DJI Phantom Aerial UAV Drone Quadcopter for GoPro Review

The main thing we look for as videographers when considering an investment in a quadcopter is affordability combined with abundant practical functionality. If you’re considering investing in the DJI Phantom Aerial UAV Drone Quadcopter and plan on making it work with a GoPro as a means to expand your creativity, we’ve already done the work for you and will look into the different ways a combination of this kind can affect your workflow.

When you’re first starting out you simply want a solution that will allow you to get airborne remotely and instead of having to do this yourself of even go as far as renting helicopters, you can simply opt for a more practical solution that will serve you over the long run. The learning curve with quadcopters is not that steep and there’s a fairly low barrier of entry. You don’t have to invest thousands of dollars nor do you have to spend months just learning how to get it off the ground without crashing. The DJI Phantom is basically a quadcopter you can fly out of the box and get your first shots within hours. You can certainly benefit from it without prior experience.

GPS Stabilizer

Even if we go back to a couple of years ago, technology of this kind did exist but it was reserved for the military industrial complex. It’s a bit unbelievable knowing that something as cheap as this device will basically utilize GPS technology, working with satellite connections to locate itself and provide you with full control over the flight while stabilizing it. You’ll retain complete control over it as its flying but you can also set it on autopilot. You can let it drift off for a bit and then correct itself to a certain point (exact coordinate) of your desire. It can also hover at high altitude as long as the winds aren’t too strong. This is ideal if you want to reliably get shots of cityscapes, intersections, stadiums, monuments, marches, etc.

If it ever ends up losing connection to your controller, there’s an impressive safe mode feature that basically returns it to its original point of departure. You can even try this out on purpose, simply fly it over some buildings where it’s out of your view range and then disable the controller. It’ll quickly return to the airspace and land where it originally took off. Even if there are winds blowing in its direction, it’s still going to make its way back using the error correcting technology it’s powered by.

It Works With The GoPro

This is really one of the mains selling points as you’d want to ensure you get the absolute best video for your project. It’ll make its way pretty much anywhere you send it, even if you can’t reach the spot yourself – as it should. The overall quality and stability is going to impress you again and again. The only downside to this is that it doesn’t come with a built-in camera but there’s a GoPro mount they include so it really depends on how you interpret it – some could consider it an advantage that they can experiment with more than a single camera.

Impressive Flight Features

This is hands down among the most fun quadcopters one could fly out there. We wouldn’t recommend the more violent flight modes when flying it indoors, but it’s an absolute blessing outside. The max flight velocity is a bit over 20 mph but when you’re looking at it from the ground it appears to move a lot faster. The operating signal range is at around a thousand feet at most, or 300 meters. If you push it to this length, it’s probably going to leave your line of sight and this is something the FAA doesn’t want you to do. They also require you to fly it below 400 feet so you’re probably not going to use it to its full potential unless you leave the country. It can fly extremely high.

Crash Landing Is Less Painful

If you have prior experience working with quadcopters (even the smallish ones) you realize it does take a while to get used to working with these thus crashes are inevitable. This is also the reason we recommend you don’t practice indoors, especially if you have children or valuables around. The good part is that although you’re not likely going to try and break it on purpose, these crashes won’t slow it down or affect its performance much. The main thing you’ll worry about in this case are your camera mounts and propellers which you get spares of.

Video Review

See what the experts at Tested have to say about the DJI Phantom Aerial UAV Drone Quadcopter.

To Conclude

We always prefer to share our first hand experience and advice on quadcopters and this is because some could be your ideal while others are a simply waste of time. If you’re trying to get the absolute best shots for your video or want to take your photography further, a tool of this kind could be a blessing because it’s likely going to last you for years. Adding to that, it’s an absolute blast and you’ll have a lot of fun with the people around you. Be warned that they’re all going to want to try their hand at it so you’ll be good as long as you take the time to learn how to operate it smoothly.

The cost is relatively low considering what you’re getting in return, almost to a point where it’d be inconceivable just a few years ago. It’s certainly going to take getting used to but for the results you can expect, the DJI is worth it. It’s also worth noting that this is a high end quadcopter for people who know what they’re after (and want to experiment while pushing the boundaries of their creativity) so if you’re only in it for the entertainment side of things you could probably have as much fun with less expensive toys.

It’s suitable for creative people of all kinds: directors, photographers, technology enthusiasts and private investigators. There’s pretty much not a better option out there in terms of features and price tag.

Summing it all up, the DJI Phantom is an all-in-one solution that works right out the box, expands your creative abilities and is a fun all-around tool for you and the people around you.