Image Quality: Phantom3 Vs. GoPro

dmassphoto · Jul 1, 2015

I've been researching through the web and can't find a post comparing the camera on the Phantom3 and the Gopro Hero4. Considering that these quadcopters are used by those who want to take photos/video, I figured it would be an often-talked about topic.

Anyways, for those who have both the Solo and Phantom3, how do the cameras stack up? I'm mainly interested in the still capturing abilities at the moment. I know the Phantom3 takes DNG and Jpg images while the Hero4 only takes Jpg. This can be a make/break, but that depends on if the P3 camera is not comparable to the Hero4.

Can anyone help me out?

rrmccabe · Jul 1, 2015

There are no gimbals for the Solo available so you are not going to get any input from a Solo using the GoPro.

There is a video online showing the Phantom 3 A and P against a Phantom 2 with GoPro. Thats about all you are going to find. I think the GoPro had a Peau custom lens if I remember right.

nacjr · Jul 1, 2015

dmassphoto said:
I've been researching through the web and can't find a post comparing the camera on the Phantom3 and the Gopro Hero4. Considering that these quadcopters are used by those who want to take photos/video, I figured it would be an often-talked about topic.

Anyways, for those who have both the Solo and Phantom3, how do the cameras stack up? I'm mainly interested in the still capturing abilities at the moment. I know the Phantom3 takes DNG and Jpg images while the Hero4 only takes Jpg. This can be a make/break, but that depends on if the P3 camera is not comparable to the Hero4.

Can anyone help me out?

This is not a Solo issue, it's a GoPro issue.

thefrog · Jul 1, 2015

DNG from P3 are slightly noisy, but can be well processed in ACR and very well denoised in Neatimage. There is no loss of resolution in the P3 images as it does not need fish-eye rectification. I like the P3 rectilinear lens over GoPro's fish eye. For photography work P3 is clear winner at least for me.

Jubalr · Jul 1, 2015

thefrog said:
DNG from P3 are slightly noisy, but can be well processed in ACR and very well denoised in Neatimage. There is no loss of resolution in the P3 images as it does not need fish-eye rectification. I like the P3 rectilinear lens over GoPro's fish eye. For photography work P3 is clear winner at least for me.

Do you still have your Solo?

Raybro · Jul 1, 2015

You don't have to stick with the GoPro. Following the diydrones forum a person there is using a Xiaomi. Sometime in the future it is supposed to have the capability of using different cameras...who knows.
Also found this while I was there....anti jello filters for GoPro
http://team-blacksheep.com/products/prod:jelloguard_h3

thefrog · Jul 1, 2015

Jubalr said:
Do you still have your Solo?

Yes, it's a tough dog. Would be scared to play rough with P3 and gimbal on it as I do with Solo. Just the GPS make me nervous. And of course the fact it is just partially open source by now.. so far only the Pixhawk is open sourced and rest will stay closed forever.

Lon Snyder · Jul 1, 2015

. This may help. The P3's major risk is it's extremely fragile camera/gimbal. A hard landing is very likely to break it and they are expensive to replace. Otherwise it's an excellent quadcopter.

dmassphoto · Jul 1, 2015

nacjr said:
This is not a Solo issue, it's a GoPro issue.

Which is why I stated "Phantom 3 vs Gopro

dmassphoto · Jul 1, 2015

Lon Snyder said:
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. This may help. The P3's major risk is it's extremely fragile camera/gimbal. A hard landing is very likely to break it and they are expensive to replace. Otherwise it's an excellent quadcopter.

Thanks. Yeah that's my biggest concern. Fisheye of the GoPro or the fragility and $$$ of the P3. The Solo may be more expensive, but if I wreck the P3, it may end up costing more. So far my Solo is performing flawlessly, but I'm using this for photography work so the image has to be top-notch. I'd really hate to get rid of it.

rrmccabe · Jul 1, 2015

dmassphoto said:
Fisheye of the GoPro or the fragility and $$$ of the P3. .

Swap the lens in the GoPro. Then you have a durable camera with no fisheye

thefrog · Jul 1, 2015

dmassphoto said:
Thanks. Yeah that's my biggest concern. Fisheye of the GoPro or the fragility and $$$ of the P3. The Solo may be more expensive, but if I wreck the P3, it may end up costing more. So far my Solo is performing flawlessly, but I'm using this for photography work so the image has to be top-notch. I'd really hate to get rid of it.

I'm afraid the gimbal on the SOLO will be as fragile in real situations as the one on P3. Sure, it is larger and heavier, but the risk of damage is about the same. We have yet to wait to see.

dmassphoto · Jul 1, 2015

Here are some low light photos from the gopro, shot about 30min ago. I'm not impressed with the noise. Nothing to do with the Solo, but is the P3 this bad?

No editing has been done with these images. Two of them are static, one is in flight.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fi6zymb9zmvir4p/G0015912.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4m8pnjuo8gd6jwt/G0015938.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ppn147ldg6rs829/G0025945.JPG?dl=0

These are just my first tests. I'll fiddle with protune and see if I can get better next time. These are aweful, though.

Lon Snyder · Jul 1, 2015

May I suggest to try the following:
Shoot GoPro video in 4k, medium view.
Use GoPro Studio to eliminate fisheye and export photo stilsl. I find this to work better than using the GoPro to take photos.

Lon Snyder · Jul 1, 2015

https://www.dropbox.com/s/st6fevqp7ym5uyl/photo jun 19, 12 23 26 pm.jpg?dl=0 I didn't get rid of the fisheye on this example and its from video shot at 2.7k

dmassphoto · Jul 2, 2015

Raybro said:
You don't have to stick with the GoPro. Following the diydrones forum a person there is using a Xiaomi. Sometime in the future it is supposed to have the capability of using different cameras...who knows.
Also found this while I was there....anti jello filters for GoPro
http://team-blacksheep.com/products/prod:jelloguard_h3

Can you point me to the thread? I'm still searching with no joy so far. I really don't want to give the solo away, but it looks like the camera isn't up to snuff when it comes to stills. Plus I don't want to put in another $250 for a separate lens.

RyanG · Jul 2, 2015

What lens can we use to "upgrade" the Gopro? Would you then use Spot meter for the Gopro to get the best exposure / image?

Thanks
Ryan G

dmassphoto · Jul 2, 2015

RyanG said:
What lens can we use to "upgrade" the Gopro? Would you then use Spot meter for the Gopro to get the best exposure / image?

Thanks
Ryan G

Here's what I've found in my searching. It's almost as much as the GoPro itself.

http://ragecams.com/shop/54mm-rectilinear-flat-lens-gopro-hero4-hero3-p-631.html

GhostMaster · Jul 2, 2015

rrmccabe said:
Swap the lens in the GoPro. Then you have a durable camera with no fisheye

Swaping lens in the gopro voids the warranty... I gess its another point for the P3 no fisheye and you still have warranty...

rrmccabe · Jul 2, 2015

dmassphoto said:
Here's what I've found in my searching. It's almost as much as the GoPro itself.
http://ragecams.com/shop/54mm-rectilinear-flat-lens-gopro-hero4-hero3-p-631.html

Yes but you can buy the same lens for between $90 and $140. I bought the lens with the grommet from Peau productions for $140.

GhostMaster said:
Swaping lens in the gopro voids the warranty... I gess its another point for the P3 no fisheye and you still have warranty...

This is true. But from an economics standpoint what is more risky. Having a GoPro without a warranty or DJI camera that breaks when you sneeze on it !