DJI Phantom 3 Advanced review: The sweet spot for features, performance and price

DJI currently has three versions of its Phantom 3 drone: the Standard , Advanced and Professional . While there are several important differences between the entry-level Phantom 3 Standard ($799, £649 or AU$1,299) and its two linemates, the feature gap between the Professional and Advanced amounts to two things.

The DJI Phantom 3 Advanced might still be pricy, but the combination of excellent camera and flight performance and a well-designed app and controller make this simple-to-fly drone an easy recommendation.

DJI's Phantom 3 Advanced delivers excellent full-HD video; The convenience and safety features allow beginners to get flying fast; New sensors and an additional satellite navigation make flying indoors and outside more stable than its predecessors; Support DJI's Intelligent Flight options including autonomous waypoint navigation or Follow Me.

Battery life, while average for its class, can feel short at 20-ish minutes and extra batteries don't come cheap; The camera is permanently attached to the drone; Android device support is limited.

DJI Phantom 3 Advanced Review

DJI is leading the way in consumer drones, both in popularity and performance. The Phantom 3 Advanced ($999.99), the middle child in DJI's current generation of entry-level aircraft, is just as capable as its big brother, the Phantom 3 Professional ($709.00 at DJI) , in almost every regard. The only real difference is that the Professional captures video at up to 4K quality, while the Advanced is limited to 2.7K. The Professional is our Editors' Choice, but if you don't need to shoot at 4K (or if you want to spend a bit less), the Advanced is a fine alternative. DesignThe Phantom 3 Advanced ($559.00 at DJI)  is physically identical to the Phantom 3 Professional in almost every way. Only a small cosmetic change—the Advanced uses silver stickers on its propeller struts where the Professional has gold—separates the two. In terms of features, the two drones are also twins. They're both flown using the same remote control and smartphone app, which now supports some automated flight fe...

The DJI Phantom 3 Advanced is one of the best drones on the market thanks to a bevy of features and 2.7K video recording.

Easy to fly; Very stable in the air; Smooth video capture, even when in motion; 20mm wide-angle lens; 2.7K video; Raw and JPG still capture; High-quality Live View feed; Built-in GPS; Return-to-home function; Automated flight modes

No 4K support; Limited battery life; Wide-angle lens shows some edge distortion