Will YOU be buying the Autel EVO?

[JR Videography]

Wanted to poll the forum to gauge how many are interested in (and possibly not interested in) Autel's new drone, the EVO. Feel free to explain your reasoning below!

 

[Busdriver]

I was encouraged by the "peak into the future" as was on display at CES 2017. Need I say more?

 

[Tufargon]

Not enough no/probably no/maybe options so I just chose maybe. But to be honest i'm leaning towards the no at this point.

 

[KunBow]

with support, I get now????

 

[KentA]

My X-Star is too new to be replaced.

 

[ForeBird]

I'll say yes,but I'm going to wait and see how they perform in the wild so not in the first batch.

 

[rkyleh]

Right now I can see no reason to buy one out side of the distance it will fly. My premier does everything I want without hesitation. If in the future if it develops Tourette syndrome or some other malady then I will give it a good look. But the way things are changing in the UAV world who knows.

 

[Colorado_scott]

Come on, let’s wait for some unbiased reviews to come out! DJI has a press announcement later this month to introduce new models, lets we what they have to offer. Nothing announced at CES. Clearly the EVO looks nice, but at $1000 and batteries costing $75 or so, it’s quickly a $1300 machine. Expensive for a “hobby” and clearly not a beginner starting point. We can all look for many more used drones for sale as the impulse buyers will be selling their current drone wanting the EVO or new offering from DJI.

 

[arto.inetco]

Hmm, this company Autel just discontinued the "removable gimbal" drone I bought last year on the heels of CES 2017...and never released an attachment or the SDK for third party support, for it. Im sorry, I love my pumpkin, but there are more established companies that have been around that have more than just one model, albeit pending, for sale. Autel would have to show some love to the XPS owners by at least releasing the SDK for me to believe in the company and their next "big" thing.

What I will be looking for in any new high end drone, foldable or not, is the ability to roll back/reset firmware....
I cant be left hanging with an upgrade that goes heywire and no longer flys the bird right.. If Autel would a allow a "wipe clean/start over" feature, that would pique my interest in EVO, or any drone.

on the topic of small drones...
I plunked down a whole $180 for the GPS enabled Hubsan 501A and have had fun with the hand sized UAS, but the camera (5mp, 1080p) with no gimbal is practically useless for video...pics are ok...RTH has worked everytime and at this size, its easy to loose quickly. its the size of a spark with more native range and flight time, just much less of a camera.....

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I use my drone for recreational use and at work under PART 107...
The GDU byrd (p2. $1050) is what Im looking at for a high end first folding drone, but I will wait till summer and read up on it. Its available now, the SDK is out there, and it has a removable gimble with "promised" attachments (1" camera, thermal, and a "drop box" feature ...(https://store.gdu-tech.com/collections/byrd/products/gdu-byrd-premium-2-0)...as far as the XSP, it appears the yuneec 520 (orange) carries on the XSP pedigree....what the pumpkin was to be in some respects..folding legs, 1" camera, thermal camera, and sdk out there already...at $2000 (4k) plus $1300 for the attachments (1", thermal)...but for that $2000 you get 2 extra motors for even more stability...

 

[Jagerbomb52]

If you are thinking about the Yuneec 520 you might want to rethink it. Yuneec's new Typhoon H Plus is kind of what Autel did to us. All the bells and whistles that the 520 was suppose to get is now going to put on the Typhoon H Plus. Lots of 520 owners pissed off about that one.

 

[arto.inetco]

thx for the heads up on the 520...

 

[Rawdog]

I might if I see proof that the video signal is less susceptible to Interference than that of the XSP. The XSP was my first real drone however, I now own a Mavic Pro and a P4P and while the build quality on the XSP is better the P4P and the Mavic have far more stable video links.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RJ_Make]

Nope.. Not unless there is a hefty customer appreciation discount.

Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

 

[Tufargon]

Nope.. Not unless there is a hefty customer appreciation discount.

Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

That would probably be the only way I get one also.

 

[Colorado_scott]

I've got another 'newbee' question. How many people actually have $1000, and lets call it $1300 with extras, to spend on a 'toy'? Unless you are a professional making money with some areal photography, are you telling me the masses will pay $1300 for a new drone? I just don't see it, What are the demographics of people that buy drones? I see people selling drones, "I just don't fly it enough", "I'm in school and need the money for school related expenses", "I need to pay rent this month", and on and on. Sure, there are people with good paying jobs that are not married, have few financial demands, and they will buy a toy to play with. Then there are the 2% that try to make a living with areal photography, then there's the rest of us - wanting something that's pretty expensive and getting it just because it's neat - no real application for it. If you have no other hobbies and want a nice drone, great, not knocking this, but if you have other responsibilities and $1300 is a fair amount of money, why buy a $1300 drone? Look, I'm not knocking this, I spent $6000 on a competition plane once, and it was a prized possession of mine because I was a pretty good flyer in the circles in which I associated. I'm still of that caliber, but have learned it's very cool to beat the other pilots with a $500 plane and leave them wondering 'what happened'. It's kind of like having the best golf clubs and being beat by a guy with a 7 iron and a putter. While this is not any sort of competition, is a $1300 drone really much better than a $700 one? (sure it is, but in YOUR application, taking amateur (at best) video, then editing for an hour +, then posting something on YouTube for a few to see, does it really make sense?) And, if you have to drive for an hour plus, to fly unrestricted, even more reason to really think about this before plunking down $1300. BUT... if this is what you enjoy, I'd be the last person to tell you not to enjoy your hobby, and spend what you can as it makes you feel good. No issues there.

This is my dilemma to work through, but those are my present thoughts.

 

[KentA]

... Unless you are a professional making money with some areal photography...people with good paying jobs that are not married, have few financial demands... if you have to drive for an hour plus, to fly unrestricted, even more reason to really think about this....

Well, I'm retired & not getting rich on Social Security so I sold a '68 Triumph motorcycle & financed the X-Star. You shouldn't worry about that however because I kept a Harley Davidson.

The time I spent riding & tinkering on that old hobby is now converted to a new interest-- aerial photography.

The moral of the story is "where there is a will there is a way". I don't think you have the will.

 

[Colorado_scott]

Interesting story Kent. Glad you found a new hobby. If I read correctly you sold a ‘68 Truimph motorcycle AND had to finance the X-star!! I need to look up the X-star, it must a hell-of-a-drone! That’s quite a sacrifice you made. I’m not sure I’d consider that a ‘will’ but you found a way - at a fair cost to you. But hey, if you are enjoying your new hobby that’s great. Don’t confuse my thinking through spending money on something that may be a foolish decision on my part as a lack of ‘will’. It’s more a logical decision process on my part. Being an older retired guy like me I’m sure we have both wasted money on many things in our lives. I’m actually afraid I’ll buy the EVO ‘just because’ and regret it later. In the scope of things I could plunk down $1300 and not blink twice but as I have a Trex helicopter and a great pattern plane - which I fly almost daily - it’s a decision process for me. I love taking digital photos - have for 20 years when I had my first $1000 Kodak camera, a 640x480 resolution- first of its kind - camera. Stored photos on a compact flash card. I’ve been doing digital video editing almost as long. Combine all these elements and you see why a drone is of interest to me. Is it practical - something I’d use a lot - is the question. I see drone flying being very restrictive (if you have read my other posts) and it’s not going to get better. I hope you enjoy your new hobby.

Looked at the X-star! Quite the drone. Too large for me as I want to stay with a more portable model, like the EVO. Amazing drone though.

 

[KentA]

... If I read correctly you sold a ‘68 Truimph motorcycle AND had to finance the X-star!! I need to look up the X-star, it must a hell-of-a-drone! That’s quite a sacrifice you made. I’m not sure I’d consider that a ‘will’ but you found a way - at a fair cost to you....

The word "finance" is not limited to "borrow". A broader definition would include "management of money" or "provide the money needed".

In my case the income from the sale comfortably exceeded the cost of the X-Star & all of the accessories.

Your fixation with the monetary cost & perceived legal restrictions is noted, but for some of us flying a ~$1000 quadcopter is a pleasure worthy of the time & the coins invested.

 

[Colorado_scott]

Thanks for clarifying Kent, I was a little worried. Enjoy your hobby.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

It has come to pass that we should always adopt a “wait and see” outlook after any manufacturer releases new product advertising. They all consistently over promise and under deliver in some manner.