Evo 2 Dual V3 or Evo Lite 640T enterprise

[lksmith]

Good Morning Folks!.
Looking to upgrade thermal drones. I have a Mavic 2 Dual Enterprise and a Parrot Anafi thermal. Both are in the 160x120 thermal range looking to get something more usable for animal tracking/locating
The one that seems to be the "go to" is the Mavic 3T, right now $5800+tax is out of my range, even selling both my thermal drones. Drone Nerds recommended the EVO II 640 V3 Rugged bundle as it is on sale for ~$4700 right now.
As I was researching and comparing whether to jump on the Autel Bandwagon or save up to a Mavic 3 (thought about a M2EA , but it's older and not much cheaper, so I'm concerned about not finding parts) I saw the freshly launched Evo Lite 640T enterprise.
At first glance it appears to do everything the EVO 2 V3 does (and some) for around $1500 less in a more compact package, even buying batteries puts it a grand cheaper than anything else. In acquaintance of mine has a M3T and the shots he gets on the visual camera are unreal (recently helped find a lost girl and his pic looked like he was right above her)
What's the consensus here, Evo 2 V3 or Mavic 3T or Evo Lite?

 

[jaja6009]

Is your only job to spot wildlife?

The Mavic 3T is the best option for your use case since it has an equal thermal sensor and the best in class zoom.
Also Flight Hub 2 is free with you having to pay per use for live streaming and mapping, although DJI lures you in with free of both to start off with.

If you are doing deer recovery, the best option is the M30T, but the Evo Max would fit in just as nice (Minus no Flight Hub 2).

A lot of people get buyers remorse with thermal kits. They want to move on to other Enterpirse use cases such as solar panels, roof moisture and building enveplope.
For the just above use cases the Mavic 3T is an easier integration. There is readily available thermal image converting software to make thermal maps which is the rage right now with solar panels.

But if you can get a good deal, the Evo Dual 640T V3 is a ready to fly solid choice. The thermal image is actually really good, it has Autel thermal image software for reporting. We use a Evo 2 Dual and cannot complain about it.

You can also find used Evo 2 640T V2 (Needs Remote ID module) and Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced (Will be End of Life soon) for around $3K.

We had a Mavic 2 Dual and I own an Anafi Thermal. Those low resolution FLIR Lepton sensors were inadequate except for up and close thermography when you didn't have a ladder to reach what your handhold was trying to view. Over 50 ft distance and everything is a blob.


Don't forget to factor in any possible DJI ban. If banned, you won't lose your drone, you will just probably find it hard to source parts, batteries and service in the future.
Autel is also listed in proposed possible drone bans. But this topic is another story in itself.

 

[lksmith]

Not the only job, but the one that would be most used with thermal. Both finding wildlife/recovery and helping my dad find livestock. Any the Matrice series is WAY out of my range. This is a side gig I am trying to start, in addition to (and to pay for) my hobby use. Around here there aren't a lot of solar farms as it is a rural area, but lots of cattle farms and hunting is almost a religion here. I already have my 107 license for the drones I fly at work, but they are full custom drones (about 4ft across and over 20#) that run in the 6 figure range, just the camera on one of those is $80-100k. Ended up finding a "new" M3ET for $4200. never flown, and has everything but a SD card and only one battery, but I can buy several batteries and SD cards and still come out better, not to mention the extra zoom. Got it from the same place I got my M2ED.

 

[TIEfighter3173]

Good Morning Folks!.
Looking to upgrade thermal drones. I have a Mavic 2 Dual Enterprise and a Parrot Anafi thermal. Both are in the 160x120 thermal range looking to get something more usable for animal tracking/locating
The one that seems to be the "go to" is the Mavic 3T, right now $5800+tax is out of my range, even selling both my thermal drones. Drone Nerds recommended the EVO II 640 V3 Rugged bundle as it is on sale for ~$4700 right now.
As I was researching and comparing whether to jump on the Autel Bandwagon or save up to a Mavic 3 (thought about a M2EA , but it's older and not much cheaper, so I'm concerned about not finding parts) I saw the freshly launched Evo Lite 640T enterprise.
At first glance it appears to do everything the EVO 2 V3 does (and some) for around $1500 less in a more compact package, even buying batteries puts it a grand cheaper than anything else. In acquaintance of mine has a M3T and the shots he gets on the visual camera are unreal (recently helped find a lost girl and his pic looked like he was right above her)
What's the consensus here, Evo 2 V3 or Mavic 3T or Evo Lite?

Good Morning Folks!.
Looking to upgrade thermal drones. I have a Mavic 2 Dual Enterprise and a Parrot Anafi thermal. Both are in the 160x120 thermal range looking to get something more usable for animal tracking/locating
The one that seems to be the "go to" is the Mavic 3T, right now $5800+tax is out of my range, even selling both my thermal drones. Drone Nerds recommended the EVO II 640 V3 Rugged bundle as it is on sale for ~$4700 right now.
As I was researching and comparing whether to jump on the Autel Bandwagon or save up to a Mavic 3 (thought about a M2EA , but it's older and not much cheaper, so I'm concerned about not finding parts) I saw the freshly launched Evo Lite 640T enterprise.
At first glance it appears to do everything the EVO 2 V3 does (and some) for around $1500 less in a more compact package, even buying batteries puts it a grand cheaper than anything else. In acquaintance of mine has a M3T and the shots he gets on the visual camera are unreal (recently helped find a lost girl and his pic looked like he was right above her)
What's the consensus here, Evo 2 V3 or Mavic 3T or Evo Lite?

Hello,

You can get most drones with “Affirm” 0% loan with monthly payments. Just pay it each month. Obviously if you screw that up you’re gonna end up with some penalties.

I got the Evo 2 v3 640 thermal and love it. Soon as I put it in the cart .. accepted terms.. it was shipped to me that week. No issues. No early pay off penalty either. It’s an app for payments. Easy peasy.

Obviously, there are all kinds of opinions on thoughts about getting a loan for a drone.. again 0% if paid off on time. You could crash it before it’s paid off lol. Once you start getting into thermal drones, start shopping for insurance either through your homeowners, renters or just drone insurance in general. Protect that investment.

Unless you’re picking up weight and doing deliveries or having cargo.. the dji m30T is a fantastic option for most any job.

Stop worrying about the drone bans … get what you want. I really like Autel and keep buying them because they perform but they really need to up their game with customer service. It’s hit or miss.

Dji I’ve never had an issue. They jump right on it. At least they did when I needed something.

So my vote:

Dji M30T ( my first pick because I can use it in misty conditions )

Autel EVO 2 v3 640 thermal

 

[lksmith]

Well I've had the M3T for about 2-3wks now. Turns out it DID have the SD card, so aside from only 1 battery and no "DJI care" it's a new drone, it has been flown but certainly not hurt.
So far have used it on the farm and flown it a good mile radius from me in the dense woods of the area before I started getting video problems. Used it to spot several coyotes in the pastures that would have been invisible without thermal, not to mention saw several deer and rabbits and squirrels. It's amazing how much a cow patty and rabbit look alike on thermal from 200ft up. Will probably be selling my Anafi Parrot thermal and possibly my M2ED. For me the deciding factor between the Autel and the DJI was the visual zoom camera. Granted it's not quite as good as the dedicated visual drones, but it's dang close and the M3ET seems to be the best multi-role craft for under 5 figures

 

[jaja6009]

Well I've had the M3T for about 2-3wks now. Turns out it DID have the SD card, so aside from only 1 battery and no "DJI care" it's a new drone, it has been flown but certainly not hurt.
So far have used it on the farm and flown it a good mile radius from me in the dense woods of the area before I started getting video problems. Used it to spot several coyotes in the pastures that would have been invisible without thermal, not to mention saw several deer and rabbits and squirrels. It's amazing how much a cow patty and rabbit look alike on thermal from 200ft up. Will probably be selling my Anafi Parrot thermal and possibly my M2ED. For me the deciding factor between the Autel and the DJI was the visual zoom camera. Granted it's not quite as good as the dedicated visual drones, but it's dang close and the M3ET seems to be the best multi-role craft for under 5 figures

Sounds like you found the right deal on the right aircraft.

Happy flying.

Don't forget, you can use your DJI account in FLight Hub 2. If the previous owner did not allocate his free mapping minutes and live stream minutes, they are yours when you bound the drone to Flight Hub 2.
You can now live stream to friends and family including to thier phones with a link.

Best yet, you can make maps of your property that can be seen in Flight Hub 2 or downloaded as jpeg or tiff for viewing in other respective software.

 

[redleger]

I can't offer advice on this, but I just purchased the EVO Lite Enterprise 640T. My business is small and I have to work a normal job during the week. I'm going to be using it for cattle and other livestock in my rural area, and maybe the occasional roof inspection. I will post up some review info once I put a few flight hours on it. It's my first thermal so I won't have too much to compare it too. Reviews online are scarce so I took a leap on this.

 

[Baron]

Interesting opinions if what to purchase for what you want to do with it. Nothing better then finding out from the people who fly them. I am considering moving my Max 4T but want to see what the Mavic 4 will bring to the table first. Then there are the tariffs that will come into play as well.

 

[redleger]

Interesting opinions if what to purchase for what you want to do with it. Nothing better then finding out from the people who fly them. I am considering moving my Max 4T but want to see what the Mavic 4 will bring to the table first. Then there are the tariffs that will come into play as well.

Tariffs are why I pulled the trigger now. Still wasn't ready which is why I jumped on the Lite 640T. I was saving for a Max4T. Now I'm just troubleshooting some of the quirks on it. 2 flights in and the white/dark hot mode won't work.

 

[Baron]

Did you try to reload the software to see if that mode comes back and is it just the white/dark or all of the color choices?
At least everything is working on my bird so far, but this time of the year there is not much flying. Just to darn cold out there most of the time for the fingers.

 

[redleger]

Did you try to reload the software to see if that mode comes back and is it just the white/dark or all of the color choices?
At least everything is working on my bird so far, but this time of the year there is not much flying. Just to darn cold out there most of the time for the fingers.

I have not had a smart remote before, so I'm still learning the ropes. How would I reinstall the software? Just reset it and reupdate?