DJI PHANTOM 2 VISION+ V3.0
£940 inc VAT • dji.com
DJI is one of the best known consumer drone manufacturers, and the Phantom 2 Vision+ V3.0 is a great example of why it’s worth spending a lot of money.
First, it’s important to understand why this drone costs almost a thousand pounds. It’s much smarter than cheaper models, and is able to hover in one place without you even touching the controls. Secondly, it has a proper gimbal and a 1080p camera which provides stunning, steady aerial footage. It’s also well built and the big battery gives up to 25 minutes of flying time, and the range extender – the small box on top of the remote – means there’s you can control the Phantom as far as 1km away. Finally, it has GPS, so you can set a location to which the drone will return if it loses connection to the remote control. You can even set a series of waypoints for automatic flying. And don’t overlook the fact that spares are easy to come by.
It’s hard to overstate how easy it is to fly the Phantom 2. Once the compass is calibrated, there’s no need to adjust any fiddly trim controls: you just take off and the on-board processors ensure a stable flight. Only tiny movements on the sticks are needed to move the craft around in the air, allowing amazingly precise flying.
New in version 3.0 are upgraded motors and propellers, which let you carry more weight without reducing flight time. Also, the remote has a built-in lithium rechargeable battery, so you won’t be burning through AA batteries as with many other quadcopters.
The remote has a clamp for your smartphone, and the app works with iOS and Android. Using it, you can
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see live (albeit low quality) video from the camera along with lots of other useful information such as altitude, battery life, number of satellites picked up and more. You can also control the tilt angle of the camera, but the updated remote has a shoulder rocker dial for easier, and more precise, control.
Video quality is in a completely different league to many of its cheaper rivals. As well as being fitted with a 1080p camera (as opposed to the more common 720p) the footage is rock solid. If you’re buying a drone primarily for video, you’ll regret buying a non-stabilised drone.
The Phantom 2 is available to buy with no camera and gimbal (for around £500): you can then buy those separately. For example, if you have a GoPro Hero 3 or 4, you can buy a gimbal designed specifically for it for around £300. The total cost is then roughly £1,000, but (if you have the Hero 4 Black Edition) you can shoot amazing 4K video. You can also buy a complete FPV (first-person view) kit for the Phantom 2 including 3D goggles, which lets you fly it as if you were on board. This costs around £300.
Some people say you shouldn’t buy an expensive drone as your first, and instead to start with a cheap one to learn how to fly. That’s nonsense. If you buy a cheap drone, you’ll only be put off by how hard it is to fly and by the poor quality of its video and photos.
VERDICT: Although the price puts it out of reach for many, the Phantom 2 Vision+ is an awesome piece of kit, and well worth its high price.