phantom or S800
 

...very interested in aerial videography....

pros and cons for the phantom vs S800 (same company).... the S800 seems to be a more pro product....

any advice out there ?

Re: phantom or S800
 

The S800 is definitely more of a pro product. It has features like waypoint tracking so you can plot its course on a map. It is also able to fly on 5 motors if one dies.

Being a hexacopter, it can carry a lot more weight than the Phantom, so it can take gimbals designed for heavier cameras. It can also carry a bigger battery, so you can potentially get 20+ minutes of flight time. With a gimbal, the Phantom only lasts 6-8 minutes in the air.

But the S800 is about 5x more expensive than the Phantom.. and that's without a gimbal. You also need basic soldering and wiring skills to set up the S800 as it comes completely unbuilt. You buy the basic kit which includes the motors, ESCs and frame, then you need to add the flight controller, RC gear, battery, camera equipment, etc. Whereas the Phantom comes completely ready to fly.

For basic aerial video, I'm happy with my Phantom for now.

Re: phantom or S800
 

As stated above a Phahtom is a boxed , ready to fly quad. All of the parameters of the flight controller have been dailed in. Its the only multirotor you will find with a "body" covering all the components you will have to learn on a larger multirotor.

A S800 is a larger ,pro rig but it has a lot of issues ,mostly a frame that isnt rigid enough that transfers vibes throught the frame.
You can get the s800 evo and its better but if you are going to get something at a pro level look into Cinestar or Mikrokopter for frames and stick with a DJI flight controller
They are,

Naza , Naza V2 , Wookong ,or Ace 2 all of these controllers do support GPS waypoint, and auto take off and land with the right hardware and configured correctly. But...to set it up correctly you need to know how to build a multirotor from scratch.

For now If I were you I would stick with a pantom. Learn to fly it, read RCGroups.com forums and absorb.

Re: phantom or S800
 

There are so many variables and I'm guessing by the way you've asked this question you've never flown either?

If your just starting out then the Phantom is the best way to go, you can mount a GoPro on it and shoot aerial footage to your hearts content for around $1000. And the best way to get good at AP is PRACTICE!

For you to get an S800 EVO to the point you are competent at shooting AP your looking at something more like $7500+ and that's not including the camera.

Phantom is a great place to start, plus I've flown enough DJI stuff to know that I would never trust it to fly an expensive camera and Gimbal, nothing any bigger than a Sony NEX5n and a fairly inexpensive brushless gimbal ($500) so if that's as high up the cinematic food chain you need to go then there are other more affordable solutions than the EVO S800.

If your going to want to fly more expensive cameras, Canon C300 or Red for example then you need to look at CineStar but then your at a whole other level $12,000 to $20,000. And yes I know you can get kits for less but by the time you factor in all the equipment you need to get to the level of flying this is about what it costs.

So I guess the trend here is to go with the Phantom. Despite the marketing hype from DJI, an expensive multirotor doesn't fly any better then the Phantom, they are just potentially more capable but they crash just the same and when they do they can become a very expensive pile of rubble in a matter of seconds.

Re: phantom or S800
 

I have Phantoms with H3-2D gimbals and an S800 with a Zenmuse Z15N gimbal.

The Phantom is amazing for what it costs, the big difference is the stability between the setups. The Zenmuse Z15N on the S800 has a third axis and as the aircraft yaws in the wind it keeps the footage rock steady.

The S800 handles better in higher winds than the Phantom.

The Wookong M in the S800 handles better when yawing than the Naza M in the Phantom which can drift.

The S800 is hugely more expensive and you wouldn't want to crash it!

The Phantom on the other hand bounces quite well.

Re: phantom or S800
 

Are you a camera operator, cinematographer or photographer? Into RC's?

If AP is your focus and you've never done it before then you have two main learning curves, learning to control a MR safely and learning to shoot aerial video or stills. Its hard to beat the Phantom for ease of use,
stability and cost. Its a great trainer and by the time you get enough confidence to fly more expensive camera's you'll have enough experience to make a more informed decision on whether you need an S800, Cinestar or something else altogether.