P4 Advanced or just stick with the EVO

Quad808 · Mar 27, 2019

Gang,
with there being some pretty good deals on used P4 Advanced out there, even some barely used....does it make sense to pick up a P4 Advanced? I already have a lot of drones, but really like the 4k/60 of the EVO and the P4 line. I won't be buying a Mavic 2 for that reason. No reason to IMO. For my tastes 4k/60 is where its at, and the P4's recording at 4k/60 is pretty dang good. Question for those who have a P4 and now also have an EVO...fly the P4 much?

macoman · Mar 27, 2019

Never ever... Nothing is better than having a portable drone like the Evo. Easy to carry everywhere you want.

Jagerbomb52 · Mar 27, 2019

I can get one for 650 bucks off the regular price but it is still out of my price range LOL
I guess if you feel you need the 1’’ CMOS sensor for low light conditions then now would be the time to pick one up.

Quad808 · Mar 27, 2019

Don't get me wrong...love the EVO, and I think it will continue to be refined with every firmware. The P4's are loud, but very stable...and not for travel...but might be good to have in the arsenal, but I don't do commercial work, so this is a want, not a need....just trying to think it through. All the P4 guys I know, don't fly their birds much anymore...too big and loud. Agree with the 1" and low light, but I don't fly then...so thats out for a reason for me.

Ansia · Mar 27, 2019

I own a Phantom 4 Pro v2.0 and an Evo. I fly them both as much as I can. I use my P4P for work and my Evo for fun. I love the 4k60 on both.

This is my Phantom doing 4k60 all auto and a ND8 filter.

This is @YuKay 's Evo doing 4k60 (I don't know what settings he used.)

I understand that the place where it was recorded is completely different. If weather permits and I have some time, I can do you a comparison in the same place with both. I love the camera on my Evo. It just looks great, but the 1" sensor with the 20MP camera is just amazing. It does have it's downsize, like over saturation. In reality, it depends on what you want and need.

Quad808 · Mar 27, 2019

@Ansia That would be perfect! The problem with comparisions is, everyone seems to set video settings at stock settings. I don't want that. I want a comparison with the settings set optimally for each drone, how the end user would set it. 4k/60 only. I believe the video should be almost looking the same out of each drone, as far as saturation, and exposure and white balance, and that may mean that the individual camera settings may be really different, but that wouldn't matter. The final output would matter. This way I can see a really good comparison of the quality of each video from the drone, and not how the manufacturer set up stock settings. I change the settings on my Evo to suit my taste, and would also do so on the P4 if I get one. Question. Does the P4 V2.0 have the same camera as the P4 Advanced, or is it different? I hope you understand what I mean as far as video settings. Exposure, white balance and saturation output should look about the same or as close as they can be.

Ansia · Mar 27, 2019

Quad808 said:
@Ansia That would be perfect! The problem with comparisions is, everyone seems to set video settings at stock settings. I don't want that. I want a comparison with the settings set optimally for each drone, how the end user would set it. 4k/60 only. I believe the video should be almost looking the same out of each drone, as far as saturation, and exposure and white balance, and that may mean that the individual camera settings may be really different, but that wouldn't matter. The final output would matter. This way I can see a really good comparison of the quality of each video from the drone, and not how the manufacturer set up stock settings. I change the settings on my Evo to suit my taste, and would also do so on the P4 if I get one. Question. Does the P4 V2.0 have the same camera as the P4 Advanced, or is it different? I hope you understand what I mean as far as video settings. Exposure, white balance and saturation output should look about the same or as close as they can be.

I understand perfectly. When I did my video I was messing around with the ND filters, didn't really cared how the final video turned out. I can set everything manual and identical for you. Just pray to the gods that we get good weather this weekend.

Quad808 · Mar 27, 2019

Much appreciated my friend!

Ansia · Mar 28, 2019

So I had good weather today at the office and decided to do the test. First I have to clarify that I know next to nothing about cameras and just went with what looked right.

I used the Phantom as the control in this experiment. I used these setting

ISO: 100
Aperture: 11
Shutter: 1/120
60fps 4k

For the Evo
ISO: 100
Aperture: I couldn't find this function on Evo.
Shutter: 1/120
WB: Sunny
4K 60fps

I honestly do not know what I missed. Turned out so over exposed, it's useless. I have the raw footage if you want it. Or if you have tips, so I can try again, please let me know.

Jagerbomb52 · Mar 28, 2019

Having a EV of +3 probably gave you the over exposure ?

Ansia · Mar 28, 2019

Agustine said:
Having a EV of +3 probably gave you the over exposure ?

It's greyed out. How can I change it.

Quad808 · Mar 28, 2019

You would need to put in in Manual mode. If you have time and want to do again, up to you, and I appreciate your efforts very much.
I went ahead and ordered a P4 Advanced. Newegg was having a refurb sale, and DJI sells a lot of their refurb drones through Newegg for cheaper than their own dji site.
$750 for the Advanced, same 2 year warranty as new. Then I picked up some batteries and low noise props. This will not replace my EVO of course, but just another bird to add to the stable. I don't know if you have heard of nolimitdrones, but I work for them and we unlock DJI drones, so this also added to my decision to pick this up. Hopefully the refurb will be in top notch condition...should be. I had picked up a refurb Mavic Pro also from Newegg in the past, and it ships straight from DJI...and it was fine.

For testing, just get the EVO footage to look the way you want it. It's ok if it is in automatic settings...as long as it looks the way you want it to. I don't expect the footage from each drone to match perfectly as far as exposure and color. In fact, only do more testing if you want to. I have the P4 on the way, so I can do my own tests too, once it comes in. Thanks!

Ansia · Mar 28, 2019

Quad808 said:
You would need to put in in Manual mode. If you have time and want to do again, up to you, and I appreciate your efforts very much.
I went ahead and ordered a P4 Advanced. Newegg was having a refurb sale, and DJI sells a lot of their refurb drones through Newegg for cheaper than their own dji site.
$750 for the Advanced, same 2 year warranty as new. Then I picked up some batteries and low noise props. This will not replace my EVO of course, but just another bird to add to the stable. I don't know if you have heard of nolimitdrones, but I work for them and we unlock DJI drones, so this also added to my decision to pick this up. Hopefully the refurb will be in top notch condition...should be. I had picked up a refurb Mavic Pro also from Newegg in the past, and it ships straight from DJI...and it was fine.

For testing, just get the EVO footage to look the way you want it. It's ok if it is in automatic settings...as long as it looks the way you want it to. I don't expect the footage from each drone to match perfectly as far as exposure and color. In fact, only do more testing if you want to. I have the P4 on the way, so I can do my own tests too, once it comes in. Thanks!

You are not allowed to change the EV when in manual. That is exclusively when in Auto. Tbh I fly my Evo in Auto, because it does a decent job (imo) of correcting the settings and for what I want (homemade po... videos, yeah videos) it works great. I have more experience with the Phantom and I understand and know how to play with the settings. They reacted completely different from the Evo. I obviously will continue to play with them, to understand things better. As soon as I understand them better I will try again. You will not regret getting the P4A and the Evo. In my experience, you can use both for different settings and you will choose one over the other depending on what you wish to do at the time. For example, when I do building inspections, I will always go for my Phantom. If I want to take nice videos of something, the Evo is the one to go.

Lyk2fly · Mar 28, 2019

Ansia said:
So I had good weather today at the office and decided to do the test. First I have to clarify that I know next to nothing about cameras and just went with what looked right.

I used the Phantom as the control in this experiment. I used these setting

ISO: 100
Aperture: 11
Shutter: 1/120
60fps 4k
View attachment 3981

For the Evo
ISO: 100
Aperture: I couldn't find this function on Evo.
Shutter: 1/120
WB: Sunny
4K 60fps
View attachment 3982

I honestly do not know what I missed. Turned out so over exposed, it's useless. I have the raw footage if you want it. Or if you have tips, so I can try again, please let me know.

The Evo aperture is fixed at f2.8...so you will have to speed up the shutter to expose properly.

Quad808 · Mar 28, 2019

Thank you guys....I was going from memory on the manual comment, so probably should have tested first!!

Ansia · Mar 28, 2019

Here is the full comparison of the video. You can't hardly tell the difference at 100' ??

Quad808 · Mar 28, 2019

Beautiful!! bwahahahahaha

xspwhite · Mar 28, 2019

Quad808 said:
Gang,
with there being some pretty good deals on used P4 Advanced out there, even some barely used....does it make sense to pick up a P4 Advanced? I already have a lot of drones, but really like the 4k/60 of the EVO and the P4 line. I won't be buying a Mavic 2 for that reason. No reason to IMO. For my tastes 4k/60 is where its at, and the P4's recording at 4k/60 is pretty dang good. Question for those who have a P4 and now also have an EVO...fly the P4 much?

If you can get your hands on a P4 advanced, then grab it. I have a p4, and that son of a gun is rock solid, and flys like a little Cadillac. I would love to have the advanced for the 1-inch sensor. It's a no brainer.