I am new here ... Solo on order and waiting ... waiting ... waiting. You guys are scaring me! I love to fly, and I love to take pictures. I've been strapping cameras to RC aircraft for a while now. When I discovered 3DR I was immediately enamored with their concept and products. I bought into their marketing and signed up ... I've done lots of reading - lurking - and the one message I am able to take away is no one is using the same measuring stick.
Sharing with the group ... It costs about $600 per hour to put a Robinson R44 in the air. I can mount as many GoPros as I please, and for another $100 per hour I can mount a live photographer. Depending on flight time to destination I may get a 1/2 of actual shooting per one hour mission.
The future of Solo: For the cost of 3 hours of flight time - 1.5 hours of shooting, you can own a tool capable of shooting footage man is incapable of acquiring - never mind "professional" images... the perspective is priceless.
I think Solo should be viewed for what Solo can do, not what one thinks it should do. The creative freedom that comes with a drone is fantastic and at this price level that freedom is attainable.
My 2 cents