Catering to ranching industry

redleger · Mar 19, 2024

So my company is looking to buy a thermal drone for assisting ranchers and identifying lame animals, etc.
I am pushing Autel over DJI for multiple reasons, with the only exception being the Mavic 3M since there is no Autel product that is comparable. (Can't afford a dragonfish)

Here is the question: Autel Dual, Max4T or Max4N. Based on my research the Max4T seems to be the obvious choice, but since I'm known to be wrong on occasion, I am hoping the user base here can help illuminate this subject for me.

I know the Alpha is coming out, and it looks boss, but 20k seems a bit much. If it came with a multi-spectral option then I would just get that, because it seems superior to all of the above in thermal capability with optical zoom capabilities.

Thanks so much
Scott

christr · Mar 19, 2024

the Max 4n vs 4t just replaced the optical zoom camera with a low resolution, high sensitivity camera for low-light operations. So if you're flying in the dark a lot that would be useful since it would give you a decent view at night vs the thermal.

The Alpha seems they just added a zoom thermal in addition to the other cameras. So if thermal far away is needed that would work. The big thing with the alpha is it's load capacity.

redleger · Mar 19, 2024

christr said:
the Max 4n vs 4t just replaced the optical zoom camera with a low resolution, high sensitivity camera for low-light operations. So if you're flying in the dark a lot that would be useful since it would give you a decent view at night vs the thermal.

The Alpha seems they just added a zoom thermal in addition to the other cameras. So if thermal far away is needed that would work. The big thing with the alpha is it's load capacity.

Ideally the awesome optical zoom on the alpha and swappable payload would be ideal, but I can get a M3M and Max4t cheaper than the one Alpha. Night time ops probably aren't an issue, so the 4T seems to be the better option. That's what I was initially thinking. Optical zoom for getting tag numbers off cattle is more important.

Thank you.

christr · Mar 19, 2024

The optical zoom is pretty nice on the 4T (that's kindof the main reason I upgraded from a 640t), the Alpha has a better optical zoom, but the 10X on the 4T is likely fine for you.

redleger · Mar 19, 2024

christr said:
The optical zoom is pretty nice on the 4T (that's kindof the main reason I upgraded from a 640t), the Alpha has a better optical zoom, but the 10X on the 4T is likely fine for you.

Awesome. Thank you. As long as I can read the tag on a cow's ear, then it's perfect.

Dpruim · Mar 19, 2024

I would be concerned with the lack of any reviews from actual users with the Max 4. I haven’t seen anything from anyone not selling them yet

redleger · Mar 19, 2024

Dpruim said:
I would be concerned with the lack of any reviews from actual users with the Max 4. I haven’t seen anything from anyone not selling them yet

Fair. I hadn't thought of that. I'm really trying not to put all the eggs in the DJI basket, but that's a consideration. I love my EVO 2 so much I hadn't thought of that.

Takashira · Mar 19, 2024

redleger said:
Fair. I hadn't thought of that. I'm really trying not to put all the eggs in the DJI basket, but that's a consideration. I love my EVO 2 so much I hadn't thought of that.

What do you need to know? I use mine every couple of days and I've had it for about a year now.

redleger · Mar 19, 2024

Takashira said:
What do you need to know? I use mine every couple of days and I've had it for about a year now.

Was just looking for any discernable differences that would make 640T or 4N a better pick than the 4T. Main use would be herd health management, and would need to ability to optically zoom in and read ear tags.

Takashira · Mar 20, 2024

I have both the 4N and 4T. The 4T is my favorite since I can zoom in very closely with 10x optical and much farther with the hybrid digital zoom. It's quite astonishing, really. The 4N is more for nighttime flying when you absolutely need to see in the dark and want a clearer picture than what thermal gives you. The 4N provides an 8x digital zoom, which isn't really great, but it's something. The Starlight camera (night vision) is quite fantastic, though. I adore it for nighttime flights. However, if you have the 4T and the spotlight at night, you would certainly have a substantial powerhouse of zoom and light at your disposal.

redleger · Mar 20, 2024

Takashira said:
I have both the 4N and 4T. The 4T is my favorite since I can zoom in very closely with 10x optical and much farther with the hybrid digital zoom. It's quite astonishing, really. The 4N is more for nighttime flying when you absolutely need to see in the dark and want a clearer picture than what thermal gives you. The 4N provides an 8x digital zoom, which isn't really great, but it's something. The Starlight camera (night vision) is quite fantastic, though. I adore it for nighttime flights. However, if you have the 4T and the spotlight at night, you would certainly have a substantial powerhouse of zoom and light at your disposal.

This is 100% the kind of feedback I was looking for and is in line with what I had figured from reading the specs for both. Thank you.

christr · Mar 21, 2024

Dpruim said:
I would be concerned with the lack of any reviews from actual users with the Max 4. I haven’t seen anything from anyone not selling them yet

That's likely because by time you get to that level of drone, the buyers aren't usually "youtubers who like to strut" and do reviews and such.

That being said, there are a bunch of folks here who own Max's that have practical knowledge of the drones that can help.

--Chris

Ezone23 · Mar 23, 2024

redleger said:
Was just looking for any discernable differences that would make 640T or 4N a better pick than the 4T. Main use would be herd health management, and would need to ability to optically zoom in and read ear tags.

One thing I did before mine malfunctioned and flew away that pertains to ranching was very helpful. I helped my friend spot cattle in mountain terrain and push them back towards round up riders.
It definately is a great tool!
I only have reservations on its reliability since November 11th.
The day my Max 4T was gnss spoofed and flew away never to be found again.It should have returned home and been sent inbto get fixed....which also has been an issue from all the research I've done to find a solution to get my lost drone issue resolved. It has been a $9000.00 loss and a ton of time!
Good luck. Get insurance and at least the loss won't be a total loss.