DJI Unleashes Under-$1K Phantom 3 4K Drone

LAS VEGAS—DJI has added a new Phantom to its line of consumer-friendly drones. The Phantom three 4K delivers the same quality video every bit the Phantom iii Professional—that is, 30fps 4K footage at a 60Mbps pinch rate—and it looks almost exactly the same. Merely while the Professional will fix you back effectually $1,200, the Phantom 4K is priced at a friendlier $999.

CES 2022 Bug Art So, what's missing? The answer is simple one that may be a nonissue for some and make the drone a nonstarter for others: operating range. The Phantom iii Professional person—as well equally the $1,000 Advanced and pricey Inspire i and Inspire 1 Pro models all use DJI'southward LightBridge system to stream video back to the screen of a table or phone. In our tests we've found that LightBridge delivers solid video streaming at distances of up to 4,000 feet under the right conditions with the Inspire 1, and nigh 3,150 anxiety with the Phantom 3 Advanced.

The Phantom 3 4K relies on Wi-Fi to transmit the video feed back to the controller. This limits both resolution—the stream is 480p—and distance. DJI states that Wi-Fi transmission is good for a 3,937-foot operating range, only my tests of a pre-production Phantom three Standard unit didn't almost match that. At its all-time, in a rural surface area, I was able to fly nigh 1,200 anxiety away before the video feed started to cut out, and I just managed 400 feet in the suburbs. Of course, that was a pre-production unit, and may non be indicative of the terminal product. When I flew a production model of the older Phantom 2 Vision+, which also uses Wi-Fi for video transmission, I was able to become 2,000 anxiety in a rural area with articulate line of sight—notwithstanding, that'south only half of what DJI claims is possible.

The video footage above was captured by the Phantom 3 Professional, which employs the aforementioned photographic camera equally the Phantom three 4K.

The lack of LightBridge as well means that you lot won't be able to connect an HDMI device to the remote, so don't wait to apply information technology with FPV goggles. Aside from those differences, the Phantom 3 4K offers the aforementioned flying features as the Avant-garde and Professional models. It supports intelligent flight modes, including Indicate of Interest and Return to Home, and has the vision positioning system to help forbid crashes when flying depression to the ground.

Information technology's upwardly to you whether the low-resolution video feed and limitd control range are worth a $200 savings. Simply DJI certainly does offer you options. If you want 4K video and don't mind a lower quality video feed to assistance you while flight, this is information technology. You could spend the same amount on the Phantom 3 Advanced, which records 40Mbps 2.7K footage, and tin can fly much further, or you lot can spend a chip more for both 4K and LightBridge with the Phantom three Professional. And for drone videographers who are happy with both a adequately short control distance and two.7K video, in that location's the $800 Phantom three Standard.

Pricing is set for the Phantom iii 4K at a reasonable $999, but there's no give-and-take on when the aircraft will exist delivered. Like the other members of the Phantom family, the 4K is heavy plenty to require registration in the United states.

Here are CES, DJI besides appear that its Inspire 1 Pro, which was initially only offered in white, will now be available in black with a matching black remote command.