DJI Phantom 3 Comparison Guide – Standard Vs. Advanced Vs. Professional

DJI drones are some of the best known in the market, and have been known for their advanced features and flying capabilities. Their Phantom 3 range of quadcopters has by far been the most famous and popular among fans, and thus its no surprise that DJI has done everything to expand it well.

Initially, the Phantom 3 was split into three models – Advanced, Professional and Standard, with a new DJI Phantom 3 4K version released as well. The Standard marks an affordable entry-level, where as the Advanced and Professional models are a step up in terms of features and specs.

So, how does the DJI Phantom 3 range differ from each other?

Camera

One of the main differences between the Phantom drones is the camera capability. The DJI Phantom 3 Standard is equipped with a 12MP camera that can record footage in 2.7K resolutions at 30fps, carried at 40Mbps. The Phantom 3 Advanced on the other hand, has a Sony Exmor 12.4 sensor that records in 2.7K at 30fps with a 40Mbps bitrate.

The top end Phantom 3 is the Professional version, which also comes with Sony sensors but can additionally record in 4K resolutions at 30fps and a bitrate of 60Mbps. All 3 devices have features like auto exposure, single shot, bracketed frames, burst mode and time-lapse shooting.

Flying capabilities

The flying abilities of the 3 Phantom models aren’t very different. All of them fly at 16 m/s, ascend at 5 m/s and descend at 3 m/s, along with a maximum above sea level altitude of 6,000 meters. The Standard version us equipped with GPS functionality, where as the Advanced and Professional use GLONASS.

The models also have a slight difference in flight range. The Standard model has a range of up to 1,000m using the included controller, while the Advanced and Professional models can go up to 2,000m away from the remote controller.

In terms of flying features, they all have Follow Me, Point of Interest, Waypoints and Intelligent Orientation Control.

Battery

The Standard and Advanced models both use a 15.2v, 4,480mAh batteries that can charge at 57W, while the Professional also has the same battery size but it charges at 100W instead.

When it comes to flight time though, it’s the Standard that does the best. It has a flight time of about 25 minutes, as opposed to the other two models that feature a flight time of 23 minutes. Not a huge difference, true, but when flying drones every minute matters!

Price

The price is where the biggest point of different comes in place. A big question to consider is whether you need the extra features for a higher price jump?

Originally, the DJI Phantom 3 Standard costs $799, the Phantom 3 Advanced costs $999 and the Phantom 3 Professional costs $1,259.

While the DJI drones are one of the best in the industry, they definitely are on the higher end of drone prices. Picking one can be a big decision. Read through our DJI Phantom reviews below to help make up your mind!