DJI Phantom 4 Reviews and Analysis
The DJI Phantom 4 is a drone that’s been making a lot of noise in the past few days, with a lot of people praising it as an experience that’s a cut above the rest. We’ve gotten a lot of mail asking for our two cents on this newest flying sensation, and after talking about the Toruk AP10 last month, we’re ready to give our verdict. This is the DJI Phantom 4 drone review.
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What’s in the Box
The DJI Phantom 4 comes with an outer and inner box – the latter serves as a carrying case for the drone. The box also has enough space to carry two extra batteries and a tablet with a 7.9 inch screen.
In addition to the Phantom itself, the case also includes the remote controller, 2 sets of four propellers carried in a protective bag (which can be used to clean the camera lens), the charger, and accessory packs. These packs contain a USB OTG cable, and micro USB cable.
DJI also included the In the Box Checklist, Quick Start Guide, and the Safety Guidelines and Disclaimer documents tucked neatly to the side.
DJI Phantom 4 Drone Specs
| Weight | 1380 g |
|---|---|
| Battery | 5350 mAh |
| Camera | ½.3” 12 megapixels |
| Flight Time | Approx. 28 minutes |
| Flight Speed | 20 m/s (Sport Mode) |
Battery
The Intelligent Flight Battery comes installed on the Phantom 4, and is designed specifically for the quadcopter drone to maximize life and reliability. The battery is a LiPo 4s and has a maximum capacity of 5350 mAh, increasing flight time to almost half an hour (25% longer than the Phantom 3). The lifespan was tested extensively just for this DJI Phantom 4 drone review.
It has four LED indicators that show the battery’s remaining life, as well as its status while charging.
Build
The Phantom 4 looks like an iPhone with its glossy white body, which makes sense considering Apple was the only distributor until the end of March. The Phantom 4 drone has many small changes from the Phantom 3, which is partly due to DJI hoping to alleviate some of the problems earlier versions had.
For example, the gimbal is an actual part of the body instead of an attachment. This keeps the camera steady for smoother shots even in relatively high winds. The rotors are raised slightly higher than the ones on the 3. There are rumors and other DJI Phantom 4 reviews speculating that developers did this to keep the propellers out of the camera’s frame when accelerating.
The micro SD card slot location also moved from the plate of the gimbal to the body of the drone. This makes the card easier to put in and pull out, and just looks a lot better where it is. There’s also a micro SD card that comes with the drone for immediate use.
Camera
The Phantom 4 drone’s camera has the capability to shoot 4k videos and 12 megapixel photos. According to DJI, they tweaked the camera to shoot 1080p at 120 fps. Casual users may not notice much of a difference, but people who are fond of slow-mo will find this useful.
Navigation
The most impressive features of the Phantom 4 drone are Active Track, TapFly, Sport Mode, Point-of-Interest, Way Points, and Return-to-Home.
Active Track – Using a mobile device, you can draw a square around an object, and the drone will track it if it starts moving. The drone does this without any additional transmitters or hardware, just camera recognition.
TapFly – Using a mobile device again, you can tap the area that you want the Phantom to go to, and it will go there.
Sport Mode – Probably the fastest setting on any camera drone, this allows the quadcopter to reach a maximum speed of 45 mph.
Point-of-Interest and Way Points – these features allow users to select areas that the drone will fly towards in a certain order.
Return-to-Home – By pushing the home button on the remote controller, users can command the drone to return to where it originally took off. This is useful for times when you lose track of the drone, but only works with a GPS signal.
The Verdict
To conclude this DJI Phanton 4 review, we want to say that this is a pretty open and shut case. The DJI Phantom 4 is a good recommendation to make for anyone looking to get into quadcopters. The opinion on this drone is almost unanimous, and any faults mentioned might already be nitpicking.
This is a definite buy for anyone interested in quadcopter, and for its current price, the DJI Phantom 4 has all the bells and whistles to make it a memorable experience.
