Ben CoxworthMarch 26, 2013Review: DJI Phantom quadcopter

Gizmag reviews the DJI Phantom quadcopter

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Whether you call it a quadcopter, quadrocopter, quadrotor, UAV or (gasp) a drone, DJI’s new GPS-equipped Phantom is certainly a nifty little radio-controlled aircraft. We first heard about the Phantom when it was officially launched this January and since then I've had a chance to try out the, uh – let’s call it a quadcopter – for myself. Here’s a quick look at my experiences with it, and I'll say this right now: the thing was more fun than a barrel full of flying monkeys.

Getting it togetherUpon opening the box, I discovered that the Phantom required some basic assembly. I followed along with one of the well-produced instructional videos on the DJI website, though, and it turned out to be pretty straightforward. I also downloaded the Quick Start Manual, just to make sure the video wasn’t leaving anything out.

Those videos – along with the manual, to a lesser extent – also proved invaluable when learning to fly the quadcopter.

Adding an eye in the skyThe Phantom is promoted as being an excellent aerial platform for the GoPro HERO actioncam, and it comes with an adjustable-angle mount designed specifically for the camera. Unfortunately, in order to fit the camera into that mount, you have to remove its protective outer housing. Additionally, that mount doesn’t have room for any of the HERO’s add-on modules, such as the LCD screen or extra battery.

Given that I anticipated making some unavoidably rough landings on the hard, uneven late-winter snow, I decided that my HERO wasn’t about to fly “unclothed.” There is a solution to this dilemma however – the GoPro’s housing can be mounted to the quadcopter in exactly the same way as the provided mount. Whichever method you choose, the camera ends up upside-down, so you’ll either want to enable its video-flipping feature, or flip the footage yourself in editing.

Does anyone here speak Phantom?When it was time for my first flight, I took the quadcopter to a nearby field, turned on its control unit first (as per the instructions), and then turned on the aircraft itself by installing its rechargeable 2200mAh 11.1 V lithium-polymer battery.

The Phantom proceeded to perform a self-check on its systems, and relayed its findings via its single prominent RGB LED indicator – something that it does every time you use it. While the GoPro mount is really just a nit-pick, this method of status display is one of two things that I think could actually stand to be improved.

The LED flashes on and off in various patterns of colors, first of all letting you know that the systems are warming up, and then potentially alerting you to the facts that the Phantom’s compass can’t be calibrated, it can’t find enough GPS satellites, or it’s just too cold. Unfortunately, unless you’ve used the aircraft many times, there’s no way of knowing which of those things these patterns mean, without having a printout or download of the manual close at hand – even then, cross-referencing the rapidly-blinking multiple colors with the written descriptions can be quite challenging. It would be far easier if the controller had a one-line calculator-like LCD screen, that displayed simple text messages like “Wait, initializing” or “Insufficient GPS satt.”

Getting it off the groundI did eventually get it into the air, although I still wasn’t entirely clear on whether or not it was able to access enough satellites for all of its GPS features to work. This was the first time I’d ever flown a remote-control aircraft of any kind, plus it turns out the field I’d chosen wasn’t really big enough, so ... well, the rough landings I’d anticipated did indeed happen. Some of them even incorporated a violent descent through tree branches. To the Phantom’s immense credit, though, the only damage it appeared to sustain was a snapped landing strut – not a disabling injury, as it turned out.

The next few times I flew it, I chose a much larger field and ensured that there were enough satellites, plus I was just generally more experienced. It was a blast. Really opening up the throttle, I found that the quadcopter could go fast (10 meters/32.8 feet per second, going forward), it could go high (I don’t know how high, but it looked kind of scary), and it responded to commands instantaneously.

Battery life for all of my flights was about ten minutes, which is right in keeping with DJI’s figures. Although I definitely would have preferred a longer duration, existing battery technology will only take you so far – additionally, the Phantom was lugging my GoPro, and the temperature outside was right around freezing.

Some people might not like the idea of having to pay for its dedicated controller, as the AR Drone (which at US$300 costs a little less than half as much as the $679 Phantom) simply utilizes the user’s smartphone. I found that the two physical joysticks really made controlling the quadcopter intuitive, however, in a way that I doubt touchscreen controls could.

A sense of directionMaking things easier was the option of flying in GPS Attitude mode. This allowed the Phantom to hold its position in mid-air, automatically compensating for wind gusts. Additionally, it kept the quadcopter’s inertia from carrying it forward when coming to stops – as soon as I released the throttle control, the aircraft stopped moving.

The Phantom’s Enhanced Fail-safe feature also made the whole experience less intimidating. If the quadcopter had lost contact with the controller (such as if it had exceeded its 300-meter/984-foot radio range, or the controller’s batteries died), it would have simply flown itself back to its take-off point.

I additionally experimented with its Intelligent Orientation Control, which is a handy feature for newbies like me. Ordinarily, when you want a remote-control aircraft to turn to your left (as an example), you have to first consider which way that aircraft is facing. If its nose is facing away from you, then the aircraft’s left is still your left – if the aircraft is coming towards you, however, then a left turn for it involves its moving to your right. The controls become reversed, which can be very disorienting.

By selecting one of the two Intelligent Orientation Control modes, however, a left turn on the controller will always result in the Phantom moving to your left – regardless of which way its front end is pointing. The same thing goes for right turns, obviously. While this would be impossible with a fixed-wing aircraft, it’s not such a tall order with a multi-directional, symmetrical-bodied quadcopter. It definitely makes those first flights simpler, although it’s probably not a feature you should come to rely on, plus it only works if the aircraft is at least 30 feet (nine meters) away.

Roll the videoViewing the GoPro footage afterwards, I noticed that the vibrations of the Phantom’s motors and/or props caused the video to sort of roll and jiggle. This is something that other users have also complained about, and it’s known as the Jell-O effect. It’s not a deal-breaker for people who just want to watch the footage for fun, but it could definitely be an issue for people who want to use it in a video project.

When I asked DJI about it, I was directed to a YouTube video in which it’s suggested that the camera be set to 60 fps, GPS Attitude mode not be used (the constant adjustments make the quadcopter fly rougher), and the propellers be balanced. It may be good advice, although it involves more tinkering and compromise than some people might like. I'm wondering if it could have been possible to include a layer of vibration-dampening material between the quadcopter and the camera mount, as a way of keeping the video from resembling a popular jelled dessert.

Of course, if you’re not even interested in shooting video at all, then it's not a problem.

Summing upI’m still very much getting the hang of the Phantom, and look forward to improving my flying skills. So far, however, things that I’ve liked have included: Tough constructionSimple assemblyBuilt-in GoPro attachment pointGPS-enabled position-holdingIntelligent Orientation ControlPhysical joysticks, as opposed to touchscreen slidersImpressive performance

As for some of the things that could be better ...

GoPro mount requires you to take off the camera housingThose enigmatic LED codesJell-O video

A picture’s worth a thousand words, though, so check out my video review below. It contains some rather spectacular crashes, plus you’ll get to see my home-made snow-landing pontoons in action.

Product page: DJI Phantom

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DJI Phantom飞行器

本coxworthmarch 26，2013review：DJI Phantom quadcopter

Gizmag评论DJI Phantom quadcopter

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无论你称它为直升机旋翼无人机，四轴飞行器，，或（喘息）无人机，道琼斯工业平均指数的新装备有GPS的幻影肯定是一个漂亮的小无线电控制的飞机。我们第一次听说幻影何时正式推出今年一月，自那时以来，我试了一下，嗯–让我们称它为自己–直升机。这是我的经验，这一看，我就说如下的话：是不是一个完整的飞猴桶更有趣。

得到它togetherupon打开盒子，我发现幽灵需要一些基本组件。我跟着的一个精心制作的教学视频，道琼斯工业平均指数的网站，虽然，它原来是很简单的。我还下载了快速启动手册，以确保视频没有留下任何东西。

那些视频–随着手动，在较小的程度上–也证明无价的当学飞直升机。

添加天空幻影眼是晋升为成为一名优秀的空中平台的GoPro英雄actioncam，它带有一个可调节角度安装专门设计的相机。不幸的是，为了将相机安装在这座山上，你必须移除它的保护外壳。此外，这座山没有任何英雄的附加模块，如液晶屏幕或额外电池的空间。

鉴于我期待做一些难免粗糙登陆难，不平的晚冬的雪，我决定，我的英雄不会飞的“赤身”。有了解决这一难题，但是–GoPro的房屋可以安装到直升机完全同样的方式提供的安装。不管你选择哪一种方法，相机都会以上下颠倒的方式结束，所以你会想让它的视频翻转功能，或者自己在编辑中的镜头。当它是我的第一次飞行的时间，我把直升机到附近的一个领域，转向控制单元的第一（按说明书），然后打开飞机本身安装可充电2200mAh 11.1 V锂聚合物电池。

幻影继续执行其系统自检，并将结果通过单一的突出RGB LED指示灯–东西，它每次使用它。而GoPro坐骑是真的只是一个吹毛求疵，这种状态显示方法是一个东西，我觉得其实可以站得到改善。

LED闪烁和关闭各种图案颜色，首先让你知道该系统升温，然后可能会提醒你，幽灵的罗盘无法校准的事实，它找不到足够的GPS卫星，或太寒冷。不幸的是，除非你用飞机多次，没有办法知道那些事情这些模式意味着，没有在手–甚至有打印或下载手动关闭，交叉引用的快速闪烁的多种颜色与文字说明可以是相当具有挑战性的。如果控制器有一一线计算器的液晶屏更容易显示简单的文本信息，如“等等，初始化”或“不够GPS时间饱。”

它得到了地终于把它变成空气，虽然我还没有对它是否能获得足够的卫星对所有的GPS功能的工作完全清楚。这是我第一次坐过的任何一种，遥控飞机，加上原来我选择的是不是真的足够大的领域，所以…嗯，我预期的粗着陆确实发生了。他们中的一些人甚至在树枝上加入了暴力的后裔。对于幻象的巨大的信用，虽然，唯一的损害似乎是一个啪的着陆支柱，而不是一个禁用的伤害，因为它原来。

接下来的几次我飞，我选择了一个更大的领域，并确保有足够的卫星，再加上我只是一般经验更丰富。那是一次爆炸。真的放开油门，我发现直升机可以快速（10米/ 32.8英尺每秒，前进），它可以高（我不知道有多高，但看起来有点吓人），它对命令的瞬间。

电池寿命我所有的航班约十分钟，这符合DJI的数字是正确的。虽然我肯定会有一个持续时间较长，现有的电池技术只会带你到目前为止–此外，幽灵是拖着我的GoPro，和外面的温度在冰点。

有些人可能不喜欢这个主意有支付其专用控制器，为AR无人机（这300美元成本一半以上多达679美元的幻影）少一点简单的利用用户的智能手机。我发现这两个物理操纵杆控制直升机真的直觉，但是，在某种程度上，我怀疑触摸屏控制可以。

有directionmaking事情更容易在GPS姿态模式飞行的选项。这让幻影在空中保持其位置，自动补偿的阵风。此外，它把直升机的惯性推进来停止–我尽快释放油门控制，飞机停止移动。幽灵的增强的故障安全功能也使整个体验更不那么吓人了。如果直升机与控制器失去联系（如要超过300米/ 984英尺的广播范围，或控制器的电池死了），它只会飞回自己的起飞点。

我还尝试了它的智能化控制，这是像我这样的新手方便的功能。通常，当你想要一个遥控飞机向左转（举个例子），你必须首先考虑的方式是面对飞机。如果它的鼻子是从你的距离，那么飞机的左侧仍然是你的左边，如果飞机是朝你，但是，然后左拐，它涉及到您的权利。控件成为逆转，这是很令人迷惑。

通过选择一个智能定位控制模式，然而，控制器上的左转弯会得到幻影移动到你的左–不管其前端指向。同样的事情也会进行正确的转变。这将是一个固定翼飞机是不可能的，这不是一个很高的要求提供多方位、对称体直升机。这绝对让那些第一次航班简单，虽然它可能不是一个功能都要依靠，加上它只能如果飞机至少30英尺（九米）远。

卷的GoPro视频观看录像之后，我注意到幽灵的电机和/或道具振动引起的视频类卷和微动。这是其他用户也抱怨，这是被称为果冻效应。这不是一个断路器的人谁只是想看的视频有趣的镜头，但它肯定是一个问题的人谁想要使用它在视频项目。

当我问DJI呢，我是针对一个YouTube视频，它的建议，相机被设置为每秒60帧，GPS姿态模式不能使用（不断调整使直升机飞行），和螺旋桨平衡。这可能是很好的建议，尽管它涉及更多的调整和妥协比一些人可能喜欢。我想知道是否可能包括直升机和摄影机之间有一层减震材料，作为一种保持视频从类似于流行的胶冻甜点。

当然，如果你不感兴趣的拍摄视频的话，那么它的不是一个问题。

总结UPI是仍然非常得挂魅影，期待提高自己的飞行技巧。到目前为止，然而，我喜欢的东西，包括：严格施工简便assemblybuilt在GoPro附件pointgps启用位置holdingi