The Air War Has Begun!

You may not realize it but there is a war in our skies. But there are no bullets flying, rather a war of images. Or at least the ability to record photos and videos from far above our heads. 

The main combatants are DJI and 3DR (formerly known as 3D Robotics). DJI has the Phantom, its white visage is almost synonymous with the word drone. Now they have added what many consider the consummate cool with the Inspire 1.

3DR has quickly evolved into a major player with first the Iris+ and very soon the highly anticipated Solo.

But what are the real differences?

After all, they both fly. They both take still pictures or videos.

What really sets them apart and which one do you want?

Here are the facts.

Design

Here is where personal choice comes into play.

DJI has stuck with a known shape with the new Phantom 3. They have given us a little room for choice with the Phantom 3 Advanced or the Phantom 3 Professional. Perhaps wisely, DJI has played it safe with keeping its package the same. The Phantom 1 has very little, red decals compared to the new gold, physical difference to the new Phantom 3.

Then there is the Inspire 1. This is the real premium machine. Big raves for the lift away legs design that gives unrestricted 360 degree shooting with its removable 4k camera. This is the biggest departure in both cost and design.

3DR on the other hand came out swinging with an upgraded version of the Iris to Iris+. An Iris+ sports a more industrial design but added the autonomous features which I will get into in the features section.

Overall, the Iris+ doesn’t have a lot to brag about in design.

That all changed with the new Solo. With it they have created form and function in a sleek black-is-so-cool package.

The key DJI difference is that the Phantom 3 Advanced will give you 1080P video and the Phantom 3 Professional will take you up to 4K video. One thing that DJI has done is to step away from GoPro and come out with its own camera. Depending upon your point of view this is either bad or good. It’s either solid integration or a problem if only the camera goes bad. Your decision.

DJI has embraced autonomous flying with the Phantom 3 and matched many capabilities of the Iris+.

3DR added a bunch of features with the Iris+ such as one button 3D structure scanning, Follow me, one button “dronies” and mission planning. Now with the Solo they have really up’d the game by adding a Linux computer to both the drone and the controller. Billed as the first Smart Drone, the Solo has built in upgradability of a computer controlled device.

It still has all the same features as the Iris+ Mission Planner 2 but has raised the bar with new video centric features. 3DR seems to have the expressed goal of making the flying easy and letting you concentrate on the video or stills, which for most is why we are doing this. But they have also baked in some slick video moves that should make almost anyone shoot like a pro.

One feature that many may like is the visual positioning system that DJI says will allow for indoor flying with total stability. The image being shown is a wedding where the Phantom 3 is hovering and capturing the ceremony.

Whether this features thrills or terrifies you is again a matter of choice for you and your potential wedding guests. While indeed the system I am sure is a stable as DJI has stated, I am not so sure Aunt Sally and Cousin Elmo are going to have the same level of comfort with a drone overhead.

Features

The key DJI difference is that the Phantom 3 Advanced will give you 1080P video and the Phantom 3 Professional will take you up to 4K video. One thing that DJI has done is to step away from GoPro and come out with its own camera. Depending upon your point of view this is either bad or good. It’s either solid integration or a problem if only the camera goes bad. Your decision.

DJI has embraced autonomous flying with the Phantom 3 and matched many capabilities of the Iris+.

One feature that many may like is the visual positioning system that DJI says will allow for indoor flying with total stability. The image being shown is a wedding where the Phantom 3 is hovering and capturing the ceremony.

Whether this features thrills or terrifies you is again a matter of choice for you and your potential wedding guests. While indeed the system I am sure is a stable as DJI has stated, I am not so sure Aunt Sally and Cousin Elmo are going to have the same level of comfort with a drone overhead.

 

Controllers

Here I have to say that both new controllers have many of the same features. Both have strived to make the flying experience easier. I do have to give the edge to 3DR. Many of us are intimately familiar and comfortable with video game controllers. 3DR’s Solo has that kind of feel and touch. DJI is very much about the flying. The video is there but you need to concentrate more on the flying. Both offer HDMI output for viewing or back up recording.

That said the new autonomous features may balance that out. I can’t judge the Phantom 3 since I have not had hands on with it. I have been working with the Iris+ and find that, compared to the Phantom 2 Vision, the controller has a softer smoother feel to me. I also think that the resulting video is smoother than the Phantom 2 Vision.

 

Cameras

I have to say that I love my GoPro Hero’s. I have been working with them since the original Hero. They have steadily improved and I believe that being able to change out cameras is a better choice than the built in way that DJI has gone.

One thing that I do think is better is that the Phantoms come with the gimbal installed. 3DR does not offer that option. When I received my Iris+ the gimbal had to be attached and plugged in. It was a very simple straight forward procedure but for some newbies this might not seem so at first look. Plus it does dull that feeling of getting it from box to air as quickly as possible.

The plus side to thsi is that you are not limited to choice and model of gimbal or camera. You can jump up a few notches and maybe go with a Panasonic LX100, with an appropriate gimbal, instead of a GoPro. 3DR leaves this option open to you.

 

The DJI Phantom 3 and the 3DR Solo give you live HD streaming from the drone’s camera to a mobile device with their apps, the DJI Pilot app and the 3DR Solo app. The Solo app is available on Android and iOS devices. I have not seen news of what platforms are supported by DJI.

The 3DR Solo offers live streaming up to 0.5 miles away. DJI’s Phantom 3 offers live stream up to 1.2 miles away. There is an anticipated video latency of about 180 ms for the Solo and 220 ms for the Phantom 3.

Both drones offer the ability to trigger the camera recording and stopping. This will reduce the extra fat from the video resulting from previously having to start the record process before takeoff and only stop after landing.

Both DJI and 3DR offer an excellent level of control of the camera functions. The Phantom 3 utilizes the Pilot app and the Solo gives control of the camera tilt with the Solo app or built-in left and right trigger buttons. The built in Linux computer on the Solo offers an unparalleled array of flight modes, including the capability to have the drone orbit an object, tether to and follow an object, or fly between two points while adjusting the camera or allowing the pilot to manually control the pan and tilt. This gives you a virtual slider in the sky feature.

Price

The Phantom 3 comes in at a starting price of $999 for the Phantom 3 Advanced and $1259 for the Phantom 3 Professional.

While the 3DR Solo starts out at $999, you do have to add $399 for the Tarot Gimbal and another $399 for a Hero 4 Black. But you can reduce your cost with using an existing Hero camera or a Silver at $299 or Basic Hero at $129.

Either way you are spending more money for the 3DR Solo. Ultimately, you need to look at the features and decide what is important to you.

 

User Friendly

Bothe offerings give you similar features to make flying easy and safe even for beginners. Both provide automatic take off, landing, and return home abilities. Additionally, both provide flight simulators that allow pilots to practice flying the drone virtually before risking a crash of the real thing.

The 3DR Solo has a unique safety feature included with the “emergency brake” button on the controller. It will halt and hold the drone in position until the pilot is ready to take over again. Think of this as a “pause” button.