FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 – Underwater Drones Comparison

One of the main reasons I decided to make the FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 comparison was since many people thought that the FIFISH V6 is a P3 replacement. Well, not only it is not a replacement, the FIFISH P3 will still be the best fit as an underwater drone for many people.

So, after my latest comparison of the V6 with the Gladius Mini, it is time to compare these 2 QYSEA siblings, the FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3.

I must say that it was a bit tricky to compare these 2 underwater drones. This was only due to one big main reason – which is the fact that the V6 and the P3 are not competing with each other.

So, you may wonder, if they don’t compete with each other, why comparing them from the first place? Well, the answer to this is very simple. I made this comparison, so you will know which one you better choose for your underwater tasks.

Again, since these 2 underwater drones don’t compete with each other, it is essential to understand the basics of underwater drones. In short, an underwater drone is basically a robot that allows you to record anything you need under the water.

With that said, there are two main fundamentals which I will compare:

1. Maneuverability
2. Filming quality.

Except for these 2 fundamentals, I will also compare other aspects as well, so make sure to read this FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 comparison till the end.

FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 – Maneuverability Comparison

Well, no surprise in here… if you read our post about the introduction of the FIFISH V6, you surely know that no one can compete with the FIFISH V6 in its maneuverability. The FIFISH V6 is the only OMNI directional underwater drone in the world.

When seeing the FIFISH V6, it has 6 thrusters, which means 3 thrusters more than the FIFISH P3. These 3 additional thrusters bring freedom in its maneuverability, which the FIFISH P3 cannot achieve.

Basically, the FIFISH P3 can go forward, backward, up, down, left and right. The FIFISH V6 has additional capabilities which it can tilt, yaw and roll in 360 degrees in each direction.

Here is a short video demonstrating the freedom of the FIFISH V6:

FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 – Controlling the ROV

Like any underwater drone out there, both the V6 and P3 have a remote controller which is very easy to use.  The FIFISH V6, in addition, can be controlled by a VR, which basically gives you head control. Among all underwater drones I know, head control is only possible with the FIFISH V6.

FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 – Auto Depth

Regarding the depth, whatever you will set the drone to be in, both the FIFISH V6 and the FIFISH P3 will keep their level.

FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 – Posture Lock

Another unique element the FIFISH V6 has its the posture lock, which means, you can lock the V6 at any angle you want, for example pointing 60 degrees towards the bottom during an inspection. And while you move it left, right, up or down, the V6 will keep pointing at 60 degrees towards the bottom.

The FIFISH P3, unfortunately, does not have this feature. Well, it is not relevant from the first place for a drone that cannot tilt, roll or yaw.

FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 – Camera Comparison

The camera comparison is a super important feature in an underwater drone which is one of the main factors when you need to decide on an underwater drone.

I must say, that only the camera itself, can be very expensive. And each additional feature in the camera can make a huge difference in the final price of the drone. Usually, companies are mentioning that their camera is 4K, letting you think that this is enough for producing high-quality pictures.

Don’t get me wrong, 4K is awesome, but just saying 4K is far from being enough. 4K does not say much about the quality of the picture nor the video.

In general, a 4K camera only means what will be the final image size that the camera produces. It does not say anything about the quality, it doesn’t say anything about how much light the video will have. And it doesn’t say anything about color correction nor white balancing. I can continue about what 4K does not mean in terms of quality. For sure, some HD cameras are producing a better picture than 4K cameras.

for example, My Canon M50 camera can shoot in HD and in 4K, and most of the time I film in HD and not in 4K. There are many reasons for that, and I won’t get into that in here (after all, this post is not about teaching you here how to film videos, or shoot high-quality pictures).

Underwater Problem – The Lack of Light

As I said before, the camera quality in underwater drones is super important, one of the main reasons for that is the lack of lighting under the water.

The lack of light basically affects the way you see the colors under the water, and as much as you go deeper, the lack of light becomes worse, till it won’t let you see anything properly. So, the camera features in underwater drones become crucial if your tasks go deeper than 100 feet.

Here is how the colors are affected in our eyes as much as we go deeper into the sea:

FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 – LED Light

In this category, both the V6 and the P3 are having the same strength of led lights. They both have 2 LED lights in front of the drone. Each LED light has a strength of 2000 lumens, which together they come to a total of 4000 lumens. A very impressive strength that will provide you with enough lighting under the water.

FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 – Low light capabilities

The part which is responsible for low light capabilities is the aperture. Aperture basically means how open the lens of the camera is. A higher aperture (indicated by a small value) means that the picture will have more light in it, and Lower aperture (indicated by a higher value) means the picture will have lower light in it.

The aperture of the FIFISH V6 is 2.5 and for the FIFISH P3 is 2.8.

I must note that the aperture itself affects the price of the camera very much. In photography, 2 lenses with the same features can have a huge difference in price when it comes to aperture. For example, a high-quality canon zoom lens with an aperture of 4.5 will be almost 10 times less than the same lens with an aperture of 2.0.

It is important to say that a higher aperture, which is less of f/4.0, can be quite expensive. Here is a comparison between two cameras featuring the differences in the low light capabilities. The camera on the right side (SwellPro PL4) is having an aperture of 2.0 which is the highest aperture possible.

FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 – Is it all about Aperture?

The FIFISH V6 is having a better aperture (2.5) than the FIFISH P3 (2.8). However, before you think that this is it, there is another important element when we need to film in low light conditions. This element is called ISO. The ISO basically measures the sensitivity of the image sensor ( I will get into the sensor part in the next section). A lower ISO value means that the camera is less sensitive to light. With that said, the maximum ISO value for the FIFISH P3 is 12800, while the FIFISH V6 is having a maximum ISO of 6400 – half of the P3. When combining the aperture and the ISO together, the FIFISH P3 will have a brighter image than the FIFISH V6.

FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 – Focus Modes

Another unique feature the FIFISH P3 has is the existence of 3 focus modes. If you are an underwater photographer, this section is extremely important for you.

In short, any photographer cares a lot about focus, and the FIFISH P3 supports 3 different focus modes:

1. Normal focus mode.
2. Auto-focus mode.
3. Micro-focus mode.

While all underwater drones have a normal focus mode (including the V6, Gladius Mini, and etc), the FIFISH P3 has auto-focus which means that no matter what the P3 is looking at, it will focus on it. This feature is extremely important if you care about high-quality videos.

Here is a video showing the Auto-Focus mode in the FIFISH P3:

FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 – Slow Motion

Slow-motion basically means how many frames the drone can capture in each second. The FIFISH V6 can record great slow-motion videos. And to be precise, it can record an amazing 8 times slow-motion videos. The FIFISH P3, on the other hand, cannot record in slow motion at all.

FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 – Image Size

Another aspect where the FIFISH P3 is better than the FIFISH V6 is in its picture quality. The FIFISH P3 is having a 20MP while the FIFISH V6 is having a 12MP.

FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 – Camera Sensor

Both underwater drones are using CMOS sensors, however, the P3 is the winner on this category. The FIFISH P3 is having a 1-inch sensor, while the FIFISH V6 is having a size of 1/2.3 inch.

You can read more about CMOS sensors at the BASLER website to better understand the importance of sensor size.  In short, a bigger sensor size means:

• High speeds (frame rates)
• Improved noise performance
• High resolution (number of pixels)
• Strong dynamic performance
• Low power consumption
• Improved quantum efficiency
• Strong price/performance ratio
• Improved color concepts

If you look closely you will see a sharper image, even thou the picture on the left has a better aperture of 2.2.

Just before I sum everything up about the camera, I think that a good way to emphasize how great the quality of the camera the FIFISH P3 has is by the knowing that National Geographic TM is using the FIFISH P3 in some of their underwater videos.  Do I really need to say more than that?

Aperture	2.8	2.5
CMOS	1 Inch	1/2.3 Inch
Camera Quality	20MP	12MP
Light	4000 Lumens	4000 Lumens
ISO	Max ISO of 12800	Max ISO of 6400.
Live Video Resolutions	Support 720p at 30 FPS and 1080p at 25 FPS.	Supports 720p up to 240 FPS
Live Video Resolutions	3 Focus modes – Normal, Auto & Microfocus	Supports only normal focus mode (like all other underwater drones).
Camera Field of View	162 Degrees	166 Degrees
Image Stabilization	No	Yes
White Balancing	Yes	Yes

So, except for the 2.8 aperture which is being compensated by other great camera features, the camera of the P3 is much better than the FIFISH V6.

FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 – General Comparison

Except for the maneuverability and camera quality, there are other things in an underwater drone we need to check like battery life, speed and etc.

Battery Life	4.5 hours	4.5 hours
Speed	1.5 m/s	1.5 m/s
Thrusters	3	6
Weight	4.2Kg	3.9Kg
SD Card	64GB	Up to 256GB

FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 – RC Frequency

Another important issue about RC devices it’s the radio frequency they are using. While the FIFISH P3 is using the 2.4GHz, the FIFISH V6 is using the 5GHz frequency. While you might be asking yourself, why is that important? Well, this should be very important for you depends on the country you live in.

Most of the world does not restrict the usage of the 2.4GHz, several countries totally restrict the 5GHz and above. So, assuming that you decided to purchase the FIFISH V6 but you live like in a country that restricts it, the drone will be blocked at the customs and you will be charged for several fees including the shipping fee for returning it back to the place it was originally shipped from.

You can read here which countries allow and which countries restrict the usage of 5GHz. Do yourself a favor, and don’t try to import it illegally. There are lots of people that thought they can but eventually they paid a lot of money but did not get the drone.

So, basically, the FIFISH P3 has another advantage over the FIFISH V6 with its WiFi frequency.

By the way, not only the FIFISH V6 is using the 5GHz, but also almost all other underwater drones. That gives a huge advantage for the P3 in the underwater drones market.

Conclusion

Well, the FIFISH V6 vs FIFISH P3 comparison was not easy, and despite the fact that usually when we compare between 2 devices, in the conclusion we give our recommendation about the better one. This time, it won’t be possible.

As said in the beginning, the V6 and the P3 are not competing with each other. Some things the V6 can do, while the P3 cannot do. But, yet, there are lots of other things which the P3 can do and the V6 can’t. Your decision shall go according to your needs.

If you need an underwater drone that can move freely for some epic videos, or for sophisticated inspections tasks, I will suggest you go with the FIFISH V6. However, if you need a robust underwater drone that can provide you with better video footage, no doubts, go with the FIFISH P3.

In addition, if you live in a country that restricts the 5GHz than you have no choice but choosing the FIFISH P3. Not only that, if your travel between countries, remember that you won’t be able to take the FIFISH V6 to every country. So in case you take a flight to another country, which restricts the 5GHz, your underwater drone will be confiscated by the customs authorities.

I hope you enjoyed reading this comparison between the FIFISH V6 to P3. Let me know what you think in the comments section below.

And like always, till the next time, fly safe and tight lines.