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| I have a lot of experience with the Solo, 3DR Iris, and the Phantom. Here's what I know, for what it's worth:
The Solo costs $1000. Batteries are $150 apiece. It doesn't come with a camera. If you just want a camera for flying with, or take basic video, get a Xiaomi Yi camera. It's the same basic thing as a GoPro, but costs 1/4 as much. If you want "nice" video, consider getting a gimbal. All up (Solo, gimbal, camera), it's about $1800. It's more expensive than the Phantom for the same out-of-the-box capability.
Where it gets interesting is "beyond the box". The Solo is, essentially, a Linux computer. The code that runs it is widely known, freely available for download, and you can modify it to do whatever you want it to do. There's an accessory bay on the bottom where new devices can be attached and communicate with the Solo So for things like NDVI cameras, there are ways to control them, record images with them, and so on.
A drone is a "computing platform", just like a phone, computer, or other "tech" system is. The drone hardware itself is just a small part of the overall picture. I prefer 3DR obviously, since it lets me do things I wouldn't be able to with DJI.
The Phantom is obviously a good drone, a lot of people use it. But in my experience, the Solo is just as easy to fly, and the software it runs gives it a lot more capability than the Phantom. So it's the one I prefer.
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3D Robotics Solo Drone - and drones in general
