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The Droning Company Expert Chris Fravel Reviews the Autel Evo II V3

I'd like to see an honest review of the V3 vs V2 and V1. Any real world differences that matter. Is it the same exact camera and if it is, why hasn't there been a Firmware update to bring the previous versions into the same level as the latest one. One would think that would be an easy upgrade/update.

I would be nice if the Autel smart controllers were smart enough to be backward compatible to previous models but it is what it is.
 
Honestly, the V3 is a good drone but does have its flaws. For me the biggest being that it is supposed to be a newer version of the Eco 2 Pro V2 but it lacks so many features when compared to its predecessor. I have asked Autel support when the missing features will be added as it was advertised as a newer version and should have all the previous features but they keep diverting the question. I will be returning mine and just stick to my Mavic 3. Mine randomly flew into my house with no stick inputs from me and Autel tells me its my fault that the drone took off to meters and flew into my house. My Mavic 3 and Mini 3 Pro takes off everyday from the same spot and has no issues so it shows that Dji drones are superior
 
Honestly, the V3 is a good drone but does have its flaws. For me the biggest being that it is supposed to be a newer version of the Eco 2 Pro V2 but it lacks so many features when compared to its predecessor. I have asked Autel support when the missing features will be added as it was advertised as a newer version and should have all the previous features but they keep diverting the question. I will be returning mine and just stick to my Mavic 3. Mine randomly flew into my house with no stick inputs from me and Autel tells me its my fault that the drone took off to meters and flew into my house. My Mavic 3 and Mini 3 Pro takes off everyday from the same spot and has no issues so it shows that Dji drones are superior
Interesting. My V1 works perfectly and lands within a couple inches of the take off point every time. I do like to fly manually most the time but sometimes I do let it land itself. It has otherwise never flown by itself except for the mapping I've done with it that I first programmed it to do.

I find it strange that the V1 and maybe the V2 are better than the V3. I was thinking it would be improving. I'm not a software engineer (code jockey) but it seems like most the code would be a simple copy and paste from one drone to the next. If I'm wrong then so be it. Maybe the different chipsets require a rewrite of the code. Again, that would seem to be a very simple thing since they are all basically the same drone. Again, maybe I'm wrong.
 
Interesting. My V1 works perfectly and lands within a couple inches of the take off point every time. I do like to fly manually most the time but sometimes I do let it land itself. It has otherwise never flown by itself except for the mapping I've done with it that I first programmed it to do.

I find it strange that the V1 and maybe the V2 are better than the V3. I was thinking it would be improving. I'm not a software engineer (code jockey) but it seems like most the code would be a simple copy and paste from one drone to the next. If I'm wrong then so be it. Maybe the different chipsets require a rewrite of the code. Again, that would seem to be a very simple thing since they are all basically the same drone. Again, maybe I'm wrong.
I would have assumed as well that it would be easy to transfer the features from the V2 over to the V3 but 2 updates have passed with no new features added. We basically have a plain Jane drone with a 6K camera and it does waypoints. I enjoy using smart tracking especially side tracking when I am cycling like I do with my Mavic 3 but can't with this drone because it lacks it, can't even do proper Orbits when trying to yaw. If we try to drop the yaw settings in app it does not make a difference to the way it yaws.
 
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Interesting. My V1 works perfectly and lands within a couple inches of the take off point every time. I do like to fly manually most the time but sometimes I do let it land itself. It has otherwise never flown by itself except for the mapping I've done with it that I first programmed it to do.

I find it strange that the V1 and maybe the V2 are better than the V3. I was thinking it would be improving. I'm not a software engineer (code jockey) but it seems like most the code would be a simple copy and paste from one drone to the next. If I'm wrong then so be it. Maybe the different chipsets require a rewrite of the code. Again, that would seem to be a very simple thing since they are all basically the same drone. Again, maybe I'm wrong.
It is my understanding from a conversation I had with Ken Booth that during COVID they could no longer get the chip set for the V1. That is how the V2 and V3 came about. The V2 is a better drone than the V2 and V3. In fact, when I asked him, he said I would be better off with the Evo Lite Plus... How this could be, I don't know.

I just lost my V2 with about 30 hours on it while doing a smart orbit it disconnected from the controller at 360 feet altitude and 1600 feet of distance with VLOS. It flew into the side of a mountain.

I communicated with a guy who had both the lite Plus and the V2. He lost his V2 the same way I did during an intelligent mode flight. Like mine, it failed to RTH. His lite would not die that.
 
Honestly, the V3 is a good drone but does have its flaws. For me the biggest being that it is supposed to be a newer version of the Eco 2 Pro V2 but it lacks so many features when compared to its predecessor. I have asked Autel support when the missing features will be added as it was advertised as a newer version and should have all the previous features but they keep diverting the question. I will be returning mine and just stick to my Mavic 3. Mine randomly flew into my house with no stick inputs from me and Autel tells me its my fault that the drone took off to meters and flew into my house. My Mavic 3 and Mini 3 Pro takes off everyday from the same spot and has no issues so it shows that Dji drones are superior
I just lost my V2 during a smart orbit when it lost connection with the controller and didn't RTH. I think I am done with Autel but living in the DC area, the DJI geofencing is a problem especially because it can lock you out even when it should not. I don't know what I am going to do. Autel has promise but not ready for Prime Time.
 
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I just lost my V2 during a smart orbit when it lost connection with the controller and didn't RTH. I think I am done with Autel but living in the DC area, the DJI geofencing is a problem especially because it can lock you out even when it should not. I don't know what I am going to do. Autel has promise but not ready for Prime Time.
I don't know about Autel not being ready for prime time. A lot of professionals use them regularly to get professional level footage and photos on a daily basis for over 2 years now.

So maybe the V2 and V3 Evo 2 Pro's have some issues. The V1 had some issues in the first year but Autel fixed them over time. Maybe you should look for a V1.
 
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I'm confused by this review. In the section "flight characteristics", there's clearly a copy and paste error because that entire section talks only about the Nano and Nano+. I assume the 9 out of 10 score for this section is truly for the V3 but I'd like to read about the flight characteristics for the said drone instead of the Nano/Nano+
 
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Is it the same exact camera and if it is, why hasn't there been a Firmware update to bring the previous versions into the same level as the latest one. One would think that would be an easy upgrade/update.

I would be nice if the Autel smart controllers were smart enough to be backward compatible to previous models but it is what it is.
If Autel put out a 'firmware' update to get the older camera's to anywhere near the same level as the latest one, then no-one would buy the new model camera/drone, they would just update the firmware :)
Autel would be broke with-in months with no new models to sell.
 
I bought my V2 pro RTK in Nov 2022 and really enjoy using it. It's been rock solid for mapping using Metashape. I was thinking of buying the V3 model in June of this year but started seeing all the issues and lack of features compared with the V2. Luckily, I came across a used V2 Pro RTK Enterprise that was only 3 months old and bought it instead. It's also a rock solid bird. It's a shame they are not making the V2 model anymore. If Autel would just complete one model they have like the V2, I'd think they would have a lot more sales and a good buyer base.

I was thinking also about buying the Max, but same issues. They appear to be having the same issues with it like the V3. It's sad...
 
I alternate between being P- O’ed that Autel regressed with the V3, which I bought, without knowing they had lost features vs the V2 and being ok with my V3. My experience with the V3 has been very good with the exception of some indoor flying experiences which I also experienced with My previous Mavic 2 pro. My V3 operates and flies perfectly fine. Do I wish I had a few handy flight modes like ‘zip line‘ or the ability to jump into Litchi for some particular situations? The answer is yes, I wish I could do those things with the V3 and yet those are the little things that I would find useful from time to time, not deal breakers. The V3 is so much less finicky than my previous mavic especially when It comes to requiring compass calibration, which the Mavic seemed to require very frequently and sometimes inconveniently. Picture quality from the V3 is excellent and in the end that’s my use for the aircraft. I might do a mapping mission here and there but its not my main need. All considered i feel like the V3 is a solid aircraft, its missing some things I would like but those features are not prominent in my use case. My main gripe with the programmed flight path mission is that the firmware doesn’t allow for pilot control while flying over directing the camera while the aircraft flies a predetermined path. That is one thing that can truly boost productivity when doing video capture flights and seems like such a stupid omission that would be easily correctable in a firmware update.
 
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