Are the smart capture features on the Evo 2 just bad?

[uberamd]

Hey folks,

I’ve been playing around with some of the smart capture functions on my new Evo 2 Pro V2, and it’s leaving me scratching my head.

Regular old Orbit mode doesn’t seem to do a good job making a clean orbit from the center point you mark, almost as if the gimbal drifts. But more frustrating, the Hyperlapse orbit mode seems legitimately terrible.

You draw a box over the desired target, and the drone centers on the target. So far so good. But then it makes it’s straight left adjustment to do some distance calculations, and from there on it just doesn’t make a good orbit. Compared to what the Mavic Air does, it’s straight up terrible.

Don’t even get me started on active track. There’s plenty of YouTube videos showing how poorly it works.

Will these features ever get fixed? This drone isn’t exactly new.

 

[gschulzuio]

Have had good success with the smart orbit, at least when it locks on to target. Have found it useful to help offload some tasks when getting some movement, for example, set orbit, then manually raise/lower, push in, pull back make other "movements" to get interesting smooth footage. Tip would be to experiment with your orbit settings and practice.

 

[G_G]

@uberamd : You'll also love the new EVO 2 Pro 360° panos!
4 minutes just to complete 26 images that it can't even stitch together. DJI completes them in 30 seconds, and stitches them in another 30 seconds! That is 8x faster! Autel Robotics is definitely the tortoise in this race.

 

[gschulzuio]

You'll also love the new EVO 2 Pro 360° panos! 4 minutes just to complete 26 images that it can't even stitch together. DJI completes them in 30 seconds, and stitches them in another 30 seconds! That is 8x faster! Autel Robotics is definitely the tortoise in this race.

Yup, i do like the new pano's, particularly the sphere, great additions, its nice how the aircraft and gimbal takes time to get a stable image, granted could be faster in subsequent versions. otoh, if you just want speed for run and gun, grab the shot while a/c or gimbal still moving, stick with DJI.

 

[G_G]

Yup, i do like the new pano's, particularly the sphere, great additions, its nice how the aircraft and gimbal takes time to get a stable image, granted could be faster in subsequent versions. otoh, if you just want speed for run and gun, grab the shot while a/c or gimbal still moving, stick with DJI.

If you think that DJI in any way sacrifices quality for 8x faster speed on 360° panos, you would be sadly mistaken. DJI will not take any of the 26 pano shots until the aircraft and gimbal are perfectly still. Comparing apples to apples, a manual stitch from the original 26 images from the EVO 2 Pro is no better or sharper than a manual stitch from 26 original images taken by the Mavic 2 Pro in 30 seconds instead of FOUR minutes!

As to the 180° panos on the EVO 2 that take THREE minutes just to shoot, and then another THREE minutes to stitch while the FPV is completely blanked out, what was Autel Robotics even thinking?

 

[gschulzuio]

If you think that DJI in any way sacrifices quality for 8x faster speed on 360° panos, you would be sadly mistaken. DJI will not take any of the 26 pano shots until the aircraft and gimbal are perfectly still. Comparing apples to apples, a manual stitch from the original 26 images from the EVO 2 Pro is no better or sharper than a manual stitch from 26 original images taken by the Mavic 2 Pro in 30 seconds instead of FOUR minutes!

As to the 180° panos on the EVO 2 that take THREE minutes just to shoot, and then another THREE minutes to stitch while the FPV is completely blanked out, what was Autel Robotics even thinking?

Ah, hmm, oh, ok

 

[Saladshooter]

Ah, hmm, oh, ok

Unfortunately its true..... the Evo 2 blanks the screen and sits in air, processing the pano while you twiddle your thumbsticks and then once its done.... none of your shots line up anyway. I am hoping they keep working on it. I could handle stitching my own if it would allow me to turn off the in drone stitching feature as it does save all the photos for you but I can't stand waiting while it drains my battery for no reason.

 

[PingSpike]

Have you reported this to Autel?

 

[Saladshooter]

Have you reported this to Autel?

They are fully aware.... the EVO 2 tells you its turning off the screen while processing..... as they say, its a feature not a bug.

 

[Cicero24]

Yeah, the drone isn’t new and it’s features are subpar at best.

 

[uberamd]

Somehow I missed all these replies, sorry about that.

So I got another new Evo 2 Pro V2 just hours ago. Took it out to fly after doing a compass calibration, and here is a sample orbit with the center point made directly over the water tower:

You'll see it starts off ok, then the water tower just drifts out of the shot. I'm baffled.

Is this intentional? Am I misunderstanding what Orbit mode is? Is Orbit mode "we'll circle the object but not fix the camera on it" mode or something?

 

[Cicero24]

Nope. It’s just that bad. You’ll also notice the focus pumping in your shot too. Almost every mode on this thing blows. There’s people here that will defend this thing to death, but the facts are facts and you’re seeing the results for yourself. Some people are so rabid over DJI that they ignore these issues.

 

[uberamd]

Nope. It’s just that bad. You’ll also notice the focus pumping in your shot too. Almost every mode on this thing blows. There’s people here that will defend this thing to death, but the facts are facts and you’re seeing the results for yourself. Some people are so rabid over DJI that they ignore these issues.

That's crazy, how can you explain away this stuff?! A $100 HolyStone drone has a better Orbit mode than this.

This "Rugged" bundle was $2,147 with 2 batteries and a case that'll get you on the terrorist watch list if you bring it around in public. Toss in another $1272 for the smart controller whenever that comes out, and $212 for a 3rd battery, and you're at $3,631. Yikes.

Meanwhile, the DJI Air 2S bundle with 3 batteries and the smart controller is $1820 after tax -- meaning you can literally buy 2 Air 2S smart controller bundles for essentially the same cost as an Evo 2 Pro with 3 batteries and a smart controller. Now I know the DJI smart controller is old, but come on.

So yeah, I figure "alright, the Evo 2 Pro has a nice camera, is expensive, and has been out for quite a while -- surely the experience will be polished, right?" Seems not.

Took the 2nd battery out to the park, same story. The drone doesn't ever really get full signal strength to the RC for more than maybe 5% of the flight, otherwise its 4/5 bars of signal or less. Trying to do my first waypoint mission literally force rebooted my iPhone 12 Pro. And every time I go to land I get "Safety Status Unknown".

C'mon Autel. I want to support a DJI competitor so badly, but what are y'all doing? And when are we going to get a gimbal acceleration curve?

 

[Saladshooter]

Cicero.... I will gladly take that horrible EVO 2 off your hands for $500.....

"You'll see it starts off ok, then the water tower just drifts out of the shot. I'm baffled.

Is this intentional? Am I misunderstanding what Orbit mode is? Is Orbit mode "we'll circle the object but not fix the camera on it" mode or something?"

The Smart Orbit mode isn't as flexible in its settings but I think you will find it works better....

Autel really needs to keep working on its autonomous modes. Many of us are working to perfect our moves manually and use the EVO 2 in a professional manner but its nice to be backed up by quality automation.

 

[uberamd]

Autel really needs to keep working on its autonomous modes. Many of us are working to perfect our moves manually and use the EVO 2 in a professional manner but its nice to be backed up by quality automation.

That's a fair point, 100%. I'm just a filthy casual hobbiest who wants a nice camera in the sky that I can take cool videos and pictures with -- to me this isn't a money making tool or anything of the sort.

I totally need to work on my controls, but my goal is just to quickly capture some excellent looking shots of POI's I think look neat. And that's really what confuses me -- even companies like Hubsan have figured this out on their $400 drones.

 

[Saladshooter]

You deleted your post complaining about the cost.... I have an Air 2S Fly More Combo and it really is a complete package for 2/3 the cost of just the EVO 2 Pro. The Air 2S does just about everything right.

The few things missing from the Air 2S that are present on the EVO 2 Pro is the adjustable aperture, long flight time, and the superior obstacle avoidance. The radar mode on the EVO 2 is fantastic as it warns you of the distance to objects without actually having the OA on.

In the end I enjoy both drones and wish they could somehow combine all the best features into one unit..... The Mavic 3 will probably eventually check most of these boxes.

 

[uberamd]

You deleted your post complaining about the cost.... I have an Air 2S Fly More Combo and it really is a complete package for 2/3 the cost of just the EVO 2 Pro. The Air 2S does just about everything right.

The few things missing from the Air 2S that are present on the EVO 2 Pro is the adjustable aperture, long flight time, and the superior obstacle avoidance. The radar mode on the EVO 2 is fantastic as it warns you of the distance to objects without actually having the OA on.

In the end I enjoy both drones and wish they could somehow combine all the best features into one unit..... The Mavic 3 will probably eventually check most of these boxes.

Didn't mean to delete it. On my screen at least it's right above your previous reply -- comment #12. But thanks for the feedback on the Air 2S and the differences! I've had the Air 2S sitting on my desk for a while, but haven't taken it out of the box to fly yet as I'm debating returning it depending on how my new Evo 2 Pro was performs.

This doesn't even include my out of box issue with my Evo 2 controller, the fan literally makes a grinding noise fresh out of the package. And while Autel support was understanding about how frustrating the issue is, they have 0 spare V2 controllers so I need to send in a brand new controller for repairs. Not trying to throw shade, but it's really just been a crappy experience with this drone.

 

[Saladshooter]

And for those who live near restricted airspace... the EVO 2 can allow you to fly when DJI decides you can't.... there are many instances where the DJI app is wrong for one reason or another.

 

[Cicero24]

Just keep your 2s and be happy knowing it does what it’s supposed to. And…. the Salad guy isn’t kidding about the low ball offer, because Autel’s resale is really that crappy.

 

[Cicero24]

Not trying to throw shade, but it's really just been a crappy experience with this drone.

Yeah, it’s what they call “The Autel Experience”. Welcome to the party.