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Yuneec or DJI ? Why not both ?

So, I was leaning towards a DJI Phantom Standard as my first premium drone (what I consider premium is $500-$1200). Then I saw a good deal for the Yuneec Typhoon Q500+ and jumped into the Yuneec pool (should be getting it Feb 9 2016). My question to you guys and gals is, does anyone here have both a Phantom and a Typhoon ? I know some people on Youtube have several of what I call premium drones. I would call DJI and Yuneec the Mercedes and BMW of the $500-$1200 range. Also both of them have made incredible upper echelon drones that are way out of my price range for this hobby I'm just getting into. So what say ye all, do you have both (or other premium drones ?) or are you a Yuneec fanboy ? Which isn't a bad thing to be.
So, I was leaning towards a DJI Phantom Standard as my first premium drone (what I consider premium is $500-$1200). Then I saw a good deal for the Yuneec Typhoon Q500+ and jumped into the Yuneec pool (should be getting it Feb 9 2016). My question to you guys and gals is, does anyone here have both a Phantom and a Typhoon ? I know some people on Youtube have several of what I call premium drones. I would call DJI and Yuneec the Mercedes and BMW of the $500-$1200 range. Also both of them have made incredible upper echelon drones that are way out of my price range for this hobby I'm just getting into. So what say ye all, do you have both (or other premium drones ?) or are you a Yuneec fanboy ? Which isn't a bad thing to be.


Hi there,
I have tried both birds and decided to go for the Yuneec; there are however 2 things I don't like with the Yuneec, and one of the two is almost a deal breaker for me: the speed: the Q500 is super slow, despite a firmware update, top speed under gps is 17 mph which is a bit ridicoulus given the speed it can reach once the gps.in turned off (around 55 mph!) But flying with no gps is extremely risky as all the safety nets are gone.
The problem with the low speed is, on top of being super boring to pilot, is that is takes a long time to go from one point to another when covering a large area with video, the battery runs dry agter 20 minutes and you get more coverage if it was quicker (Phantom goes around 35mph) it's not good either when you want it follow you while you're driving as it does not exceed 22 mph.
The other problem is the huge (and expensive) props who will break every single time something happen (example: one day, wind became very strong while flying, and when landing, it slightly tilted the bird and 2 props instantly snapped)
A part from that, nothing to say, good machine, very solid, one day, I smashed it into a tree and it felt from something like 15 feet, 2 props broken, the camera got unclipted but that was an easy fix and it went again like nothing happened once the props were replaced.
The CS is faultless if it's that they ignore you when you ask for more speed!
Good luck.
 
This is an interesting comment. I guess I'd consider myself a Yuneec fanboy since that's the direction I went. BUT, playing Devil's Advocate, i'd probably say that your comments might change a little bit if you were comparing the Phantom 3 Standard vs the Yuneec Typhoon Q500+. That would PROBABLY be more of a fair comparison than vs the Phantom 2.

Staying in the Devil's Advocate role, you can definitely go A LOT further and higher with the Phantom 3 Standard, as well as a firmware update as I'm first discovering, is way less of a nightmare as compared to Yuneec's way of doing a firmware update. Add in waypoints and other advantages like video going straight to your phone, etc.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both drones, I felt that Yuneec gave me more for my buck, the handheld gimbal, the extra battery, the better customer service, those were big time selling points for me.

I agree with the comments comparing the two products and that the DJI products in general have some advantageous refinements, but my comments were really about the aircraft itself, and not the technology. Tha platform is small and underpowered in comparison to the Typhoon series. The eight to ten inch props are indicative of the lower power overall. Their new products are likely well advanced and excellent next level ships, but there is the price factor if we were to go there. I personally think that the Phantom platform is more of a toy than a work machine. I guaranty you that my Typhoon G is vastly superior in usability with the GoPro set-up than my phantom with the same set-up. I also think the Typhoon aerial platform is superior in giving me the broadest upgrade path of ANY similar product in the consumer entry level camera drone out there. This just my $.02, but I back it up with my own experience. DJI is the worst company I have ever dealt with on the level of customer service. Worse even than Comcast which has been labeled the worst service company in America by organizations that evaluate after sale service support. I consider my Phantom a toy now. I will use it to train my nephews to fly otherwise it will just gather dust. The phantom has secured its place in history as the product that changed the world of aerial photography forever, but the world has moved on.
I had a seriously dangerous fly-away with my phantom that nearly ended up on a picnic table where an unwary family was enjoying a picnic lunch on a beautiful day. Since that day I resolved never to fly it where there were any people that were unaware that I was going to fly and be forewarned in advance. The NAZA M V2 flight control system has problems and I would be wary of any ship using any form or evolution of it. I know the fly away phenomenon is ubiquitous among all flight control systems and companies products, but mine happened to me and my bringing the problem to the company did not even get a response. I have never seen or heard of DJI taking any responsibility or even acknowledging the issue, except to say they were the result of pilot error. I take issue with that.
 
Scott,
I was actually comparing the Yuneec 500 4 k vs the Phantom 3 advanced
It is true that the signal is way better on the Phantom, but since I tend to keep a visual on the drone at all time, the signal never been an issue with the Q500
Amother plys on tge Yuneec side is that can pair a cell phone with the transmitter allowing another person to take pictures and video, they cannot operate the camera direction though...
 
Hi Lawrence, I think you need to take note of Johnny Jumpjet's comments.
Lawrence, I also think your problem is a case of EXPERIENCE if you want to race around parks and smash into
trees and fly on real windy days (endangering property and people) you should buy a Tank with 4 props.
The Yuneec Typhoon is one of the most robust and versatile aircraft around and is specially ideal for aerial
photography I fly in manual mode all the time (over 100 hours) with no issues whatsoever and as far as breaking props, never broke one, I find the Typhoon extremely stable to land far better than the Phantom which topples very
easily.(you are smashing into trees and breaking props with a slow bird?)
Lawrance, with respect to you I think it sounds like you are in a rush when flying and lack experience/control.
Cheers, JV
 
Hi JV, Well, I probably don't have 100 hours experience, and smashing a drone in a tree indeed happened at early stage and because of the perspective at a certain distance, but since then, I did get a few hours down the belt and depending where you are living, you can be surprised by a sudden rise in the wind while in the middle of a flying session, this happens a lot where I live and this is also why I do have a wind measurer that I use every single time before putting the bird up in the air, this is also the reason why I fly in areas where no soul is present in a radius of a few hundred yards.
Nobody can be as perfect as a pilot as you are, but I do talk to a lot of people, and props breaking is an issue amongst the common of mortals, as for the speed, it is still darn annoying and I really would like to have more of it.
And JV, I don't think you give much respect to a lot of people.
Cheers
 

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