The Phantom 3 Professional Review- Unlocking unlimited potential for your photography!
I am usually not one to jump on every new piece of technology that comes out, but the affordability of the DJI Phantom 3 Professional had me stunned! The sticker shock of $1259 for what appears to be a kiche toy is hard to pull the trigger on and is really not a drop in the bucket by any means. However, when you put in perspective that this thing shoots 4k video (4096 x 2160) and can fly just about anywhere you can imagine it is well worth the price and then some! Check out the full review to see what I mean. From the tech specs to an example flight and even a sneak peak at some raw footage!
Purchase the DJI Phantom 3 Professional
Watch the Full DJI Phantom 3 Review!
Time Stamps:
| The Specs | 00:32 |
| Setting up for Flight | 07:01 |
| The Flight and taking pictures and video | 10:51 |
| Video Examples | 13:16 |
| Photo Examples | 16:12 |
| RAW Photo Example | 17:16 |
| Final Thoughts | 20:31 |
| Bloopers | 28:22 |
<<< Know this before you fly >>>
FAA Hobby UAS Guidelines
Model aircraft operations are for hobby or recreational purposes only. Commercial use requires special exemptions (still a tricky area as everything is not set in stone yet). The FAA has partnered with several industry associations to promote Know Before You Fly, a campaign to educate the public about using unmanned aircraft safely and responsibly. Individuals flying for hobby or recreation are strongly encouraged to follow safety guidelines, which include:
- Fly below 400 feet and remain clear of surrounding obstacles
- Keep the aircraft within visual line of sight at all times
- Remain well clear of and do not interfere with manned aircraft operations
- Don’t fly within 5 miles of an airport unless you contact the airport and control tower before flying
- Don’t fly near people or stadiums Don’t fly an aircraft that weighs more than 55 lbs
- Don’t be careless or reckless with your unmanned aircraft – you could be fined for endangering people or other aircraft
I have taken my Phantom on just over 35 flights, I typically fly every day after lunch if weather permits. I don’t just fly around aimlessly, I am trying to hone my skills as an aerial videographer and photographer. Flying it is relatively easy, but capturing high quality video without being choppy can be tough. For that reason I am having much more fun with the photography possibilities.
I am able to get up above the tree line for captivating sunsets!
I shot the calm AFTER the Storm.
I even received permission from the WWI Museum in Kansas city to allow me to fly during sunrise!
Purchase the DJI Phantom 3 Professional
And of Course… the Thor Flight
And the World War 1 Museum’s Liberty Memorial
Like the style of this Review? You will LOVE HDR Insider! Full-Length HDR Workflows, Critiques & More!
[hcshort id=”9″]
For Blake, it's all about the art and process synergy. He dives deep into complex topics and makes them easy to understand through his outside-the-box thinking so that you can use these tricks in your workflow today!
Very coooool indeed Blake!! I’ve been looking at those for a while now. You said the photos were lacking a bit using the camera it came with. What about a GoPro camera? Could you attach a GoPro to that drone and wouldn’t you get better image quality then?
Thanks for checking it out! It may, I do not have much experience with a GoPro so I am not quite sure. I think this model is built with its own camera and not sure about adding a GoPro to it. Does a GoPro shoot Raw?
Hey Blake thanks for the nice review. I have the Phamtom 2 vision plus and am loving it. I would love to see how you process your videos. My videos look great on my computer but when I upload them to youtube or facebook they loose too much quality.
Thanks! I’m not very good with video right now. Photos I have down pretty well, but videos… My process is haphazard at best! Thanks though. I’m working on it, when it is refined, I’ll share!
Great review, Blake. I have the Phantom 2 plus and bought the 3 Pro last month. Incredible improvement which, of course, means more to learn, but it is easy to fly but takes a while to master.
Jerry asked about the GoPro camera. It’s better for stills. I opted to use it with the P2 for that reason. The only drawback is that you almost have to be an electrical engineer to have to same connectivity with your iPhone, etc. That’s the main reason that I went with the Professional this time. Still it’s relatively easy to shoot stills and video.
I’m pretty sure that the GoPro only shoots jpeg although I’ve seen some hacks that might allow one to do raw, but I wouldn’t trust that.
Jerry, I don’t believe you can get the 3 without the dji camera yet. You can do it with the P2 and a separate gimbal OR you can look at the Inspire 1 which came out before the P3, but has many of the same characteristics.
Blake, have you messed around with the simulator that comes with the pilot app?
Unfortunately I have the Android system which does not allow for the simulator. I am looking into an iPad Mini strictly for the flight with the Phantom 3.
Hi Blake great review the deal breaker for me is the image quality which just isn’t there yet. Can’t wait to see a big print done to see how it turns out
I see what you mean. I just had 2 images printed from it at 20×24. We’ll see, I’ll post a review when I get them.