The right drone for the right job :)

Hi All, awesome forum

We have a school project where we are going to capture the landscape around marble bar in western Australia and capture it as a 3d model and then import it into one of our unity model in Altspace VR .
i am struggling on he choice of drone, i want of course the best quality picture and torn between the Mavic Pro and the Phantom 4 \2.0, it looks like the v2.0 of the phantom is better in quality but i have heard there are compatibility issues with the controller, can anybody provide a shopping list guide so that i dont muck this up ?

thanks in advice

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If you are talking about a Mavic Pro 2 then either one is fine but I would think more about what the future of the drone is and not focused so much on this one project. With what you want to do I don’t think there will be enough difference between them to matter. If you are going to do mostly media and inspections moving forward then the M2P and if it’s mapping then the P4Pv2 is probably a more solid choice. You can search other threads with comparisons and it basically boils down to the camera. The P4P has a wider field of view than the M2P so the M2P has to fly higher to capture the same amount of work in the same timeframe… and the edge to the P4P because of the global shutter.

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Hi Michael thanks for the reply, really its for using drone deploy, we see an ongoing use for the product, along with possible certification for industry pathways into local mine sites for our students. my biggest concerns is compatibility with drone deploy for the 3d mapping

MP2 looks better than P4P but not better than the P4P V2…….but the P4P V2.0 is not compatible with drone deploy ?

The M2P and P4P are just different. The consensus has been that the P4P has been a better mapper but the Mavic for something like inspections and very small sites. The P4P for aerials images and the M2P for videos.

P2P V2.0 is on the DroneDeploy list of supported drones:

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Thats the same conclusion that i came to but is the V2.0 compatible with drone deploy

Yes it is. The main difference between the two versions is the RC radio format which allows for more stable video over longer distances but it doesn’t have anything to do with DroneDeploy.

Was that with the Standard RC or the Fancy Screen unit ? on the P4P V2.0+

And just to say big thank you for all the help

Both the P4P v.1 and P4P v.2 with a standard controller are equally supported by SDK apps including Drone Deploy. And the M2P and M2Z are also supported.

There is no difference between the P4P v.1 and the P4P v.2 except for the radio link which uses a slightly different protocol. The craft and camera are identical.

Like Michael said, if mapping is the goal, then the P4P (either version) with a standard controller is fine.

The P4P will be more stable in variable wind as well which I didn’t see mentioned. The M2P is a great little craft as well. But the camera is a step down from the P4P and it does have a rolling shutter.

If your sites are anywhere near what DJI thinks is a NFZ, then the Autel Evo 2 Pro is also a consideration. The photos produced by it are completely compatible with Drone Deploy processing but you would need to use it’s built in mapping app to fly the missions.

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The controller that comes with the P4P V2.0+ is not compatible with running most 3rd party apps (like DroneDeploy). Be sure to get the standard controller if you want to run DD.

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Great thanks for the help, i have made the purchase on the Phantom 4 V2.0+ so big thanks for the help and we have a call scheduled with drone deploy this afternoon

You won’t want to get the Plus model. It has an integrated screen that doesn’t allow third party apps to be installed. Many people have tried side loading them but I have not seen anyone actually be able to fly.

Why are you ignoring my warning? You cannot run DroneDeploy on the P4P 2.0+ version. You are making the same mistake I did when I bought the P4P 1.0+ version. I had to go back and buy the standard controller in order to run DroneDeploy. The brighter screen on the + versions is a beguiling attraction but it comes at the steep cost of not being able to run DroneDeploy.

At least we clearly warned you of this downside. But it is disappointing to see you consult the experienced users here on the DroneDeploy Forum and then ignore the advice without illuminating why you did so. Perhaps it is not too late and you can still fix your order. We hope so.

Sorry that’s the danger of reading off a phone, i have sorted it with DJ as the order has not been dispatched got the standard one Controller on its way :slight_smile: sorry solar barn was not my intent to ignore :slight_smile: but all sorted !

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You dodged that one. Photogrammetry is a detailed business. Hopefully you do your learning on a non-phone so you have a better chance for the info to sink in. Details matter…a lot.

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Nice recovery! So glad you did not have to repeat my mistake.

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DJI is notorious for suppressing details that might look bad on them. The same kind of marketing gibberish on the Phantom 4 RTK as well.

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You must have purchased the last one! I was looking to purchase a P4P v2 to use while I was repairing my P4P v1 Obsidian (I also have a backup P4P v1 with old firmware and GEO zones disabled, but was looking for an excuse to get a v2!)

DJI site is out of stock, most other sites show it as discontinued, and I found an open box on Amazon (sold by Amazon.com Services LLC) and grabbed it.

If you want a P4P+ v2, there are still available.

I just purchased two new ones. One from Amazon and one from Drones Made Easy.

@MichaelL - you must have special access!