Meet Phantom 3, The Newest Drone in the DJI Family

DJI has just announced its latest camera-equipped quad-copter, the DJI Phantom 3. The drone, which is capable of an autonomous flight, has more upgrades than its predecessor. The Phantom 2 is more powerful, lasts longer, takes better quality pictures and videos and has a new remote and a revamped app.

The most important part of the drone is the camera. There are two versions of the Phantom 3: the Professional version that takes 12MP and 4K video, and the other, the Advanced version, that takes 12MP and 1080p video. The 4K video records in 24, 25 and 30FPS while the 1080p goes up to 60FPS. Both ditched the distorted fish-eye images to give proper flat images in DNG RAW or JPG format.

Phantom 3’s Predecessor, came with a more powerful battery.

As for the quad-copter, DJI says they have upgraded the Phantom 3 by adding more efficient and powerful motors that can accelerate or decelerate faster than the Phantom 2. Spec sheets read that it can travel up to 58 kmph with a maximum ascent speed of 21 kmph and a maximum decent speed of 6 kmph. It weighs 1280g and its only drawback is that it comes with a less powerful battery (4480mAh, as compared to 5200mAh of the Phantom 2). Although the company claims that it manages to offer the same flight time of 23 minutes.

GPS-assisted features include the IOC (Intelligent Orientation Control) that allows continuous transmission to the pilot regardless of the direction the drone is pointing at, automatic Return Home or the Panic button which allows the craft to return if the communication is lost. The ability to hover at a fixed point is a crucial feature for aerial filmmaking. Phantom has also introduced the Optical Flow Sensor, inspired by the Inspire 1, which combines a ground-facing camera that takes sonar photographs whenever it is too close to the ground or if the GPS is lost. This prevents it from getting crushed.

The Advance DJI Phantom 3 is priced at $999 (Rs. 62,167), and the Professional DJI Phantom 3 is priced at $1,259 (Rs. 78,347). Its availability has not been confirmed yet but according to Engadget, the drone will be released within the next few weeks.