Sensor issue with brand new 6K

dbeaty · Apr 3, 2021

I am having an issue I can't resolve with my new Pro II 6K. All images have this strange issue on the left and bottom. Sort of an L-shaped area of brightness. It appears in all photos, videos regardless of f-stop, ISO, shutter etc. Even if I cover the lens. Just did a full firmware update of the aircraft, controller, and app. It occurs to me that must be a defective sensor. I have about 30 years of experience in video and I've never seen anything like this. I have contacted Autel and my seller to determine if they will help me. One other clue, the issue is almost unnoticeable in the sensor cropped 1080 mode. My theory is that in that mode the area on the sensor that is defective is not being used. This is just a wall in my house a couple minutes ago.

UasDriver · Apr 3, 2021

I get something similar, images only, mines on the right side. I just crop it out, which isn't the answer for a $1,000 camera!

herein2021 · Apr 3, 2021

dbeaty said:
I am having an issue I can't resolve with my new Pro II 6K. All images have this strange issue on the left and bottom. Sort of an L-shaped area of brightness. It appears in all photos, videos regardless of f-stop, ISO, shutter etc. Even if I cover the lens. Just did a full firmware update of the aircraft, controller, and app. It occurs to me that must be a defective sensor. I have about 30 years of experience in video and I've never seen anything like this. I have contacted Autel and my seller to determine if they will help me. One other clue, the issue is almost unnoticeable in the sensor cropped 1080 mode. My theory is that in that mode the area on the sensor that is defective is not being used. This is just a wall in my house a couple minutes ago.

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I would send it back immediately, no way should it do that.

dbeaty · Apr 17, 2021

I wanted to follow up here with my experience with this issue. After all attempts to resolve the sensor issue I came to the conclusion it was a hardware defect. My first attempt to reach out to Autel via their support ticket system was very bad. The time delay between sending info and having their support reply was measured in days. Finally, after doing all the tests they wanted me to do, they simply stopped replying. I considered pushing the issue with them but instead fell back to eBay where I purchased the kit from the seller called "Autel-Online". I have no idea if they are simply a re-seller or actually in some way connected to the Autel Robotics company. I had numerous message exchanges with the seller. These included photographs of the issue and finally my request to return the unit. I told them I'd purchase a new one or accept an exchange. They issued me a return mail postage label and I shipped everything back to them.

Imagine my surprise when they issued me a 50% refund of my near $1,800 purchase. The explanations said 50% deduction "customer opened item and tested - used". Of course, it's laughable. Since I had the entire message exchange with the seller. I wrote to them that perhaps the US seller needed to be contacted by their online ebay person to explain that it was a defective product they had agreed to return.

Eventually, I filed a complaint with ebay. After some delay, I was notified that the seller would grant an exception to my return and refunded my purchase price. So a few points, first I'm glad I went through Ebay/Paypal that protects buyers. Second, I would never buy anything from Autel-Online, the seller again. Buyer beware. I have no real issue with the Evo Pro II 6K. The camera system leaves a lot to be desired for me. First, how could an obviously bad chip get past QA? Also, the crop factor that happens when you switch to almost all resolutions outside of 6K mode was a deal-breaker for me. Same for crop factor that happens when you try to use the smart modes even in 6K. I was told this does not happen on the 8K version but I have not confirmed that. The drone itself is not as smooth flying as DJI Mavic Pro 2. It's not bad, but I noticed the expo would default to none every time I turned it on. The loud fan inside the hand controller was also concerning. Those micro cooling fans die. Just one more mechanical thing to go wrong. Why is that needed anyway? Those are my observations and now I am considering not purchasing another Autel Evo Pro II even though I absolutely love their position on pilot control of no-fly zones and restrictions and geo-fencing.