I'm considering buying an Autel but not sure which once I should get. I don't think I need the camera of the 6K because I won't use it to its full ability. But I also subscribe to buy once, cry once. If I am happy with DJI's camera on the Air2, should I spend the dough and get the Autel Pro II 6K or save a little cash and just get the 8K? I fly responsibly and within the rules but I do like the non nanny state of the Autel options. With all things considered, is one more stable than the other? Is one more stable than the other?
Considering buying Autel
- Thread starter rparker762
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im clearly biased so take this fwiw. since you mentioned "buy once, cry once" to me, that translates to 6k (over the 8k). if you are coming from an air2 camera, you can't go wrong but the price difference between the 6k and the 8k is not enough to justify trying to save money. what you don't want to happen is to buy the 8k, decide you really want the 6k, learn that camera swap is easy and painless, and then spend money on the death-blow which is buying a standalone 6k camera. bottom line is once you see and experience the 6k camera, it's almost frightening looking back that you even considered buying the 8k! no offense to my 8k brothers out there. 
Thanks for the reply. By no means am I leaving the Air2 behind, I do love it, but I do want something different. I'm looking on Amazon, there is a $400 price difference.im clearly biased so take this fwiw. since you mentioned "buy once, cry once" to me, that translates to 6k (over the 8k). if you are coming from an air2 camera, you can't go wrong but the price difference between the 6k and the 8k is not enough to justify trying to save money. what you don't want to happen is to buy the 8k, decide you really want the 6k, learn that camera swap is easy and painless, and then spend money on the death-blow which is buying a standalone 6k camera. bottom line is once you see and experience the 6k camera, it's almost frightening looking back that you even considered buying the 8k! no offense to my 8k brothers out there.
the standard prices are $1495 and $1795 respectively from autel. you can get competitive from there by easily shopping around.
I have an air2 as well. we tend not to give up our previous drones until forced to. the autel will definitely fit the bill of being a different drone than the dji.
I'm with @kenautelevo2pro if you truly do not want buyer's remorse the only way to not wonder how much better the EVO II 6K "could have been" is to just go with the EVO II 6K. They are both identical drones so both are equally stable, the only difference being the camera. Obviously no one can make up your mind for you, but for me at least, the $300 difference was a no brainer, but I am speaking from a point of view where $2000.00 for just a single camera lens is considered normal and where the drone will pay for itself within 1 or 2 commercial jobs.
It has not been mentioned here, but there are several threads on the following subject... as a member who has not posted much, I do not know if you are familiar with those discussions. Make absolutely sure that if you do make a purchase, that the dealer is sending you the Evo II Pro V2 (Version 2). The recently changed Evo II Pro V1, is no longer being manufactured.
The point is that the Version 1 hardware (airframe, controller, LiveDeck) all are incompatible with the new Version 2. The Version 2 is the only one that will be supported going forward. This change also affects the Autel Smart Controller. However since all of the Version 1 SC's have been spoken for, if you are in the market for the SC, your only option is to start with the entire Evo II Pro V2 setup.
Thanks for the heads up. I am looking at Amazon due to the no interest and 18 monthly payments with the Prime card, which I have. All of the ones I am seeing look to be V1.....
All I'm seeing are V1s. Is the V2 that much better? I've seen the V1s in videos and so far am happy with what I am seeing. Will the 5.8 freq make that much difference?
At some point Autel will use up all the Version 1 SDR chips, and when that occurs, V1 Evo IIs become unrepairable (or irreplaceable except with Version 2). Too, existing system peripheral devices that rely upon the V1 SDR chips (Live Deck, and Smart Controller Version 1) are obsolete without the V1 Evo II. As yet, there are no new peripherals in V2 models using the new chips. It has further been mentioned the V2 Evo II doesn't allow a second controller to be connected to one aircraft (training or camera operator). Left unclear is whether this is a limitation of the new SDR chipset that precludes a new Live Deck
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The main differences for you as a potential buyer are that you may have more difficulty in potential repairs and/or replacements due to the V1 no longer being manufactured. As mentioned above, the vast majority of parts will be the same...
However I know that there are times during a claim, that the company would normally just do a replacement, as opposed to the costs of repair. So if say your standard V1 controller goes out. If there are no longer any V1 controllers available, you will have to find one through some third party, if you can... as an example.
Also as I mentioned... if you are potentially interested in getting a Smart Controller, then the decision has already been made for you. Also with this compatiblity situation, consider one of the retail outfits that advertise on this board such as @advexure. If ever you needed after purchase support, they will be better than any Amazon store. (Also just so you know and there is no confusion... the Amazon store Autel Pilots has no affiliation with this board.)
However I know that there are times during a claim, that the company would normally just do a replacement, as opposed to the costs of repair. So if say your standard V1 controller goes out. If there are no longer any V1 controllers available, you will have to find one through some third party, if you can... as an example.
Also as I mentioned... if you are potentially interested in getting a Smart Controller, then the decision has already been made for you. Also with this compatiblity situation, consider one of the retail outfits that advertise on this board such as @advexure. If ever you needed after purchase support, they will be better than any Amazon store. (Also just so you know and there is no confusion... the Amazon store Autel Pilots has no affiliation with this board.)
my advice for anyone who happens to buy a v1 drone today for whatever reason is to sign up for autel care and then you can fly your drone for fun in peace without having to worry about the incessant issues that will be brought up about v1 drones for the duration. if you don't want to debate the [near] future and speculation about what might happen to your drone, I believe autel care is your best all-around insurance policy.
rangerb3
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I'm currently in that "buyer's remorse" tent! The only reason I bought the 8k was because I found a killer deal on it and it came with a few extras including a total of 3 batteries. Also, it my first drone so, I really didn't know what I wanted or needed.
I also understand the "buy once" concept and probably should have waited for a Pro to come along but, what's done is done...
I also understand the "buy once" concept and probably should have waited for a Pro to come along but, what's done is done...
im clearly biased so take this fwiw. since you mentioned "buy once, cry once" to me, that translates to 6k (over the 8k). if you are coming from an air2 camera, you can't go wrong but the price difference between the 6k and the 8k is not enough to justify trying to save money. what you don't want to happen is to buy the 8k, decide you really want the 6k, learn that camera swap is easy and painless, and then spend money on the death-blow which is buying a standalone 6k camera. bottom line is once you see and experience the 6k camera, it's almost frightening looking back that you even considered buying the 8k! no offense to my 8k brothers out there.
advexure
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the shout, @Eagle's Eye Video. @rparker762 let us know if we can help you out.
We strongly recommend purchasing through the dealer channel as opposed to Amazon given that majority of the Amazon sellers are Chinese market distributors (check their seller profiles) selling into the US market without authorization and you sure won't have a support channel that route, and it's possible that warranty and official proof of purchase complications could arise if you ever need to solicit warranty from Autel Robotics USA.
Le 6K a un capteur 1 pouce, une magnifique image, et une stabilité stupéfiante. (bien mieux que DJI )
jamess336
Member
I would think anyone buying a Drone today would be looking at the future. Yes the technology available today the 6k footage looks better than the 8k. What no one is asking or considering “why did they make the 8k?? If you view the 8k footage on a 8k monitor screen then compare the 6k it makes the 6k look like 1080p compared to 4K. The argument has been from the beginning that it will be 10 years before anything is available to process 6k or 8k I argued then it would be no more than 2 years. I was wrong it is here now. Autel did a great job releasing this Drone with this camera technology.im clearly biased so take this fwiw. since you mentioned "buy once, cry once" to me, that translates to 6k (over the 8k). if you are coming from an air2 camera, you can't go wrong but the price difference between the 6k and the 8k is not enough to justify trying to save money. what you don't want to happen is to buy the 8k, decide you really want the 6k, learn that camera swap is easy and painless, and then spend money on the death-blow which is buying a standalone 6k camera. bottom line is once you see and experience the 6k camera, it's almost frightening looking back that you even considered buying the 8k! no offense to my 8k brothers out there.
You will be able to source batteries longer with DJI and Autel. Once Autel drops a line, they really do drop it and their marketshare is so tiny there are no 3rd party options.
quinn karter
Well-Known Member
After getting sick of the nanny protocols of the DJI drones and having issues with geofences when I couldn't connect to the internet, I sold my Mavic 2 Pro and Zoom and switched to EVO2s. I like them better in overall imaging, and function. They take a little time to learn how to fly them skillfully, but eventually you can fly and film subject matter as well as a DJI.
I bought 2 V1's The 6K and The 8K a year ago. I didn't want to switch the cameras almost every day and found just buying a camera a waist of money when I could buy the whole drone.. I use he 8K in daylight, in my opinion it's better in the day at 8k than the 6k. I use the 6K in lower light environments. But, I'm not a pro so take that for what it's worth. Luckily I'm not interested in the smart controller or a live deck. A couple weeks ago, I did buy a third V1 remote in case I have problems with one of my 2 existing remotes. I expect them to run out of V1 standard remotes eventually.
The V1s and V2s are exactly the same drones, except the V2 will have the dual band 2 and 5 ghz frequencies and a different company's chipsets. If the additional 5ghz increases reception, range or improves latency, who knows. As far as support goes, The V2's will always have new remotes available. The V1s won't. So if your remote goes bad you won't be able to use your drone, but I'm sure there will be plenty of V1 standard remotes around for years to come, like on eBay or companies that have excess controller stock.
I ALSO HAVE THE AIR2S. It does things the EVO2 simply can't do. It truly is more stable than the EVO2 series. It's low light imaging isn't as good as the EVO2 and It's flight time sucks compared to the EVO2. I can get a full 30sec hyperlapse with an EVO2 and only a 25sec with the Air2S.
TALKING ABOUT STABILITY. The DJI Air2 and Air2S air much more agile and stable when not in high winds They tend to do a better job at staying in a fixed position. They don't drift or shift as much as an EVO2. But in high winds the EVO2 will win that match.
SPEED: The AIR2S and MavAir2 tend to fly faster than the EVO2s in moderate wind conditions. Even though the EVO 2 says it can go 45mph, if there is any wind, it slows quite a bit. I only get 45mph in non-windy days or with a tail wind. The Air2 tends to cut through wind better and reach higher speeds 43mph consistently.
If your into or need to go over higher buildings, antenna towers or mountains that are greater than the DJI limit, The EVO2 wins by an extra 1000ft, however there are hacks to remove the altitude limits on both DJI and EVO2. Also there is a website that can remove the NFZ restriction on the DJI. I can't mention the name because of the forums rules.
quinn karter
Well-Known Member
I have both 6k and 8k drones. The 8k processes just fine on my computer. You need a strong cpu and Video card with lots of memory. I use Sony Vegas to process the 8K videos and watch them on a 4K HDR TV monitor hooked to my computer. The 8K videos and Images look incredible compared to the 6k. You get a lot of extra room to zoom in with the 8k in post editing. But the 8k is only good for daylight filming and imaging. The 6K gives you the whole package day or night.
quinn karter
Well-Known Member
You must be talking about , if they stop making the EVO2 (v1 and v2) line of drones. Just to be clear. The batteries will work in both V1 and V2 drones.
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