Questions from a prospective buyer

[Brockrock]

Greetings Folks! I purchased a Phantom 4 back in late August 2017, and I have been greatly enjoying this wonderful new hobby. I'm a commercial (ATP) pilot as well, so I also have my Part 107 rating. I am not currently utilizing it commercially, but I figured that I would get it in case opportunities were to arise.

I found this forum via a link on the 'Phantom Pilots' page, and I have been browsing threads here recently since I am considering the purchase of an X-Star Premium as a second system. It seems like a solid system from a very good company, and although it does not have some of the bells and whistles that the P4 may have, I find that I really don't use all of those bells and whistles. Also, virtually every video that I see from an X-Star has a straight horizon, and IMO, this is something that I think DJI needs to work on with the P4.

One of the topics of discussion here about the X-Star has been slowing down the Yaw speed for smoother footage - which the P4 allows for in the App settings - and I'm now reading here about a possible App / Firmware update for the X-Star that will allow for this. Is this verified yet? If so, this is huge to me, as it seems like - from the reading that I have done - that this is its only real weakness.

Also, I see that the X-Star comes with some assorted spare parts including gimbal dampers. Do these need to be changed very often? The reason that I ask is because if I did make this purchase, I'm wondering if I should add another spare set to the cart.

Thanks in advance!

 

[GA-XSP-Pilot]

The X-Star will allow you to adjust the horizon level via the app, unlike DJI.

Firmware update looks like the end of April according to some other members here. There are several workarounds to the yaw issue, which may or may not be suitable for your purposes. Mine is to input a little forward motion while yawing - others have posted other techniques.

I have not personally had to replace gimbal dampers, but I have not had any hard landings either.

 

[Brockrock]

The X-Star will allow you to adjust the horizon level via the app, unlike DJI.

Firmware update looks like the end of April according to some other members here. There are several workarounds to the yaw issue, which may or may not be suitable for your purposes. Mine is to input a little forward motion while yawing - others have posted other techniques.

I have not personally had to replace gimbal dampers, but I have not had any hard landings either.

Thanks for the reply. I began using Litchi's autonomous Waypoint Missions with the P4 to get very smooth video, but as I have flown it more and more, I actually prefer manual flying now, and I am getting better at being smooth. I could use an extra hand occasionally for smooth gimbal adjustments up/down however, but I'm working on this as well...

I have a few vids up on YouTube at: Where Condors Soar Some are with Litchi and some hand flown. That's pretty much what I do for now. Take it out around where I live and enjoy the great outdoors, and it seems like the X-Star would be perfect for this, plus, I'm sure the orange color would be much easier to see.

I shall continue to monitor the progress of this pending update and will likely be making the purchase.