DJI Phantom 3 Standard Review

This years most famous consumer drone maker DJI, has out of nowhere released a budget version of the $999 Phantom 3 Advanced – the $699 Phantom 3 Standard. However is the $300 lower price tag worth it?

DJI Phantom 3 Standard & Advanced

Advanced Price: $999 Buy From Amazon.com

$999 Flight time: 20 minutes

20 minutes Battery: DJI 4480mAh 4S intelligent battery

DJI 4480mAh 4S intelligent battery Camera: Sony EXMOR 12MP, FOV 94° 20mm

Sony EXMOR 12MP, FOV 94° 20mm Video resolution: 1080p 24/25/30/48/50/60fps; 720p 24/25/30/48/50/60fps

1080p 24/25/30/48/50/60fps; 720p 24/25/30/48/50/60fps Live video: Full HD live feed streamed via DJI Lightbridge technology to smartphone

Full HD live feed streamed via DJI Lightbridge technology to smartphone Indoor help: Added sensors for indoor flying

Added sensors for indoor flying Gimbal tilt: -90° to +30°

-90° to +30° Photo Mode: Single Shot, Burst Shooting: 3/5/7 shots, Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB): 3/5, Bracketed Frames at 0.7EV Bias, Time-lapse

Standard Price: $699 Buy From Amazon.com

$699 Flight time: 20 minutes

20 minutes Battery: DJI 4480mAh 4S intelligent battery

DJI 4480mAh 4S intelligent battery Camera: 12MP, FOV 94° 20 mm

12MP, FOV 94° 20 mm Video resolution: 2.7k 30fps; 1080p 24/25/30fps; 720p 24/25/30/48/50/60fps

2.7k 30fps; 1080p 24/25/30fps; 720p 24/25/30/48/50/60fps Live video: Live feed streamed over WiFi to smartphone

Live feed streamed over WiFi to smartphone Indoor help: No

No Gimbal tilt: -90° to +30°

-90° to +30° Photo Mode: Single Shot, Burst Shooting: 3/5/7 shots, Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB): 3/5, Bracketed Frames at 0.7EV Bias, Time-lapse

Design & Performance

Design wise it is exactly the same as the other Phantom 3 series models but on a closer look you´ll find some small changes that actually make a noticeable difference in performance.

Firstly you´ll find that there are no sensors under the drone that the Advanced and Professional version have. That is pretty much a step back for indoor flying. If all of your flying is done outdoors then this won´t really be a problem.

Second change that you might not notice is that the motors are positioned upright like on the older models and not tilted. The tilt however makes a difference in shooting aerial videos – it makes the drone way more stable.

Overall performance is pretty much the same as the Advanced and Professional. The DJI Phantom 3 Standard comes with the same 4S 4480mAh battery and has the same flight time. Gimbal and camera look exactly the same from outside with of course a difference in recording resolution and output but I will write more about that below.

Sadly with the Standard you won´t be getting the brand new DJI controller but instead the older one that the Phantom 2 models had. It features 2 sticks to control the throttle, rotation and tilt of the drone. There are also two switches on the sides: S1 and S2. Depending on the flying mode and status these switches are used for configuration and auto fly home. There is also a “wheel” on the left to tilt the camera either up or down with the gimbal.

For live streaming DJI Phantom 3 Standard is connected to the DJI Pilot via a smartphone like on the other models. There is a difference however. The video is streamed live via WiFi not the high quality DJI Lightbridge technology. So obviously the quality isn´t as good or smooth but for me personally, it was more than enough and I don´t require a high quality live feed on my phone. Also even tough you don´t get the newest controller, they have modified the old one enough that you don´t require a signal booster for live video as you did on the Vision plus.

PS! In order to control and use the camera you have to connect the DJI Phantom 3 Standard to the DJI Go App which is currently out for only iOS… Android version coming soon.

Video & Photo Quality

From the official specs it seems that the Standard has the exact same camera with the Sony EXMOR 12MP sensor and f/2.8 FOV 94° 20mm lens. The difference however comes in the video resolutions and recording modes. Surprisingly perhaps the Standard can shoot 2.7K videos compared to the Advanced 1080p. The difference however comes in the max frames per second. Standard only has 30fps max at 1080p compared to Advanced 60fps. Which allows you to shoot smoother slow motion videos.

Overall the camera is great. The colours are rich and vibrant, the image is sharp all across the frame. Having the ability to change settings such as exposure and sensitivity gives you more freedom. Shooting photos is just the same as on the other Phantom 3 models. DJI Phantom 3 Standard has got the exact same photography modes:

Single Shot

Burst Shooting: 3/5/7 frames

Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB): 3/5

Bracketed Frames at 0.7EV Bias

Time-lapse

UPDATE! Downloading and installing the latest firmware, and updating the DJI GO app to the latest version (iOS V2.2.0 and Android V2.1.0 ), will enable the long waited Waypoints, Follow Me, Point Of Interest, Home Lock and Course Lock modes!

The Waypoint mode allows you to predraw a path you wish for your drone to fly. It also gives you free hands to moving the camera as you wish while your drone is flying the preset path.

Follow Me mode makes the Phantom 3 keep its camera on you at all times and also flies automatically when you should move.

Point Of Interest makes your Phantom 3 automatically revolve around an object, person, or place of your choice in a perfect circle.

Conclusion

DJI Phantom 3 Standard is a great entry-level product into aerial videography and photography. The small and simple design make it simple to carry around and incredibly easy to fly. If you want a good drone with a camera AND you are planning to mostly use it outside then this drone should cover all your needs. Of course the DJI Phantom 3 Advanced is a more capable drone but if the price is a deciding factor then the Standard version isn´t a bad choice at all.