Considering buying Autel

[tuxontodd]

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.

True if. I'd assume they'd come out with another line or just get left behind when the competitors become even more advanced.

 

[quinn karter]

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...

Don't feel that way. The I have both 8 and 6K drones. I use the 8K during daylight hours. It really has better more detailed images, when there is enough light. Your only missing out on low light filming and imaging. But, if you wanted to do that quite a bit, I guess I would be bummed too.

 

[quinn karter]

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.)

Advexure still has plenty of LIVE DECK V1s IN STOCK, but THEY ARE OUT OF V1 SMART CONTROLLERS. They are selling the V2 AND V1 6K and 8K drones and ONLY V2 smart controllers. They only have V1 live decks.

 

[quinn karter]

If you buy an EVO2, DON'T BUY A V1. Be smart and BUY THE V2.

 

[Rubik3x]

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.

Bear in mind that almost nobody has 8K editors and monitors. And, if you produce your videos in 4K, shooting in 6K (actually 5.5K) or 8K will make little or no difference in the 4K production. In fact, the highest resolution that E2P will produce 10-bit color is 4K/30 (in LOG or HDR and H.265). Finally, the 6K camera has a 1" sensor which has shown to produce especially good results in low light.

I'm stuck with my v1 E2P that I purchased 1-1/2 years ago. I was fortunate to get a v1 smart controller while they lasted. I'm good to go for as long as I can keep it flying. There may be some good deals on v1 equipment on eBay from folks who have to have the latest stuff.

 

[quinn karter]

True if. I'd assume they'd come out with another line or just get left behind when the competitors become even more advanced.

DJI's Mavic 3 should be coming out in the 1st quarter of 2022. This date is more sure than most of the past speculations. It will also be sporting a 4/3 cmos camera, if they can work out the kinks. The camera company Hasselblad, that DJI bought, was having troubles making it work, the last I heard.

 

[Isky]

Your best bet is the evo 2 pro.... I do work for Discovery Channel and others and all they want is 1080 footage. On occasion 4k is needed but not many want nor need the 8k footage OR the 6K footage due to the size of the files... my two cents...

 

[quinn karter]

Your best bet is the evo 2 pro.... I do work for Discovery Channel and others and all they want is 1080 footage. On occasion 4k is needed but not many want nor need the 8k footage OR the 6K footage due to the size of the files... my two cents...

I guess the best or most common use of 8k with the higher resolutions, is the lossless zoom videos, down to 4k or 1080p. You can overlay a 4k frame over the 8k footage and that will be your zoom. You can animate the 4k cropping square to focus on specific subjects in the video without resolution loss.

 

[Cicero24]

Or just go with the Air 2s. Smaller footprint but more stable. 10bit all around with nearly exact resolutions. Better automated options. More third party capabilities and a more future proof product. Resale is better. Autel's resale is horrendous. More refined product/application for minus the cost. You can use the savings for more batteries. It just does what it’s supposed to do. Yeah, yeah…NFZ this, NFZ that unless you live right behind a red zone.

 

[quinn karter]

Or just go with the Air 2s. Smaller footprint but more stable. 10bit all around with nearly exact resolutions. Better automated options. More third party capabilities and a more future proof product. Resale is better. Autel's resale is horrendous. More refined product/application for minus the cost. You can use the savings for more batteries. It just does what it’s supposed to do. Yeah, yeah…NFZ this, NFZ that unless you live right behind a red zone.

If you really felt the need to get rid of the NFZ on the Air2S, it can now be done by Drone-Hacks.

 

[cpilloton]

Why I switched from Mavic 2 Pro to Autel EVO II Pro 6K as my primary real estate photo platform:

• 10 minutes more flying time on one battery - makes a big difference on some larger properties and saves time onsite
• More stable in high wind gusts - some YouTube videos show the two as comparable but my experience has been that I can get good crisp HDR bracketed photos in a 25 mph gusting wind whereas the Mavic 2 starts showing props and the merged HDRs are fuzzy. Very important in my area which gets lots of windy days during which I was not able to fly the Mavic. My Phantom 4 is slightly better than the Mavic in the wind but the images are not as good.
• Easier to screw on filters. It's always a comedy messing with the Mavic 2 Hasselblad snap on cover which I inevitably drop in the dirt. Also, since the last time I switched to a filter on the Mavic, I now get "Gimbal motor overload" errors even after a gimbal calibration. The EVO II 6K has a screw-on cover which easily unscrews and can be easily replaced with a good, screw-on filter. The gimbal looks and feels a lot sturdier and has never been a problem.
• Much better color depth & range - even though they both have a 1" sensor, the Sony sensor of the EVO II 6K seems to bring out more color than the Mavic 2 Pro.
• The Dehaze control slider - works similar to the Dehaze control in Lightroom but does it live on your controller while you're onsite shooting the photos. Particularly useful on a hazy day and can save post-processing time.
• More useful variety of automated panorama options now available with the latest firmware update.

 

[cpilloton]

Why I switched from Mavic 2 Pro to Autel EVO II Pro 6K as my primary real estate photo platform:

• 10 minutes more flying time on one battery - makes a big difference on some larger properties and saves time onsite
• More stable in high wind gusts - some YouTube videos show the two as comparable but my experience has been that I can get good crisp HDR bracketed photos in a 25 mph gusting wind whereas the Mavic 2 starts showing props and the merged HDRs are fuzzy. Very important in my area which gets lots of windy days during which I was not able to fly the Mavic. My Phantom 4 is slightly better than the Mavic in the wind but the images are not as good.
• Easier to screw on filters. It's always a comedy messing with the Mavic 2 Hasselblad snap on cover which I inevitably drop in the dirt. Also, since the last time I switched to a filter on the Mavic, I now get "Gimbal motor overload" errors even after a gimbal calibration. The EVO II 6K has a screw-on cover which easily unscrews and can be easily replaced with a good, screw-on filter. The gimbal looks and feels a lot sturdier and has never been a problem.
• Much better color depth & range - even though they both have a 1" sensor, the Sony sensor of the EVO II 6K seems to bring out more color than the Mavic 2 Pro.
• The Dehaze control slider - works similar to the Dehaze control in Lightroom but does it live on your controller while you're onsite shooting the photos. Particularly useful on a hazy day and can save post-processing time.
• More useful variety of automated panorama options now available with the latest firmware update.