Autel Evo II Pro Observations
- Thread starter Autelpilotsnumpty
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Just did it. Waited for the super windy Scottish Highland weather to calm down.
Flew it straight out of the box with the exception of a compass calibration.
Will feed back in 20 minutes.
In the middle of reinstalling my system software.
On quick glance of the stills, the lower extreme corners at f2.8, as per my test in the kitchen, are busy and soft. That, to me would be a lens issue and not a deal breaker.
There is a slight amount of chromatic aberration, but not as bad as the others I have tested, this to me, would be a lens issue, but not a deal breaker.
At least the flare seems normal and not super flare I was getting before.
Oddly some of the stills on the left appear slightly soft on the left, on the right there is a sweet spot and it looks as I would expect from a correctly aligned lens.
It is possible as I have not done a gimbal calibration or IMU that this may get sorted when I do this.
That said, the other x3 Evo 2 Pros I had also tested, had this issue, even after calibration, but worse.
This is perplexing so will check this on my laptop.
drive.google.com
The video however is an oddity, when hovering seems lovely and sharp.
When moving, however the left side is blurred more in comparison to the right.
The slight drifting, I am not worried about, as the last x3 drones had this fixed with the firmware update.
This is all quick checking, in between shut downs, restarts, installs and configuration of my desktop machine.
Looking on my laptop the road video is the same, slightly soft in motion on the left but on the right not so much. I am certain this is not correct. Slightly distracting to me, but others may not notice. Need to check this on a huge screen to be certain.
On quick glance of the stills, the lower extreme corners at f2.8, as per my test in the kitchen, are busy and soft. That, to me would be a lens issue and not a deal breaker.
There is a slight amount of chromatic aberration, but not as bad as the others I have tested, this to me, would be a lens issue, but not a deal breaker.
At least the flare seems normal and not super flare I was getting before.
Oddly some of the stills on the left appear slightly soft on the left, on the right there is a sweet spot and it looks as I would expect from a correctly aligned lens.
It is possible as I have not done a gimbal calibration or IMU that this may get sorted when I do this.
That said, the other x3 Evo 2 Pros I had also tested, had this issue, even after calibration, but worse.
This is perplexing so will check this on my laptop.
EvoIIPro_Test - Google Drive
drive.google.com
The video however is an oddity, when hovering seems lovely and sharp.
When moving, however the left side is blurred more in comparison to the right.
The slight drifting, I am not worried about, as the last x3 drones had this fixed with the firmware update.
This is all quick checking, in between shut downs, restarts, installs and configuration of my desktop machine.
Looking on my laptop the road video is the same, slightly soft in motion on the left but on the right not so much. I am certain this is not correct. Slightly distracting to me, but others may not notice. Need to check this on a huge screen to be certain.
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Update.
Just noticed my original flight videos were only in 8 bit.
Video was set to H265, 4k, 30fps/60th mp4. Log. Standard mode. The container info says the recording was only at 8 bit.
So I did a firmware upgrade and an IMU calibration, Gimbal calibration.
Few issues post firmware upgrade and calibration.
1/ Video was set to H265, 4k, 30fps/60th mp4. Log. Standard mode. The container info says the recording was only at 8 bit.
I tried various options, 6k, 4k, 264, 265, Mov, mp4 etc. etc. Everything came out as AVC and 8 bit.
After resetting the camera I tried again and 10 bit and HEVC was now listed. Hmmm. But at least the info is now as expected.
So I went outside to do a compass calibration. Video was set to H265, 4k, 30fps/60th mp4. Log. Standard mode.
These videos are listed as 8 bit. Grrrrr. Are are corrupt. Hmmmm.
2/ The drifting is still happening, so I spoke too soon. Will need to do another firmware upgrade and calibration to see if this fixes it.
3/ It was not windy but the Drone was bouncing around quite a bit. Hopefully, a firmware re install and calibration will sort this.
So far. Not impressed. But sadly, as expected based on the previous Evo 2's I have had.
Just noticed my original flight videos were only in 8 bit.
Video was set to H265, 4k, 30fps/60th mp4. Log. Standard mode. The container info says the recording was only at 8 bit.
So I did a firmware upgrade and an IMU calibration, Gimbal calibration.
Few issues post firmware upgrade and calibration.
1/ Video was set to H265, 4k, 30fps/60th mp4. Log. Standard mode. The container info says the recording was only at 8 bit.
I tried various options, 6k, 4k, 264, 265, Mov, mp4 etc. etc. Everything came out as AVC and 8 bit.
After resetting the camera I tried again and 10 bit and HEVC was now listed. Hmmm. But at least the info is now as expected.
So I went outside to do a compass calibration. Video was set to H265, 4k, 30fps/60th mp4. Log. Standard mode.
These videos are listed as 8 bit. Grrrrr. Are are corrupt. Hmmmm.
2/ The drifting is still happening, so I spoke too soon. Will need to do another firmware upgrade and calibration to see if this fixes it.
3/ It was not windy but the Drone was bouncing around quite a bit. Hopefully, a firmware re install and calibration will sort this.
So far. Not impressed. But sadly, as expected based on the previous Evo 2's I have had.
Here is my 2 cents. I have loads of drones, home builds and almost the full line of DJI drones, Mavic pro, Mavic Platinum, had a Spark - sold it, horrid drone, too noisy, Mavic Mini, P4Adv, P4P 2.0, Parrot Anafi, Evo I, Evo II pro...along with more fpv drones etc.
If you come to the Autel side of things wanting as smooth a flyer as a mature DJI drone, it ain't gonna happen...yet. It's all software. Software updates...firmware...anyone who says that DJI doesn't release loads of firmware, hasn't been flying DJI long. They do, and they continue to lock down their drones, AND steal your data. (yes it has been proven...a long time ago and just recently confirmed, yet again)
If My Evo II pro flew as smooth as the DJI drones, yes...it would be perfect.
Learn to fly. Learn that with Autel drones, they are very "twitchy", so practice small stick movements. All drones are different. DJI has a huge software engineer team and have lots more experience in hardware and software than Autel. Know that going in. The EVO II is not a race drone, its a camera drone. Treat it as such, and you will be fine. You need to give any drone some time behind the sticks, expecially a new company, new software you are not used to, and new drone controls. Once you start really learning to fly with an Autel drone, when you move back to DJI, you will now say..."why is it so sluggish as compared to my Autel drone?"
Every single one of my DJI drones is unlocked completely, except for the Mini. Yes, it can be done. Do I fly like a crazy man because my drones are unlocked? Of course not. But I am in control, not DJI. This is a huge reason I like Autel.
The 6K camera on the Evo II Pro is better than my P4P2.0. Its close, but to my eyes, its better. I do not fly for business. If I did, I would use the right drone for the job, and being that jobs are different, it makes sense to have more than one platform to work with. DJI NFZ enforcement is a huge deal for drones used for business, and even film making. I happen to work for a company that unlocks drones, and YES we have been contacted by some of the biggest film studios asking for unlocks, not to mention all the drone pilots that can't complete their jobs due to DJI NFZ. I feel sorry for them, since they lose money for jobs not being able to be completed.
The Evo drones are far from perfect, but they let YOU as a pilot control your flight and not rely on half-baked and over stringent NFZ that doesn't match in most cases, where you can fly and where you can't. So far I am pleased with the Evo II, but agree completely that they need to smooth out the flying controls, or at least give us the option to tweak them to our own flying style like the DJI drones do. Thats all.
If you come to the Autel side of things wanting as smooth a flyer as a mature DJI drone, it ain't gonna happen...yet. It's all software. Software updates...firmware...anyone who says that DJI doesn't release loads of firmware, hasn't been flying DJI long. They do, and they continue to lock down their drones, AND steal your data. (yes it has been proven...a long time ago and just recently confirmed, yet again)
If My Evo II pro flew as smooth as the DJI drones, yes...it would be perfect.
Learn to fly. Learn that with Autel drones, they are very "twitchy", so practice small stick movements. All drones are different. DJI has a huge software engineer team and have lots more experience in hardware and software than Autel. Know that going in. The EVO II is not a race drone, its a camera drone. Treat it as such, and you will be fine. You need to give any drone some time behind the sticks, expecially a new company, new software you are not used to, and new drone controls. Once you start really learning to fly with an Autel drone, when you move back to DJI, you will now say..."why is it so sluggish as compared to my Autel drone?"
Every single one of my DJI drones is unlocked completely, except for the Mini. Yes, it can be done. Do I fly like a crazy man because my drones are unlocked? Of course not. But I am in control, not DJI. This is a huge reason I like Autel.
The 6K camera on the Evo II Pro is better than my P4P2.0. Its close, but to my eyes, its better. I do not fly for business. If I did, I would use the right drone for the job, and being that jobs are different, it makes sense to have more than one platform to work with. DJI NFZ enforcement is a huge deal for drones used for business, and even film making. I happen to work for a company that unlocks drones, and YES we have been contacted by some of the biggest film studios asking for unlocks, not to mention all the drone pilots that can't complete their jobs due to DJI NFZ. I feel sorry for them, since they lose money for jobs not being able to be completed.
The Evo drones are far from perfect, but they let YOU as a pilot control your flight and not rely on half-baked and over stringent NFZ that doesn't match in most cases, where you can fly and where you can't. So far I am pleased with the Evo II, but agree completely that they need to smooth out the flying controls, or at least give us the option to tweak them to our own flying style like the DJI drones do. Thats all.
Cicero24
Well-Known Member
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The thing that aggravates me the most with Autel is “inconsistency” from FW to FW for the money. One issue gets resolved and it seems like two more pop up after the fact. Just feels unrefined to me for the price tag. Other than that, I can fly my E2P nearly the same as my M2P. It can be done, and the camera is nice.
no. The same line in mavic 2 pro but Autel has also Full Range (whatever it is mean)...
I had the same fellings but today i test the best settings for me ( i have also Mavic 2 zoom ). I think it is now similar to Mavic 2. Really smooth as i like. I am using mode 3.
Try this.
@Admund This is great that you put your settings....I have not had time to "tweak" to my liking yet...I will try how you have yours set up. Thanks!
What do you like your brake settings at?
What do you like your brake settings at?
I was a pretty hardcore DJI user, and I decided to try the EVO II because of the feature claims which sounded amazingly superior. Of course, as many of you will agree- a lot of the claims really are exaggerated, and I wasn't that happy with the drone and I ended up going back to Mavic. However, when I went back to the Mavic 2, the geo restrictions had been so much tightened and I wasn't use to dealing with them at all.... so i bit thebullet and tried the evo ii PRO with the 6k... and now i absolutely love it. idiosyncrasies and all. lol
So. Saturday came and went and three things happened.
1/ I took the dog for a walk
2/ My drone flew away for no apparent reason.
3/ Someone hit our car.
What was meant to be an hour's weekend walk with the dog capturing some misty scenes with the drone turned out to be less than ideal.
First to save me waffling here is a link to the screen recording link of what happened. Afterward an explanation.
drive.google.com
A quick synopsis.
Walking with the dog in the Highlands of Scotland miles from the nearest road, along a track by a Loch. It had stopped raining and the mist was around and it looked like an opportunity to fly the drone.
I put it on my bag, to save it from getting wet directly on the ground, got set up, did a compass calibration, then did a hand launch.
Within seconds of flying it 200ft away toward a spot I wanted to take a photo, it shifted sideways and I immediately noticed I no longer had control.
I hit the return to the home button, then it dived off sideways to the left and descended into some trees.
I packed up my bag, grabbed my stuff, left the controller on, and went bashing through thick forest to retrieve the said drone.
The controller and drone both had a full battery charge.
I was in the middle of nowhere and certainly nowhere near any electrical powerlines.
I checked the controller and it stated it had 18 satellites tracked.
I have no idea what happened other than it looked like a significant powerdrop at the point it went screwy.
I have of course contacted the reseller and Autel. The reseller has already got back to me with a helpful if you need us, let us know, reply.
I am waiting for Autel to respond.
Any clues?
1/ I took the dog for a walk
2/ My drone flew away for no apparent reason.
3/ Someone hit our car.
What was meant to be an hour's weekend walk with the dog capturing some misty scenes with the drone turned out to be less than ideal.
First to save me waffling here is a link to the screen recording link of what happened. Afterward an explanation.
Screen_Recording_20201212-111859_Autel Explorer.m4v
drive.google.com
A quick synopsis.
Walking with the dog in the Highlands of Scotland miles from the nearest road, along a track by a Loch. It had stopped raining and the mist was around and it looked like an opportunity to fly the drone.
I put it on my bag, to save it from getting wet directly on the ground, got set up, did a compass calibration, then did a hand launch.
Within seconds of flying it 200ft away toward a spot I wanted to take a photo, it shifted sideways and I immediately noticed I no longer had control.
I hit the return to the home button, then it dived off sideways to the left and descended into some trees.
I packed up my bag, grabbed my stuff, left the controller on, and went bashing through thick forest to retrieve the said drone.
The controller and drone both had a full battery charge.
I was in the middle of nowhere and certainly nowhere near any electrical powerlines.
I checked the controller and it stated it had 18 satellites tracked.
I have no idea what happened other than it looked like a significant powerdrop at the point it went screwy.
I have of course contacted the reseller and Autel. The reseller has already got back to me with a helpful if you need us, let us know, reply.
I am waiting for Autel to respond.
Any clues?
Rubik3x
Well-Known Member
Very sorry to hear about your crash. How cold was it outside when you flew? When you flew, what temperature was the flight battery (best guess)?So. Saturday came and went and three things happened.
1/ I took the dog for a walk
2/ My drone flew away for no apparent reason.
3/ Someone hit our car.
What was meant to be an hour's weekend walk with the dog capturing some misty scenes with the drone turned out to be less than ideal.
First to save me waffling here is a link to the screen recording link of what happened. Afterward an explanation.
Screen_Recording_20201212-111859_Autel Explorer.m4v
A quick synopsis.
Walking with the dog in the Highlands of Scotland miles from the nearest road, along a track by a Loch. It had stopped raining and the mist was around and it looked like an opportunity to fly the drone.
I put it on my bag, to save it from getting wet directly on the ground, got set up, did a compass calibration, then did a hand launch.
Within seconds of flying it 200ft away toward a spot I wanted to take a photo, it shifted sideways and I immediately noticed I no longer had control.
I hit the return to the home button, then it dived off sideways to the left and descended into some trees.
I packed up my bag, grabbed my stuff, left the controller on, and went bashing through thick forest to retrieve the said drone.
The controller and drone both had a full battery charge.
I was in the middle of nowhere and certainly nowhere near any electrical powerlines.
I checked the controller and it stated it had 18 satellites tracked.
I have no idea what happened other than it looked like a significant powerdrop at the point it went screwy.
I have of course contacted the reseller and Autel. The reseller has already got back to me with a helpful if you need us, let us know, reply.
I am waiting for Autel to respond.
Any clues?
Just checked the video The aircraft battery's total voltage was 12.598v Temp was 67.1F 88% remaining capacity and had only been discharged 3 times. At the point I reached it after I walked to it through the trees.
The outside temperature was 7 degrees. Broken clouds. Humidity 98% Barometer 996mbar Wind 0.621
Rubik3x
Well-Known Member
I've had similar problems caused by a cold flight battery. My cold flight battery indicated full, but as soon as a load was applied (took-off briskly), the voltage dropped so low that it auto-landed....in a deep lake.
On another cold day (previous to the loss), I got the low-battery warning after a very brief flight. I landed safely. The battery recovered and warmed itself up so that I could fly again for some time without recharging. No disaster that time.
My point is, if your flight battery was too cold at take-off, it might have dropped voltage enough to cause your problem. While you were looking for the drone, the battery (still ON) could have recovered and warmed itself up. Just a thought.
Hiya,
Sorry to hear of your issues too.
Cheers for that.
I suppose it depends on the design specification of the battery and whether 7 degrees outside air temp is too cold for it to be used. And how quickly it heats up enough to be considered safe flight characteristics.
Can't seem to see anything in the manual which says what I did was incorrect.
I went from warm house to warm car to a 2 mile walk up to where I flew the drone.
It was not freezing nor in conditions I had not flown before.
Given that every flight I have done with this Drone has been in exactly the same temperature conditions and performing the same setup routine and flight plan, this is puzzling. This is the first time I have ever had a flight crash from all the drones I've had. Parrot, DJI or Evo.
All I have done with the Autel drones is test them to see if they will function correctly and each time I have taken them out, new issues arise.
To put a positive spin on it, I suppose this is at least, consistent.
The last time the manual focus peaking appeared in the video footage. Which is not right. And the time before that I lost signal from only 500ft away in a clear area, thankfully that returned to home correctly.
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Rubik3x
Well-Known Member
OK. That pretty well rules out temperature. You seem to be having exceptionally bad luck. Are you working with Autel Robotics on this one?
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