DJI Phantom 4 Pro: review from Madrobots

Quadcopter DJI Phantom is often called the best copter in the world. Due to its design, functionality and a number of other qualities, this drone is one of the most popular, if not the most popular. Developers, however, continue to release all new devices, not stopping on their laurels. Not so long ago, they presented an even more functional system called DJI Phantom 4 Pro.

This is the "heir" DJI Phantom. The basis, obviously, was taken precisely this model. It was thoroughly improved, plus added several new features, while at the same time improving the old ones. One of the main additions is a 5-axis obstacle avoidance system. By the way, there is one more model of the drone, optional. She received the name Phantom 4 Pro Plus. But this is still the same Phantom 4 Pro, only with a controller equipped with a touch screen. If you want to purchase the most advanced version, you will have to pay another $ 300.

In order to provide your drone with “sense organs,” the developers added sensors in the front, sides and bottom. All these elements constantly scan the surrounding space around the drone and if an obstacle is noticed, the copter flies around it.
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Another significant improvement is the drone's camera. The system uses updated hardware, thanks to which the camera can shoot video in 4K quality with a frame refresh rate of 60. As for photos, everything is still 20 MP. There is a mechanical "shutter" and aperture control. Now the camera of the device looks and works better than ever before.

Build quality and design

Phantom 4 Pro is almost identical to the previous model - this concerns, first of all, the design and build quality. Its appearance is the same, with the exception of a few sensors. It is surprising that the company managed to add a lot of new things, keeping the former dimensions of the drone and leaving its design almost unchanged.

As for the additional sensors mentioned above, they are located in the landing supports of the system. At the same time, infrared and optical sensors are located on the left and right sides of the copter. The camera looks (and, is) larger than the previous model. This is understandable - because its capabilities are significantly improved, in particular, the size of the CMOS sensor has been increased.

The only drawback of the system in terms of design can be considered the fact that it is not portable enough. In any case, not the same as DJI Mavic Pro. Landing props and propellers do not fold. Actually, the drone was not designed as portable, so if necessary, its transportation should be taken into account. By the way, a backpack was designed specifically for the "Phantoms"

Offline mode and charging time

In optimal conditions, the drone can be in the air up to half an hour. But, of course, optimal flight conditions are less frequent. Interference such as wind can reduce autonomous flight time, but not by much, by just a few minutes. In the test, consisting of a series of 10 flights, the average value of work offline was about 27 minutes. The registered minimum is 23 minutes with kopecks.

Actually, this is close to what is stated by the developers. Half an hour is an excellent indicator. After all, for example, Hover Camera Password can last no more than 10 minutes in the air, after which you need to either change the battery or wait for the drone to charge.

With 10% of the charge remaining in the battery, the Phantom 4 Pro battery fully charged in about an hour and a half. And this is also a good result, since for many similar models the battery takes about two hours to fully charge.

Flight possibilities

The Phantom 4 Pro has practically the same flight functionality as the original Phantom 4. Everything is fine here - both speed and maneuvering are at altitude. The maximum speed of the drone is about 72 km / h. If the wind blows into the tail of the drone, the speed will be even higher.

As mentioned above, the drone is able to go around obstacles, which is simply necessary for a system of this level. The necessary maneuvers are performed by the copter independently.

Autopilot is good here. Phantom 4 Pro can follow the owner, circle around a given point, follow a certain route or return home. In addition to the previous functions of the autonomous flight system, the developers used the new items. These are the modes of Terrain Follow, Tripod Mode, Active Track.

Terrain Follow mode was previously only available for Mavic Pro. Here, using its sensors, the drone constantly maintains a certain height. During the flight over the ground, the copter repeats all noticeable surface irregularities, rising and falling in accordance with the shape of the relief. In this mode, the operator can shoot great videos.



For photos, it is better to use Tripode mode Here, the drone can be “hanged” at any point in space for taking a snapshot. Actually, the Phantom 4 Pro in this mode of operation turns into a flying tripod. In order to stay in one place without offset, the system uses a bunch of sensors + GPS.

In Active Track mode, it can follow the object in any direction or start circling around the point selected by the user.



And, of course, if an obstacle is encountered, the drone flies it offline. Overflight obstacles in automatic mode can be turned off, which allows the operator to perform risky stunts.



Returning "home" in automatic mode works in such a way that the kopter repeats its flight in the reverse order, returning to the starting point.

Distance

The Phantom 4 Pro is better here than the original P4. Drone can be removed from the operator at a distance of up to 7 kilometers. At the same time, the video in HD mode is still transmitted to the operator. However, at the maximum distance drone can work only under optimal conditions. Surface irregularities, the presence of trees or houses, other obstacles - all this can greatly reduce the above distance.

Camera and accessories

One of the reasons to buy a more advanced Phantom 4 Pro instead of the Phantom 4 is, of course, the camera. The company has done a lot of work to improve the camera's capabilities, and she definitely succeeded.

The CMOS sensor is four times as large as the cameras of most other drones, including the Phantom 3 and Phantom 4, smartphones and digital soaps. This allows you to receive and videos and photos in excellent quality.

As mentioned above, there is a diaphragm control system and a mechanical “curtain”. Among the modes of the camera - 4K DCI at 24, 25, or 30 fps. Another mode is 4K UHD at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps. If this is too much, then the quality of shooting can be reduced down to 2.7K, 1080p, and 720p.



As for the mentioned model of the copter 4 Pro Plus , it comes with a controller with a built-in touch-screen. This is somewhat more convenient than working with a connected smartphone, although, on the other hand, you will have to pay $ 300 for it.

What is the result?

One can definitely say that Phantom 4 Pro is one of the best drones you can buy for money. Perhaps this is the best drone in its category. The camera, the autopilot, the distance from which the drone can work - all this adds advantages.

Of course, this is not a cheap copter at all. Buy Phantom 4 Pro in Russia can be in the catalog Madrobots . Nevertheless, it costs its money. This is no longer a toy, but a powerful tool that can be used by photographers, directors, scientists and representatives of many other specialties.

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