire1 came to Fiji with us a few weeks ago...
I've owned countless multi's (self built and off the shelf) and this thing is leagues in front of anything I've ever flown.

Nice - which resort ?