This will be a shock


I was gonna say, the X-Star Premium currently only has a 12MP camera. I'm a photographer, so I'm very interested in drones that are better suited for aerial photography. The Solo is not one of those, it's just great with aerial footage. The stills, at 12MP max, are a little on the weak side. The DJI Phantom 4 Plus has a 20MP camera and I've been leaning toward that drone for a little bit.
 
you didn't read the article did you, check out the new camera

The 1-inch sensor camera module is set to launch in the second quarter of 2017. This upgraded camera will shoot 4K Ultra HD video and 20MP stills. The larger sensor will allow this camera to perform better in low-light scenarios and capture more cinematic images with a wider aperture.
 
you didn't read the article did you, check out the new camera

The 1-inch sensor camera module is set to launch in the second quarter of 2017. This upgraded camera will shoot 4K Ultra HD video and 20MP stills. The larger sensor will allow this camera to perform better in low-light scenarios and capture more cinematic images with a wider aperture.

No I did. I meant to say the current X Star doesn't have that great of a camera. When they launch the new one I'll be all over it.

Then again, what's the main difference between DJI and Autel? Chinese vs. American? I don't know how they compare specs-wise.
 
well the primary reason I would chose between the two currently is also the reason I chose solo.
They say 24/7 phone support, and a buddy confirmed they were there when he called on a Sunday
 
I just got off chat with Autel. Apparently their cameras are swappable, which is pretty sweet. The FLIR will be pretty cool too.
 
That is the other thing I liked, they are making the new cameras fit the old airframe
who does that in the industry
that is why I don't get why they are not getting more attention
 
Your selling me on the Autel. Was thinking of getting a mavic as my second bird, but this is really peaking my interest.

24/7 support, reverse camera customization. Intriguing company with a snazzy orange drone.

Only thing that I see is the fact they are behind on autonomous modes and avoidance sensors.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pyrate
This evolving market reminds me a lot of the Personal Computer Market in the late 70's and early 80's except in this case, DJI is the "800lb Gorilla" instead of IBM. Yes, I know DJI didn't make the same mistake IBM did with their their OS. The big question here is who will be the Apple, Commodore, Compaq, etc. in this case?

I'm interested in any product that is NOT a DJI and own products by Parrot, Yuneec and now 3DR.
 
Interesting, never heard of Autel before. I read on the website that they plan to release a SDK. Any more info on this?
Is the flight controller and camera controls based on dronekit/mavlink? Then we could run our existing code on this platform and this could become a serious 3dr replacement contender.
 
hang on there that was not my intention
I'm still the number 1 solo fan boy
Notice I did not say 3DR fan boy, when they release the code they win me back.

I bought it up to see if it was only me who didn't realize Autel makes a decent Product that does not seem to get its due.
 
And by the way for the DJI shills in here, notice how I just talked about Autel did not bash solo
Did not claim it to be better than solo, say it was the BEST DRONE EVER
 
I'm a little surprised some of you never heard of these. I can walk into Best Buy right now and pick one up for $799. My favorite feature is the included hard case. Heck, that's a couple hundred bucks. Plus a 64g card. There are 80 reviews with a 4.8 score. That's pretty damn good. There are autonomous programs btw. It also has better transmitter distance using 5.8 Ghz.

However, even with that being said, I've looked at this unit before and passed on it simply because I didn't see it as a significant improvement over the Solo. Similar camera specs, similar flight time, similar lack of portability, no crash avoidance, no optical, sonic or radar sensors, 35 mph top speed, etc.

Now if I didn't own two Solos and was thinking about getting into the hobby, and hated DJI, I'd probably consider this unit.

I mean we can always paint our birds orange, right?
 
I'm a little surprised some of you never heard of these. I can walk into Best Buy right now and pick one up for $799. My favorite feature is the included hard case. Heck, that's a couple hundred bucks. Plus a 64g card. There are 80 reviews with a 4.8 score. That's pretty damn good. There are autonomous programs btw. It also has better transmitter distance using 5.8 Ghz.

However, even with that being said, I've looked at this unit before and passed on it simply because I didn't see it as a significant improvement over the Solo. Similar camera specs, similar flight time, similar lack of portability, no crash avoidance, no optical, sonic or radar sensors, 35 mph top speed, etc.

Now if I didn't own two Solos and was thinking about getting into the hobby, and hated DJI, I'd probably consider this unit.

I mean we can always paint our birds orange, right?

Oh I forgot to add...and if I totally forgot about Yuneec.... Hey their $800 drone comes with a spare battery, a hard case, a hand held gimbal (ala' karma grip) for the camera, an integrated screen in the controller, etc. Quite frankly, even at the $300 price point, when you add in the cost of the camera ($4-500), Solo has some competition. No wonder they couldn't cut it at $1,000.
 
I actually flew that Yuneek 4k for a while
it was not good, flight handling was loose and video was sub par
 
At the end of the day, if i had my way, 3DR would have hung on. When I look at some of the things I like about Autel or Yuneec, interchangeable cameras, the hand held gimbal support. They look like things 3DR could have done easily and in the case of the camera were going to do. I'm a mechanical engineer but I didn't pretend to know what goes into designing a gimbal but it seems to me that once you've cracked the basics, adjusting it for different cameras should be relatively easy. Even if you lose the camera control, which I've almost never used mid flight, but just producing a unit that would use an "adapter" to mount different action cams... Heck, I'd settle with being able to use my Hero 5 or a Sony X3000R.
 
Last edited:

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
13,093
Messages
147,741
Members
16,047
Latest member
pvt solo