Today I am reviewing the DJI Phantom 3 – a quadcopter with a 4K camera and 3-axis gimbal. The drone and gimbal technologies have been quickly advancing in the last few years (with DJI being one of the leaders), but the previous iterations of these devices have always left something to be desired. Watch my review to find out how good the DJI Phantom has gotten (short answer: really good).
You can get the Phantom 3 at B&H
Bundles with the 4K camera
Bundles with the 1080P camera
Here are a few shots I got for a new documentary about sailing.
This video is in it’s native 4K!
Drone Specs
Maximum Speed Ascent: 16.4′ fps / 5 m/s
Descent: 9.8′ / 3 m
Hover Accuracy Vertical: ±3.9″ / 10 cm
Horizontal: ±3.3′ / 1 m
Maximum Altitude Above Sea Level: 19,685′ / 6000 m
Flight Time 23 minutes (depending on conditions)
Camera Specs
Sensor Make: Sony EXMOR
Size: 1/2.3″
Resolution: 12.76 MP (12.4 MP effective)
Lens Aperture: f/2.8
FOV: 94°
Focal Length: 20 mm (35 mm equivalent)
Elements: 9
Focus: 0 to ∞
Photo Resolution Up to 12 MP (4000 x 3000)
ISO Range Video: 100 to 3200
Photo: 100 to 1600
Video Resolutions DCI 4K (4096 x 2160): 24p, 25p
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160): 24p, 25p, 30p
1080p (1920 x 1080): 24p, 25p, 30p, 48p, 50p, 60p
720p (1280 x 720): 24p, 25p, 30p, 48p, 50p, 60p
Photo Modes Single Shot
Burst Shooting: 3/5/7 shots
Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB): 3/5
Bracketed Frames at 0.7 EV Bias
Time-lapse
File Formats Video: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 in MOV wrapper (up to 60 Mbps)
Photo: JPEG, DNG RAW
Recording Media Type: microSD/SDXC card up to 64 GB
Format: FAT32 / exFAT
Note: Class 10, UHS-1 or faster card required
Enjoy your work! You mention lag with the Nexus 7, what version tablet were you using and what operating system version?
Thanks
Tom used the second generation (2013) iPad Mini with iOS 8
On the nexus that I tried for that one time it was Android 5.1 and 2nd Gen Nexus 7. It worked but with horrible lag so after that I used the (2013) iPad Mini with iOS 8
I enjoyed your video! I watched some other video’s by others that seems jerky when they move the camera. Your’s is smooth, which I like! How do you do this, by post editing or is there a way to make smooth transitions during filming? Thanks!
The new version has a 3 axis gimbal so it’s easier to get smooth camera moves… but also I practice a lot so I don’t ever make sudden moves with the joysticks
Thanks for being on point and on taegtr!