DJI Phantom 5 Pro V1 Just Released

[dougcjohn]

Thankfully I got rid of my Typhoon H Plus 3 days ago, with all the accessories, and invested on adding another M2P with Hassy, but this time around I went with the enterprise package instead of the Anafi after a lot of research.

I will be doing a lot of traveling this season from Hawaii to Cali since I’m not ready to get rid of my current contracts in California and I need a compact sUAS for travel.

And if the new “Super Typhoon H Plus” is better and greater in terms of build quality, satellite connectivity, firmware reliability. I’ll come back to the Yuneec family, but for now, I’m done supporting Yuneec.

I do love flying my Typhoon H Plus, because it easily paid for itself, but Yuneec has a lot to work on. Thus, I’m done.

Congrats on the M2E Dual... Sweet Bird! Love those heated batteries, may grab a few for the M2P.
Let me know what ya think. With both using same FLIR sensor, the M2ED will be great with the additional sensors of the M2E... using in dual roles... 1) M2P and 2) Thermal... best of both worlds justifies the cost compared to the Anafi-T.

I ordered the Anafi-T... through Adorama to have the ability to return if desired. Interesting to note, I normally order via B&H Photo, but recently they applied Tax and noticed Adorama does not apply Tax.. that alone saved more than a $100 on the Anafi-T. Found it odd... both NY Shops, thought I'd note for those purchasing with both B&H & Adorama.

 

[R.P..R]

Congrats on the M2E Dual... Sweet Bird! Love those heated batteries, may grab a few for the M2P.
Let me know what ya think. With both using same FLIR sensor, the M2ED will be great with the additional sensors of the M2E... using in dual roles... 1) M2P and 2) Thermal... best of both worlds justifies the cost compared to the Anafi-T.

I ordered the Anafi-T... through Adorama to have the ability to return if desired. Interesting to note, I normally order via B&H Photo, but recently they applied Tax and noticed Adorama does not apply Tax.. that alone saved more than a $100 on the Anafi-T. Found it odd... both NY Shops, thought I'd note for those purchasing with both B&H & Adorama.

I got mine through Adorama, I believe B&H started collecting tax only in selected states, and California is not yet affected, I could be wrong. I mostly shop through Amazon due to my prime account, 2 day shipping, but the enterprise dual wasn’t available.

But I did get my accessories through Amazon. Batteries and Lowepro fastpack, and use the credit from the Evo that I returned.

 

[PatR]

Just for general info, Amazon is charging sales tax on orders going to California addresses. They’ve been doing that with my orders for some time now.

Anyone in California looking to place high dollar orders might want to look at alternative suppliers to compare pre-tax pricing against after tax pricing before tapping a “buy” button. A somewhat lower pretax price at Amazon can end up costing more after tax if another seller does not collect tax, even if the selling price is higher than Amazon’s.

 

[Fred Garvin]

@PatR ....is that for everyone in California, or does it depend on supplier source?

In Texas, I get charged Sales Tax for anything that originates in Texas.....mainly any “Same Day” or “1 Day” delivery item fulfilled from an Amazon Warehouse here in Texas......or some suppliers that do business from a state that must charge/pay Texas sales tax. Many times I can choose a supplier that does not charge sales tax, but I may have longer shipping times.....which is okay with me, depending on the amount of savings. Saving $5 is not enough to bother with, but with a big ticket item, saving $450 in sales tax is.

 

[Phaedrus]

Many states are starting to and SCOTUS said they can:

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/17-494_j4el.pdf

The Ultimate Guide to Online Sales Tax (2023)

Each state has its own laws when it comes to online sales tax. Find out what they are with the ultimate guide to internet sales tax.

smallbiztrends.com

 

[dougcjohn]

Amazon has been collection taxes for Iowa for years (may be because Amazon has storage farms in IA)... used to be only if supplier had a state presence but last 18 months or so it's been everything Amazon. My biggest shock was eBay, they started in January collecting a tax on ALL eBay sales for Iowa... used items or new, all taxed. That's changed my eBay shopping a lot.

As indicated above, B&H Photo is now collecting IA Tax on all sales, and Adorama is NOT collecting any Tax.
I am probably wrong (my Wife often informs me) but I thought B&H and Adorama were both NY entities.... but apparently one is NJ.

So Adorama is now my new preferred photography & drone supply Internet shop... still have 1 local Photography store remaining, carries a great inventory on traditional photo supplies and amazed they have remained in business.

I do like Adorama, they carry a large amount of drones and great selection of DJI parts... I've found many S1000 or older components that pop up in inventory. On the Camera & Lenses, they basically carry the same as B&H... I used to think they were warehouse associated.

 

[dougcjohn]

I got mine through Adorama, I believe B&H started collecting tax only in selected states, and California is not yet affected, I could be wrong. I mostly shop through Amazon due to my prime account, 2 day shipping, but the enterprise dual wasn’t available.

But I did get my accessories through Amazon. Batteries and Lowepro fastpack, and use the credit from the Evo that I returned.

In bouncing back & forth, I'd have to agree with you @R.P..R on the M2E Dual. The more I dig in reviews or opinions, the M2ED may be the better choice over the Anafi-T, despite the extra $1K. Not for the "Kit" items, and not for it's 1 Battery vs 3 on Anafi-T. Although the full sensors, kit & Hardcase do have worth too, along with the heated battery option for my mid-west zone.

But the Thermal "software" component is more feature rich and uses the same color palette & isotherm palettes the larger XT & XT2 utilizes for consistency... and it looks like the MSX may be more functional than the Anafi's version. The additional core features on the ME series has worth too: the top strobe and the use of bottom LED's activated as bottom strobes or landing light provide a nice perk and usefulness. I also like the Discreet mode (all lights off), I can see that handy at times. Overall, the software is simply more complete and as all DJIl, able to use the array of 3rd party software & add-ons.

Themal Camera.... same, RGP... the Anafi has the edge, Gimbal range Anafi 180 is a plus. But software & compatibility with my M2P/Z has worth: same charger paks, props, etc.

Plus, my M2P accepts the spare Zoom Gimbal and I'm sure if needed for some reason, the M2ED would accept either the Pro or Zoom camera gimbal since both are in the 2 versions of FW.

For the basic Thermal side, I was more Anafi-T but the software layer is a bit limited in comparison.
I'll experiment with the Anafi-T a bit more, but it's beginning to justify the extra cost of the M2ED.

 

[R.P..R]

In bouncing back & forth, I'd have to agree with you @R.P..R on the M2E Dual. The more I dig in reviews or opinions, the M2ED may be the better choice over the Anafi-T, despite the extra $1K. Not for the "Kit" items, and not for it's 1 Battery vs 3 on Anafi-T. Although the full sensors, kit & Hardcase do have worth too, along with the heated battery option for my mid-west zone.

The final deciding factor is when I saw it in action, with a speaker attachment (that speaker is loud) Honolulu FD are using the M2P dual to compliment their Matrice 200 and P4P but the Mavic is the department’s workhorse.

It looks like I will be getting into a new field as a volunteer, and I have a good feeling that it’s going to lead somewhere, because I really don’t want to get into real estate and deal with broke agents promising exposure if I shoot pro bono or worst be a wedding aerial videographer that’s a dime a dozen here in Hawaii. I just have to get my certs up to date by the end of October, so I can train with (not FD for now) Oahu PD.

 

[dougcjohn]

The final deciding factor is when I saw it in action, with a speaker attachment (that speaker is loud) Honolulu FD are using the M2P dual to compliment their Matrice 200 and P4P but the Mavic is the department’s workhorse.

It looks like I will be getting into a new field as a volunteer, and I have a good feeling that it’s going to lead somewhere, because I really don’t want to get into real estate and deal with broke agents promising exposure if I shoot pro bono or worst be a wedding aerial videographer that’s a dime a dozen here in Hawaii. I just have to get my certs up to date by the end of October, so I can train with (not FD for now) Oahu PD.

Great direction you're tracking... Best of luck on it too!
Ya, I'd agree... the speaker is loud and that certainly has value in multiple situations.

I haven't had a chance to compare directly with the Anafi-T yet... you mentioned previously you saw the Anafi Thermal, in you observations & opinion is there a strong difference between the two? I'm not sure if there's a major difference in capability since both sensors, but I like the color pallets on the M2ED better.

 

[R.P..R]

Great direction you're tracking... Best of luck on it too!
Ya, I'd agree... the speaker is loud and that certainly has value in multiple situations.

I haven't had a chance to compare directly with the Anafi-T yet... you mentioned previously you saw the Anafi Thermal, in you observations & opinion is there a strong difference between the two? I'm not sure if there's a major difference in capability since both sensors, but I like the color pallets on the M2ED better.

The owner is also a member on here, I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, but here’s my quick 2cents. It’s a great bird, from what I’ve seen and experienced, I am more comfortable flying the Mavic 2 Pro in higher wind conditions, and comparison reviews from respected commercial pilots are already out in YouTube and blog post.