Drones aren't easy to fly, which is why I avoided them for a long time.听I was annoyed that I had to learn to be a pilot听and play videographer at the same time. Thankfully, DJI鈥檚 $1,259 makes the whole process a lot smoother鈥攁nd more fun.
First, the new drone is听much easier to fly than its competitors. Even when I had it听in 20 mph winds,听it stayed level and听tracked听on course, thanks to built-in GPS and gyro-based auto-stabilization. If you get flustered and let go of the controls,听it'll听hover in place. And when you鈥檙e ready for the thing to come home, just tap a button and it comes flying back.听
The controller is also intuitive, even for beginners. Plus,听there鈥檚 a flight-simulator app for Android/iOS devices that lets you practice with the controller before you send the toy into the air.听
Then there's the Phantom 3 Professional's astonishing 1.2-mile range: you can both control the drone and stream video from that distance, which happens to be听more than you鈥檒l ever need,听because the FAA won't let you听fly a drone farther than you can see. Ditto with altitude: the Phantom 3听has a ceiling of 1,640 feet,听but the FAA caps altitude at 400 feet.听
The DJI鈥檚 true ace, however, is its听proprietary, built-in听4K camera, which is gimbal-stabilized for buttery-smooth footage听and chock-full of manual controls. I particularly liked that I could tilt the camera up and down for different perspectives, start and听stop video as often as I liked, and听fire off up to seven still frames (12.4 MP images) in one burst.听
Now, controlling both the drone and the camera in manual mode is still difficult, although it gets easier with practice. But DJI updated its firmware to improve the听Phantom 3's autopilot, letting you focus on getting the听footage: you can program the drone to follow you or you can set a predetermined path using GPS waypoints and have the drone follow that. You can also have the drone hover over a specific spot (say a route you're about to send).听
Downsides?听The camera struggled when moved quickly听from shade to sun and听at night, when the footage got听grainy.听The drone's not exactly packable, either: in addition to the 2.8-pound 'copter (which doesn't disassemble easily),听you鈥檝e got to schlep along the controller and听an iPad or smartphone.
It's got competition, too. Take the听, which gives you unparalleled听control over the camera听(you can tilt it in any direction听and change shooting modes on the fly), has a max speed of听55 mph (the Phantom 3 tops out at 36 mph),听and works with the GoPro Hero4, which handles听rapid light changes much better than DJI's stock camera. It also costs $260 less, although in doesn't come with a camera.听
Bottom line: Right now, and听for the price, we think the Phantom 3 Professional is the best option for amateur videographers听who want to shoot POV footage from a drone. You鈥檒l need to spend some time getting to know this machine, but once have it down, it'll quickly elevate your footage.听