Talk me into buying a solo

[Lon Denard]

No probs. On the batteries it appears 3rd parties are now or about to be produced.

Much cheaper to just upgrade parts on an existing platform than purchase a whole new thing. That was the intent of the Solo. Lots is finally happening in this space.

Biggest thing it all hinges on is the gimbal code on the imx6. If they release that then 3rd parties will make them.

On wear and tear items I'm confident 3rd paety drop in motor pods will be available. Just got to let the genuine ones reduce a bit. Hard to justify 3rd party pods when a referb can be had for under 200.

DJI are not bad its just not right for my needs most of the time. I've enjoyed flying their devices when ive flown them. I had a 2 person Inspire one crew absolutely floored i could do the moves they were doing, whats funny is mine were repeatable 100%. So i got the shot in 3 takes (with minor tweeks), they took over 15 goes to get it and a whole bunch of time. Only comment I've got is a nicer camera on the solo would have been great. I'd love to get my blackmagic micro cinema camera on it (its pretty light).

You have so much more experience that I'm inclined to agree with you! I'm still dubious on the viability of upgrades to the Solo VS a new drone. Especially when Autel, for example is coming out with a new camera and supposedly will support obstical avoidance at some point. I'm wondering if it won't be possible to get the Sony camera and gimbal for the Solo at some point.

 

[ChrisBird]

You have so much more experience that I'm inclined to agree with you! I'm still dubious on the viability of upgrades to the Solo VS a new drone. Especially when Autel, for example is coming out with a new camera and supposedly will support obstical avoidance at some point. I'm wondering if it won't be possible to get the Sony camera and gimbal for the Solo at some point.

The gimbal code will dictate how long the platform goes for (consumer and low end professional ap). If it doesnt get released then maybe 1 to 2 years of useful life as an AP platform as the gopro just wont keep up. Not a resolution thing it will be dynamic range and lens quality issues that hold it back. 4k is still not used that much production wise, however i expect that will change this year.

As a tinker / basic mapping machine its got a much longer life. Nothing ground breaking on the horizon for mapping so I'd say 3+ years.

 

[Lon Denard]

The gimbal code will dictate how long the platform goes for (consumer and low end professional ap). If it doesnt get released then maybe 1 to 2 years of useful life as an AP platform as the gopro just wont keep up. Not a resolution thing it will be dynamic range and lens quality issues that hold it back. 4k is still not used that much production wise, however i expect that will change this year.

As a tinker / basic mapping machine its got a much longer life. Nothing ground breaking on the horizon for mapping so I'd say 3+ years.

Fair enough.

 

[genie4x4]

Solo the most upgradeable and replaceable commercial drone, won't be long before someone prints a replaceable chasis for, which is the main breakable part on saying that I got a new chasis body for $50 off eBay after my crash, I wonder what a phantom body costs.