Comments

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  Gregg September 13, 2015 at 11:54am

  I agree 100% Craig P. with his comments on the 3dr produsts. I too owned an iris and an x8 and neither one flies as solid in GPS lock as the Phantom 3 and the inspire. I also have other drones fitted with DJI wookings, A2's and naza v2's that hold amazing GPS lock. I just returned from the InterDrone conference in Vegas and watched the big name companies flying demos. The DJI phantoms and the Inspire flew rock solid in a hover indoors thanks to the VPS system. I asked the reps from 3dr to fly the solo in a gps hover and they said they cant. 

  My feelings are that the solo can not compare to the p3's and Inspire when it comes to radio and video downlink transmission/range. The light bridge technology is brilliant! I have spent hundreds of dollars on different VTX setups and never got the range and quality as the DJI lightbridge setup. And yes we all have problems with costumer service on both sides of the fence. Phantoms bodys are cracking..well  hasn't because I loosen up all the screws, and yes it takes a very long time to get the problem fixed when you send in you drone. Any professional knows that you always have a back up, so the long wait times for repair really doesnt effect me.

  The Solo has all the bells and whistles with all the autonomous flight stuff and how many people really use that stuff anyway unless your a mapper. I never trusted autonomous flight and really do not have a need for it. Yes I use DJI VPS when I have a shoot indoors which who know when 3dr will add that to the Solo.

  All in all I think that the Solo is a fun toy that will satisfy the weekend pilots and the guys that love to tweek setting in the pixhawk. But after flying 3dr products and DJI products, it going to be DJI for my choice. 

  I too am pleased that 3dris is finally supplying the long awaited gimble for the Solo.
• Craig P. September 13, 2015 at 11:18am

  @Justin, I own both the Solo and P3P. I find they really aren't in comparison. I've always been a 3DR supporter owning from X8's to Y6's I've built, to even the Iris+ and a basic Quad. Half of the time gps on the 3dr Solo takes time to gain signal, where as my P3P doesn't, n'or does it require gps thanks to its vision system, and although 3dr claims the Solo could also receive a vision system as an accessory, by then DJI may have release a Phantom with its new sense and avoid system. It's like trying to run a race where one competitor is always starting late.

  I understand their stance on making it "Future Proof", which would obviously take longer to develop, but if DJI releases a Phantom with sense and avoid (built in internally), how can the Solo incorporate that within its shell, without a new shell or an external bulky attachment?

  I also don't find the Solo as smooth in flight either (I don't mean video or power, I just mean flight), although Solo can go faster. My Solo range is limited at best also and constantly suffers interference, which makes it unusable in many places, and most of the smart shots they've claimed as being a major part of why Solo stands out, the Phantom now has most of, if not all of them (I've tried a few and they do work well I found).

  I will agree I'm not a fan of the design of most DJI products, but thats mostly aesthetics and doesn't mean to much (although I've been in fear of the rumoured cracking shells, but I've yet to witness it myself). And finally go pros require post fisheye removal most, if not all the time (unless len is changed), whereas the sony cam built by dji does this all onboard, as well as more camera control in app. But one important thing is phantoms can't be modded or upgraded to any extent really so in that aspect Solo is incomparable.

  I also can't deny that I'm still very hesitant to use my P3P in case anything happens to it. Dealing with a company in China from Canada makes me very very nervous of how that could pan out (I could only imagine the headaches from what could come of that), and I'm very Optimistic that the solo gimbal will be what makes the Solo great again.

  @Ray, hopefully thats not the case and you receive your gimbal soon!

  I agree with you on that one, if 3DR wants to compete they will need to step it up like DJI, and I also agree that DJI has been on a push lately as a result of the claims 3DR made. I used to be concerned with the open source side of things, but the problem with an open source system is just that it comes with lots of problems, most of which require lots of trouble shooting, and unfortunately I don't have much time lately due to work and such, partly the reason why I've switched primarily to Phantom 3's and Solo.

  Perhaps 3DR doesn't have the man power to focus on getting things done in an effective timeframe?

  I am very very leery however of DJI's proprietary stance (no flight simulator access in no fly zones? Really?) but they are opening up to a certain extent which could be a really good thing, time will tell i guess...
• Ray September 13, 2015 at 6:43am

  I know it is frustrating but the thing you would give up going to DJI is the great open source arducopter environment where there is continuous development and lots of great new features that DJI will never get in its proprietary world.  For instance, Arducopter 3.4 is supposed to finally implement terrain following which will greatly simplify mission planning in hilly forested areas where you altitudes can be set to be AGL and not relative to home takeoff altitude. To me DJI being proprietary is a deal breaker.
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  Justin L September 13, 2015 at 6:31am

  Im a 3dr retailer in Australia. We are getting our first shipment of 20 gimbals on Monday. All well and truly sold already. Ive flown one with the gimbal and the P3 dosnt come close to it. I also sell and fly the P3's so im not 3dr bias.
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  Ray Brothers September 13, 2015 at 6:15am

  BTW, I noticed DSLRPros no longer not lists the Solo gimbal for purchase. Maybe they threw in the towel too.
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  Ray Brothers September 13, 2015 at 6:11am

  Craig, I had high hopes. DJI is starting to step up it's game with app improvements, a new Phantom being introduced in the future. I'm sure they felt a little heat from 3DR but unless they improve their support I'm still on the fence with them. Hopefully in the coming months 3DR will get over the hump. (I've been saying that for the past 4 months though).

  When some of us first jumped into this in April and early May there was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm. As time has gone on it has grown into frustration. When someone orders a gimbal in July and gets it  2 weeks later while others have been waiting months, that is very disappointing. Someone at 3DR screwed up real bad and in the end it really only hurts them.

  I keep saying, maybe this week. 
• Craig P. September 13, 2015 at 5:41am

  @Ray, Yeah I've yet to hear anything either...although I gave up on 3dr a while ago and picked a P3P (my first DJI product, since I've always stayed clear from them and Phantoms are very cookie cutter in design) to use while 3DR overcomes its learning curve (which seems to be a rather steep one) in their ability to actually produce a product...However I was hoping (more like wishful thinking it would seem at this point) to be able to use my Solo before snow fall (or the release of Solo 2 lol) but not sure if thats going to happen at this rate...
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  Ray Brothers September 13, 2015 at 5:03am

  Still waiting for the gimbal from DSLRPros. No updates, tracking numbers, NADA! I'm about ready to throw in the towel, hold my nose and get the P3.
• guohaiHuang September 12, 2015 at 12:40am

  hello,everyone.I am starting with 3DR project.now,I have some problomes with  building 3DR ground station. can I ask you for help? Thank you.
• Craig P. September 11, 2015 at 4:26pm

  @RPM, thats great news! I'm also waiting for my gimbal from Great Hobbies (warehouse is only a few hours away and they've always been great), but still haven't heard nothing so far...Hopefully they didn't get shorted in the number of expected units in this shipment...