DJI - Phantom 4 Pro V2.0

For what it’s worth: I have a pair of Phantom 4 Pro v2’s (one is new, the other is like new) for sale 😁

Get you a used P4Pv2. You should be able to find one on marketplace or offerup for well under $1000. It wasn't too long ago that they were the gold standard for mapping and they also have full SDK support.

I used to do all my photogrammetry work with first a DJI phantom 4 pro, then I modified it with an onboard emlid gnss for on the fly rtk positioning. Then, I bought the DJI phantom 4 rtk. Then I had to buy American drones. The phantom 4 pro still remains the best inexpensive drone for that. The camera has a mechanical shutter as well. It worked well for me. I still have one P4P v2 unopened that is RID compliant and used as a possible backup. Now it is collecting dust.

I used to do all my photogrammetry work with first a DJI phantom 4 pro, then I modified it with an onboard emlid gnss for on the fly rtk positioning. Then, I bought the DJI phantom 4 rtk. Then I had to buy American drones. The phantom 4 pro still remains the best inexpensive drone for that. The camera has a mechanical shutter as well. It worked well for me. I still have one P4P v2 unopened that is RID compliant and used as a possible backup. Now it is collecting dust.

I have one in the sealed box. This was a backup when I used to fly them for mapping. As someone else mentioned it has a mechanical shutter and it is RID compliant. I must use drones on the Blue list 2.0. It is a great versatile drone that can carry light payloads. I used to fly rtk with mine with the light hack and a multispectral camera. I could launch and retrieve from virtually anywhere even from a kayak for very tough spots to map.

It has a rolling shutter too so is not great for photogrammetry. Great for photos and videos.

If you want accurate maps, you need the Mavic 3 enterprise with it's mechanical shutter. For basic mapping for fun, you can go as low as a Mini 3 pro, but the rolling shutter will reduce accuracy and resolution. I work with the Mavic 3 Enterprise with RTK at work, and does incredibly accurate and detailed maps, but really no better than my old personal Phantom 4 Pro I have at home. With RTK and GCP's you can get accuracy within a cm or two. I'm trying trying to get our non-profit to get a Matrice 350 RTK with all the goodies to increase functionality as the Mavic 3E is great for maps, but not much else.

Buy DJI used. They are rock solid - literally fly for years. I still fly a Phantom 4 Pro, and it works great.  The FCC ban is for new models, so the old one's are good for now since they've already received their licenses. 

For mine, it meant that it started acting a little weird during a flight and then it dropped out of the sky. The connectors inside looked loose but if that caused the crash it was caused bumpy the crash I won’t know. I bought a Mini 4 Pro from Costco after that. Their were things I liked better about the P4 Pro, including the manual shutter, but the software on the M4P takes much better low light pictures and the rolling shutter issue doesn’t seem to be much of a problem. But I make maps and large pictures for fun not a business.

Get you an older model, there's no shame in that. I got me a phantom 4 pro to educate a municipality on the benefits of drones and GIS. Just make sure you do the maintenance on it and the batteries. It's more budget "friendly" than an newer drone capable of your needs. Just remember you are also going to need the software to process the imagery. Good luck on your endeavors.

P4 still good for mapping because of the mechanical shutter. I wouldn’t use it for anything other than that though.

Honestly the P4P was a workhorse for so long and iconic i don't know if we'll see the likes of it again. We still use one for general mapping. Nothing complex and she still flies like she used to. You do have to start moving around software restrictions and things like that and batteries are becoming increasingly rare. We'll probably fly her untill we replace it with a mini or m3e We luckily have an old school electrical engineer in our parts, one of those that could fix a matrice with a paperclip and some tape. He's done wonders in keeping the drone flying.

Of all the drones I’ve used the Phantom 4 Pro was always my favorite for this!