DJI support was great for me, The hold times are long but they replaced my quad at no charge in the end, took about 15 days. Usually only people who complain write reviews.
If you were flying fairly high (over 150 feet) and the battery was at 35% or less, the Vision will often start falling quickly as it's internal intelligence tells it to get closer to land.
The area where you are flying looks like one with a lot of possible interference from radio signals (wireless networks) as well as power lines, etc.
Basically, you are playing with fire ($$$$) if you fly these things anywhere except in open areas. Yes, more chance of getting it back if you are a decent ATTI flyer and also have Home Lock enabled.
It's all a matter of percentages. You or I could fly an Airbus with a pilot in the other seat telling us what to do - but what would we do when something happens (excess turbulence, system malfunction). Same goes with this or any other quadcopter. The pilot needs to be experienced if they care about their investment.
On the plus side, DJI is going to make a bundle replacing parts and entire machines for all the people who don't learn properly.
Yet in the review:
"...we would advise users to ensure the drone itself, the physical controller and the iOS app are all updated to the latest versions before taking to the skies."
?...oops
That's why it was an addendum to the review post-crash.
Loved the Wagner! Apt music for a strong performance. Now you just need to add a few lightning bolts...
This was a big improvement over your last Phantom review. The video was much smoother; in a different league, in fact. If no stabilisation was added post-production, then this was impressive.
Interesting that you mentioned the lack of obstacle avoidance. Presumably if these catch on, that may become mandatory if you want to avoid drones crashing into each other.
Loved the Wagner! Apt music for a strong performance. Now you just need to add a few lightning bolts...
This was a big improvement over your last Phantom review. The video was much smoother; in a different league, in fact. If no stabilisation was added post-production, then this was impressive.
Interesting that you mentioned the lack of obstacle avoidance. Presumably if these catch on, that may become mandatory if you want to avoid drones crashing into each other.
They should have a built-in "black box" system that records all commands and events so that there is never a question as to why copter did something unexpected. And built-in obstacle avoidance is a must. The copter should know if it is heading toward self-destruction and prevent it. I'll consider buying one when they have all of the above.
I was following the intel on these drones for over a year now just waiting for my opportunity to strike and buy one of my own. I've been pretty patient I think and after reading stories about this one since what.....April? I have seen a lot of crashes and failures and most of them were the result of flying before GPS kicked in (at least so it appears).
After waiting for so long, I couldn't take it anymore. I was reading CNet's coverage (can't find the link) and it pulled me in, then watching videos on youtube left and right...pulled me in further. I read Poc's review (http://pocinc.net/blog/product-reviews/review-dji-phantom-vision-2-quadcopter-drone) which pulled me all the of the way in. Needless to say, I broke down and finally bought one.
By the time I came across your review, I had already ordered it, but I can now say that I love it. I have been playing with it for some days now and I haven't crashed it yet (knock on virtual wood). I'll follow-up on any troubles I come across though.
I was following the intel on these drones for over a year now just waiting for my opportunity to strike and buy one of my own. I've been pretty patient I think and after reading stories about this one since what.....April? I have seen a lot of crashes and failures and most of them were the result of flying before GPS kicked in (at least so it appears).
After waiting for so long, I couldn't take it anymore. I was reading CNet's coverage (can't find the link) and it pulled me in, then watching videos on youtube left and right...pulled me in further. I read Poc's review (http://pocinc.net/blog/product-reviews/review-dji-phantom-vision-2-quadcopter-drone) which pulled me all the of the way in. Needless to say, I broke down and finally bought one.
By the time I came across your review, I had already ordered it, but I can now say that I love it. I have been playing with it for some days now and I haven't crashed it yet (knock on virtual wood). I'll follow-up on any troubles I come across though.
The FAA guidelines limit flying drones to within 400 ft of the surface. (I presume that is because they want to prevent collisions with manned airplanes, and it is legal to fly a manned airplane down to 500 ft above the surface in many places.)
The camera/gimbal setup on the Vision + is very poorly designed. I've had broken cables out of the box. And just as you experienced, I had a slightly heavy landing and the camera falls off the gimbal and is trash. Currently the cost of replacement is around $700 since the ribbon cable is not available as a spare part only the full camera and Gimbal assembly.
was advised to check motors, run rotors on idle (don't take off) until battery runs down then check for overheated bearing. On viewing the video DJI advised returning the unit immediately to the dealers who replaced it right away. Your problem may have been different as you were able to fly the drone again without problem. I have had no problems whatsoever with the new phantom, many wonderful flights
My opinion only but thought I would share. I too had a near miss crash after over a hundred flights without any incidents. So when I rechecked my app settings I noticed I had inadvertently checked the "battery low return home". I think this is a neat feature and decided to experiment a bit. What I noticed was if my wifi breaks this may or may not cause your battery level to be misinterpreted by the drone. In summary I have noticed that with this feature checked on the app...it may or may not do weird things as well. It also does not climb first to move to home point but rather take a direct path. I personally found this feature for my use to be dangerous and so I do not use it but rather use the audible alarm.
I have purchased 2 of these and my second one just flew away like it had a mind of it's own. I haven't found it, nor do I expect to find it either. DJI is very poor at communicating and they keep ending my ticket with resolved even though they have done so. Parts are expensive and a second plane is cheaper than buying spares individually. Two was my limit. I'm waiting for one that works
If any of you guys are interested in either utilizing this resource or contributing to it, some friends of mine at iFixit just launched a page for repair guides for the DJI Phantom models, as well as other consumer quadcopters. Basically they're trying to provide one comprehensive resource for consumer "drone" repair (drones being quadcopters and RC planes and such). https://www.ifixit.com/c/Drone
I've been hearing a lot of stories lately about the Phantoms malfunctioning as mentioned in this article, or deciding to "fly home" when the connection to the controller is lost. That's probably something that DJI has to fix themselves with a firmware update. At least the Phantoms are pretty repairable, so much of the time they can be fixed without being replaced. Does anyone know if DJI refurbishes returned units?
I had my drone lose contact with my i phone vision app and came home on return home mode.The problem was that it flew it self straight into a tree and there was nothing i could do to change its course .I had to stand there and watch this phantom 2 fly right into the top of the tree .When it came down it hit the camera breaking it in two places. Is there a way to turn off the come home mode after it engages it self in to fly home. Because if the operater has no way of controling the drone after it goes into this mode that is a big problem. I tryed for about a minute to regain control over the drone with out any luck.I watched a thousand dollars fly into the tree and could do nothing to help.my controler went dead
Comments
DJI support was great for me, The hold times are long but they replaced my quad at no charge in the end, took about 15 days. Usually only people who complain write reviews.
The area where you are flying looks like one with a lot of possible interference from radio signals (wireless networks) as well as power lines, etc.
Basically, you are playing with fire ($$$$) if you fly these things anywhere except in open areas. Yes, more chance of getting it back if you are a decent ATTI flyer and also have Home Lock enabled.
It's all a matter of percentages. You or I could fly an Airbus with a pilot in the other seat telling us what to do - but what would we do when something happens (excess turbulence, system malfunction). Same goes with this or any other quadcopter. The pilot needs to be experienced if they care about their investment.
On the plus side, DJI is going to make a bundle replacing parts and entire machines for all the people who don't learn properly.
That's why it was an addendum to the review post-crash.
A firmware version would help the community narrow this down. 3.06 has some dropping out of the sky due to a bug.
This was a big improvement over your last Phantom review. The video was much smoother; in a different league, in fact. If no stabilisation was added post-production, then this was impressive.
Interesting that you mentioned the lack of obstacle avoidance. Presumably if these catch on, that may become mandatory if you want to avoid drones crashing into each other.
Loved the Wagner! Apt music for a strong performance. Now you just need to add a few lightning bolts...
This was a big improvement over your last Phantom review. The video was much smoother; in a different league, in fact. If no stabilisation was added post-production, then this was impressive.
Interesting that you mentioned the lack of obstacle avoidance. Presumably if these catch on, that may become mandatory if you want to avoid drones crashing into each other.
No post-stabilization. It really is that smooth.
After waiting for so long, I couldn't take it anymore. I was reading CNet's coverage (can't find the link) and it pulled me in, then watching videos on youtube left and right...pulled me in further. I read Poc's review (http://pocinc.net/blog/product-reviews/review-dji-phantom-vision-2-quadcopter-drone) which pulled me all the of the way in. Needless to say, I broke down and finally bought one.
By the time I came across your review, I had already ordered it, but I can now say that I love it. I have been playing with it for some days now and I haven't crashed it yet (knock on virtual wood). I'll follow-up on any troubles I come across though.
I was following the intel on these drones for over a year now just waiting for my opportunity to strike and buy one of my own. I've been pretty patient I think and after reading stories about this one since what.....April? I have seen a lot of crashes and failures and most of them were the result of flying before GPS kicked in (at least so it appears).
After waiting for so long, I couldn't take it anymore. I was reading CNet's coverage (can't find the link) and it pulled me in, then watching videos on youtube left and right...pulled me in further. I read Poc's review (http://pocinc.net/blog/product-reviews/review-dji-phantom-vision-2-quadcopter-drone) which pulled me all the of the way in. Needless to say, I broke down and finally bought one.
By the time I came across your review, I had already ordered it, but I can now say that I love it. I have been playing with it for some days now and I haven't crashed it yet (knock on virtual wood). I'll follow-up on any troubles I come across though.
It won't let me post
Tis broken *knock knock*
Ouch. The FAA has not said much so far about rules for flying drones, but what they do have to say is published at:
http://www.faa.gov/uas/
The FAA guidelines limit flying drones to within 400 ft of the surface. (I presume that is because they want to prevent collisions with manned airplanes, and it is legal to fly a manned airplane down to 500 ft above the surface in many places.)
The camera/gimbal setup on the Vision + is very poorly designed. I've had broken cables out of the box. And just as you experienced, I had a slightly heavy landing and the camera falls off the gimbal and is trash. Currently the cost of replacement is around $700 since the ribbon cable is not available as a spare part only the full camera and Gimbal assembly.
Great product, very poor customer service.
Best video review I've seen :
was advised to check motors, run rotors on idle (don't take off) until battery runs down then check for overheated bearing. On viewing the video DJI advised returning the unit immediately to the dealers who replaced it right away. Your problem may have been different as you were able to fly the drone again without problem. I have had no problems whatsoever with the new phantom, many wonderful flights
Although the DJI Phantom 2 Vision is sweet, the IRIS is more your type of drone. Its highly customizable and more advanced for the money. Leave the DJI for apple users... http://dronelifestyle.com/3d-robotics-iris-plus-quadcopter-review/
I've been hearing a lot of stories lately about the Phantoms malfunctioning as mentioned in this article, or deciding to "fly home" when the connection to the controller is lost. That's probably something that DJI has to fix themselves with a firmware update. At least the Phantoms are pretty repairable, so much of the time they can be fixed without being replaced. Does anyone know if DJI refurbishes returned units?
Here is great footage compilation:
Is there a way to turn off the come home mode after it engages it self in to fly home.
Because if the operater has no way of controling the drone after it goes into this mode that is a big problem.
I tryed for about a minute to regain control over the drone with out any luck.I watched a thousand dollars fly into the tree and could do nothing to help.my controler went dead