Phantom 2 vs F550

[Flydigital]

I've been flying the Phantom2 and F550 for a few weekends now and getting the hang of things. One thing puzzling me is that the Phantom seems better than the F550.
It is lighter and so more agile, it flies easily for 17minutes plus loaded with gimbal, goPro and FPV transmitter.
The F550 seems to get thrown around in the wind almost more than the Phantom and batteries go down pretty quickand are very fiddly and slow to charge.
As far as I know the F550 can't lift anything more than a GoPro so there's no advantage of having more lift power or am I missing something? I thought the Phantom would be very different and lack the capability to film but it seems to make the 550 unnecessary.

Any of you with experience of both I'd be interested to know your view on this!

 

[Bartman]

FlyD,

have you adjusted any of the gains with the F550 to improve how it handles? Tried different props or batteries? The F550 should be very happy to lift batteries, GoPro, etc. so there might be something limiting how much throttle you have available. are you using DJI 30A Opto ESC's or something else? Other ESC's need to be calibrated to your radio's throttle output channel.

Bart

 

[Flydigital]

Hi Bart,
No tried adjusting any gains yet but will do when I have the BTU device connected so I can make changes in the field. I actually think the 550 flies OK, has good throttle and lift. It's just that the Phantom was very good too and a lot easier. I had expected it to be more basic and limited but it isn't.
The ESCs I have are the standard DJI30As.

 

[dashti1767]

I've been flying the Phantom2 and F550 for a few weekends now and getting the hang of things. One thing puzzling me is that the Phantom seems better than the F550.
It is lighter and so more agile, it flies easily for 17minutes plus loaded with gimbal, goPro and FPV transmitter.
The F550 seems to get thrown around in the wind almost more than the Phantom and batteries go down pretty quickand are very fiddly and slow to charge.
As far as I know the F550 can't lift anything more than a GoPro so there's no advantage of having more lift power or am I missing something? I thought the Phantom would be very different and lack the capability to film but it seems to make the 550 unnecessary.

Any of you with experience of both I'd be interested to know your view on this!

Hi Flydigital,

I've been searching the net to find the best choice between phantom 2 with zenmuse or F550 with zenmuse.

Through most of the videos taken by both with zenmuse, I noticed that phantom 2 takes smoother videos especially when fast maneuver is required for a shot.
Maybe those with phantom 2 are better rc fliers or phantom 2 actually does a better job in taking Aerial videos than F550.

your opinion kind of confirmed my thoughts.

If any body think Im awfully wrong, please correct me guys because I need to decide on which one is better for AV considering I will be attaching zenmuse with hero3+ black.

Regards

dashti

 

[Tahoe Ed]

Unless your F550 is one of the newer ones with the E300 propulsion system, it will be less efficient than the P2. The best upgrade you can do is to install the E300 esc's and props on your F550. You don't say whether you are using 3S or 4S lipos and what ma. I am using 2x4S 4000ma with an aeroXCraft LG and a GPH3 on a H3-2D with iOSD and video down link. It flys fine and I get about 10minutes. It will never be able to fly as long as the P2 with the smart battery.

 

[dashti1767]

thanks for the heads up regarding the importance of using the new E300 rather than stock F550 ESC, Props and motors.

honestly flight time , payload, or money is not an issue for me. I just need to take best possible AV using hero3+ Black with gimbal yet the AV should be smooth and agile and stable as much as possible, so if I add E300 to F550 and zenmuse, will I get better AV than p2, or just equal results?
Thanks again for prompt reply !

 

[btollenaar]

What did you decide? I'm in the same boat...

 

[dashti1767]

What did you decide? I'm in the same boat...

I decided to pull the trigger on Phantom 2 with Zenmuse due to the following reasons [in my openion],

1. Relatively has more compact size with easier transportation especially while traveling

2. Easier to learn & fly than F550 especially when agility and faster maneuver is required.

2. Not less performance than F550..,or at least not much less in my opinion.

3. Phantom 2 has already enough flight time including zenmuse + FPV + IOSD + VTX ...thanx to smart battery efficiency (I learned this info from Taheo Ed)

4. Since its my first AV Multirotor, it makes sense to start with phantom 2. I mean you should have a phantom in your soon to be expand multirotor collection