Once your phone and the drone are connected, it’ll bring you into a camera view with tons of flight and photographic info available at a glance, plus access to menus allowing you to set parameters, recalibrate functions and adjust video and photo settings to your heart’s desire. The drone works with the new DJI Go app, which is fairly similar to the DJI Pilot app that was previously used with the Advanced and Pro models. It’s not a huge deal, but it does make things a little more fiddly and fussy than on the other models, where you can trigger the camera with physical buttons and rarely need to take both hands off the controller. That means you have to use your mobile device’s touchscreen to take photos and videos. The controller is also a lot simpler than the Advanced and Professional’s, with just the two sticks and a gimbal wheel. And, in any case, UK regulations say you shouldn’t be flying a drone outside of your visual range, so it’s unlikely to become a major issue unless you’re a serial rule-breaker. It’s annoying when it happens, but I found it could be largely avoided by ensuring the controller’s antenna was pointing directly at the bird (something you don’t really have to worry about with the Professional and Advanced Phantoms). But it is shorter than with the other models, and several times I found it cut the video feed abruptly and started the return to home function surprisingly close by (a couple of hundred metres). That’s not to say the range is poor – you can definitely expect the Standard to remain controllable to 500m or so in a clear space. DJI says the video feed is 720p quality, and I suspect that may be the case under optimal conditions, because it’s usually quite crisp and clear, but it’s much more prone to abruptly cutting out when the drone reaches a certain distance compared with the pricier models. That means the transmission range is greatly reduced, as is the quality of the video feed. The Standard, however, uses a Wi-Fi link between the controller and your phone and a more, er, “standard” form of wireless communication between the quadcopter and the controller. With the Advanced and Professional, you connect your device to the controller via a cable and the video link uses DJI’s proprietary Lightbridge system. Here’s where the differences start to become apparent. GPS and other sensors keep it from being nudged off course by gusts of wind, and your phone’s screen will, while connected to the drone, give you all manner of info on speed, altitude, position, battery life and more, plus of course a live feed from the drone’s camera. The ‘copter is responsive and surprisingly zippy, which makes it easy to get to grips with and a joy to fly (as you’ll see later, though, it pays not to get too comfortable and blasé about the controls, because this thing isn’t a toy and is likely to drop like a stone if it collides with anything bigger than a butterfly). Using the two-stick controller and your smartphone (there are apps for iOS and Android, although at the time of writing only a handful of Android devices are listed as recommended), it’s pretty easy to control the drone. The way in which the Standard flies is almost exactly the same, too – unsurprising, given that to the untrained observer it looks to be exactly the same as the other Phantom 3s.
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