I'm on the fence.....Solo vs Phantom 3

UCLABruins · Jun 25, 2015

I don't know much about the Solo but more about the Phantom because I've been on the Phantom site for a month now. This is what I know:

1. Lightbridge 2.4GHz 720p live feed (Solo can't come close to this feature. I think Solo is using the wifi technology similiar to the Phantom 2 ? ) .......I might be wrong about this.....

2. Distance - I think Phantom 3 has the Solo beat due to wifi vs lightbridge?
3. Failsafe - Phantom is more matured in this area? I don't see people having issues with this in the Phantom forum. I'm not sure.
4. Gimbal - People have a lot of issues with the gimbal with the Phantom...constant re-calibration needed
5. Visual Ground sensor - I don't think it works for the Phantom....too many issues...people have had to disable
6. Firmware issues with Phantom....
7. The only feature that I see where the Solo is better than the Phantom is the flight modes?

As a newbie, there are a few features that are important to me:
1. Low latency FPV (advantage Phantom?)
2. Distance (advantage Phantom?)
3. Failsafe (advantage Phantom?)
4.finally Phantom is way cheaper...more bang for the buck

Again...I really don't know much about the Solo. I'm coming here to get educated.

1013D · Jun 25, 2015

Solo is very fast and very resilient if you happen to crash.

And open source.....and expansion port....and gopro friendly...and black.

Earldgrayjr · Jun 25, 2015

And the Solo has real support. DJI has notoriously bad factory support and customer service. If you get a Phantom, do NOT buy it direct. You need a reputable dealer to insulate (protect) you from the manufacturer... Example: 3DR has a fly away gaurantee that includes the cost of "your" GoPro. If your Pahantom flies away, it is gone pretty much regardless of the cause...

DattaGroover · Jun 26, 2015

Earldgrayjr said:
And the Solo has real support. DJI has notoriously bad factory support and customer service. If you get a Phantom, do NOT buy it direct. You need a reputable dealer to insulate (protect) you from the manufacturer... Example: 3DR has a fly away gaurantee that includes the cost of "your" GoPro. If your Pahantom flies away, it is gone pretty much regardless of the cause...

+1

DBS · Jun 26, 2015

I've got both... and both have their strong points.

Major points?

Phantom 3... battery life/flight time

Solo... unbeatable FPV video stream... absolutely flawless

UCLABruins · Jun 26, 2015

DBS said:
I've got both... and both have their strong points.

Major points?

Phantom 3... battery life/flight time

Solo... unbeatable FPV video stream... absolutely flawless

Wait a minute....you are saying the wifi FPV of the Solo is better than the Lightbridge Phantom?

DBS · Jun 26, 2015

UCLABruins said:
Wait a minute....you are saying the wifi FPV of the Solo is better than the Lightbridge Phantom?

Smoother...

Lightbridge has a stronger connection and will give longer distances... but many folks are having troubles with device handling the stream and presenting it smoothly... so there are many threads about which device to use and tips and tricks to make the device handle the app better so the stream doesn't have frame rate problems. Jerky and stuttering video feed is a common conversation over on the P3 and Inspire forums and I have dealt with it myself and cleaned mine up quite a bit but it still shows up more than a few times during each battery cycle in the air.

The Solo, on the other hand... absolutely flawless... not one frame drop... not one glitch... from close range with it right in front of me... all the way out to two and a half miles out and back again... utter perfection. I've been flying FPV since back in 2011 and the Solo video stream is hands down the best I've ever seen... period.

If DJI gets their app running better on android ... all they will do is match what Solo already does.

Victor K · Jun 26, 2015

DBS said:
Smoother...

Lightbridge has a stronger connection and will give longer distances... but many folks are having troubles with device handling the stream and presenting it smoothly... so there are many threads about which device to use and tips and tricks to make the device handle the app better so the stream doesn't have frame rate problems. Jerky and stuttering video feed is a common conversation over on the P3 and Inspire forums and I have dealt with it myself and cleaned mine up quite a bit but it still shows up more than a few times during each battery cycle in the air.

The Solo, on the other hand... absolutely flawless... not one frame drop... not one glitch... from close range with it right in front of me... all the way out to two and a half miles out and back again... utter perfection. I've been flying FPV since back in 2011 and the Solo video stream is hands down the best I've ever seen... period.

If DJI gets their app running better on android ... all they will do is match what Solo already does.

BHAHAHAHAHAHAHA THIS IS TOO FUNNY.
I have the 3DR solo and the dji phantom 3 pro and IMO the phantom 3 wins. Hands down.
The 3DR solo uses wifi. The phantom uses light bridge. Who wins there?
I've been flying FPV since 2008 and the solo video stream is hands down **** the phantom 3 beats it in all ways. I love how you said "not one frame drop, not one glitch, utter perfection..." That's BS. I've seen the frame drop, glitches on my solo and it's not good. It's not bad but it can be better, the phantom beats it.
The solo on the other hand is a great toy with all that extra features like the orbit, waypoint, follow me modes, and the extra expansion port. Though the Phantom will have those flight modes later on.

I enjoy both quads but there is no competition. The phantom 3 beats the solo. Until 3DR unveils something else, the P3 wins.

Miken · Jun 26, 2015

Victor K said:
BHAHAHAHAHAHAHA THIS IS TOO FUNNY.
I have the 3DR solo and the dji phantom 3 pro and IMO the phantom 3 wins. Hands down.
The 3DR solo uses wifi. The phantom uses light bridge. Who wins there?
I've been flying FPV since 2008 and the solo video stream is hands down **** the phantom 3 beats it in all ways. I love how you said "not one frame drop, not one glitch, utter perfection..." That's BS. I've seen the frame drop, glitches on my solo and it's not good. It's not bad but it can be better, the phantom beats it.
The solo on the other hand is a great toy with all that extra features like the orbit, waypoint, follow me modes, and the extra expansion port. Though the Phantom will have those flight modes later on.

I enjoy both quads but there is no competition. The phantom 3 beats the solo. Until 3DR unveils something else, the P3 wins.

What do you have your GoPRo set at and what OS are you using? I have also experienced perfect video feeds on my solo. I do not have a p3 to compare.

rrmccabe · Jun 26, 2015

I don't know this for a fact but pretty sure the Solo "wifi" is only the connection from the tablet/phone to the controller. Both use similar "RF" technology on the same frequencies. They just use different protocols to do it on that frequency.

Raybro · Jun 26, 2015

Victor K said:
BHAHAHAHAHAHAHA THIS IS TOO FUNNY.
I have the 3DR solo and the dji phantom 3 pro and IMO the phantom 3 wins. Hands down.
The 3DR solo uses wifi. The phantom uses light bridge. Who wins there?
I've been flying FPV since 2008 and the solo video stream is hands down **** the phantom 3 beats it in all ways. I love how you said "not one frame drop, not one glitch, utter perfection..." That's BS. I've seen the frame drop, glitches on my solo and it's not good. It's not bad but it can be better, the phantom beats it.
The solo on the other hand is a great toy with all that extra features like the orbit, waypoint, follow me modes, and the extra expansion port. Though the Phantom will have those flight modes later on.

I enjoy both quads but there is no competition. The phantom 3 beats the solo. Until 3DR unveils something else, the P3 wins.

I don't know what it wins. Nobel Peace Prize for outstanding support?

Jubalr · Jun 27, 2015

DBS said:
Smoother...

Lightbridge has a stronger connection and will give longer distances... but many folks are having troubles with device handling the stream and presenting it smoothly... so there are many threads about which device to use and tips and tricks to make the device handle the app better so the stream doesn't have frame rate problems. Jerky and stuttering video feed is a common conversation over on the P3 and Inspire forums and I have dealt with it myself and cleaned mine up quite a bit but it still shows up more than a few times during each battery cycle in the air.

The Solo, on the other hand... absolutely flawless... not one frame drop... not one glitch... from close range with it right in front of me... all the way out to two and a half miles out and back again... utter perfection. I've been flying FPV since back in 2011 and the Solo video stream is hands down the best I've ever seen... period.

If DJI gets their app running better on android ... all they will do is match what Solo already does.

DBS, what tablet or phone are you using? Thanks

rrmccabe · Jun 27, 2015

Jubalr said:
DBS, what tablet or phone are you using? Thanks

He has a 8.4 WiFi Samsung Tab S

I know this because I bought one after he did.

DBS · Jun 27, 2015

Mine is the 10.5 size... but yeah ... same tablet...

And no... Solo doesn't use Wi-Fi from the bird to the controller... just from the phone to controller... common misconception... glad that dude got a good laugh tho

1st post and already having a good time here.

rrmccabe · Jun 27, 2015

DBS said:
Mine is the 10.5 size... but yeah ... same tablet...

Guess it just looks small in front of you !

Freebird · Jun 27, 2015

I been on the fence too. I know support is better but geez I don't want to have to use them. Everyday brings another video of another incident. The Facebook page is blowing up. Sure some peeps are not having issues but since it's random they could be next. The latest video is what appears to be a 3dr rep giving a demo flight. It takes off hard right and hits somebody.

1013D · Jun 27, 2015

Seems like 90% of these crashes are related to Gps signal loss or degradation....

rrmccabe · Jun 27, 2015

1013D said:
Seems like 90% of these crashes are related to Gps signal loss or degradation....

Always be ready to fly manual

1013D · Jun 27, 2015

It sounds like it would be good for 3Dr if it automatically kicks you to manual if the signal degrades too much during flight..might want to suggest that. Its better than it veering off and hitting a food truck.

rrmccabe · Jun 27, 2015

I would expect it does kick to manual. Wondering if the veering is just the wind. When you are not expecting it (speaking from experience) its a shock and hard to think quick enough to react.