Autel vs DJI

[Rabber]

I have been repeatedly frustrated with DJI's flight restrictions. First, I unlocked an area that I was going to visit in the mountains that happened to near a very small airport. THREE times I went there and had an unsuccessful unlock each time.

Another, more recent adventure, I was in the high Sierras and attempted to film this beautiful mountain and was flummoxed by an altitude restriction. I get the ceiling restriction for urban areas but in the middle of nowhere in the mountains? I am aware that Autel drones do not have these restrictions.

Why would I not buy an Autel for my next drone?

 

[mavic3usa]

I have been repeatedly frustrated with DJI's flight restrictions. First, I unlocked an area that I was going to visit in the mountains that happened to near a very small airport. THREE times I went there and had an unsuccessful unlock each time.

Another, more recent adventure, I was in the high Sierras and attempted to film this beautiful mountain and was flummoxed by an altitude restriction. I get the ceiling restriction for urban areas but in the middle of nowhere in the mountains? I am aware that Autel drones do not have these restrictions.

Why would I not buy an Autel for my next drone?

Autel has little to no support for some of their consumer drones so be prepared to get no help should you need it. I have the Evo 2 Pro and it's one of my favorite but I've never needed assistance with anything. If you can find one cheap, make sure you get the V3 version since it's the latest, it has RID, and the Evo 2 Pro has a pretty good camera.

 

[Ty Pilot]

Having been flying since long before regulations started, having a "drone" that is completely and utterly unrestricted has become very valuable (to me). Picking the right "unrestricted" drone these days is a little harder, based upon one's needs. I feel very fortunate that I have a camera drone that has a camera that is still at, or near the top of the consumer market, yet was produced before manufacturers felt so obligated as DJI does now to make restrictions to flight such as they do.

If Autel makes a comparable camera drone to the typical DJI in terms of imagery, and is (or can have all restrictions), turned off, I would be looking at one. I would (and do) sacrifice much of the advancement of modern drones in order to have flight freedom totally at my disposal just when and where I need it.

Shorter flight time, shorter flight distance, less OA, less autonomous flight - I will sacrifice all this and more to have a drone with a really good camera that does not have GEO zones or other restrictions.

I live in some fairly complex airspace in the US (Orlando/Space Coast) and regularly fly and work in areas that could (or would) be questionable by DJI's GEO maps.

Before you ask, I am 107 and law abiding, its just at times I don't need (nor can I tolerate), nanny-ware - especially given that; the time and attention I give my craft, is not afforded to DJI's nanny-ware.

I love my M2P and will buy DJI again but I will never settle for brand loyalty over my needs.

 

[Wreckhunter]

Having been flying since long before regulations started, having a "drone" that is completely and utterly unrestricted has become very valuable (to me). Picking the right "unrestricted" drone these days is a little harder, based upon one's needs. I feel very fortunate that I have a camera drone that has a camera that is still at, or near the top of the consumer market, yet was produced before manufacturers felt so obligated as DJI does now to make restrictions to flight such as they do.

If Autel makes a comparable camera drone to the typical DJI in terms of imagery, and is (or can have all restrictions), turned off, I would be looking at one. I would (and do) sacrifice much of the advancement of modern drones in order to have flight freedom totally at my disposal just when and where I need it.

Shorter flight time, shorter flight distance, less OA, less autonomous flight - I will sacrifice all this and more to have a drone with a really good camera that does not have GEO zones or other restrictions.

I live in some fairly complex airspace in the US (Orlando/Space Coast) and regularly fly and work in areas that could (or would) be questionable by DJI's GEO maps.

Before you ask, I am 107 and law abiding, its just at times I don't need (nor can I tolerate), nanny-ware - especially given that; the time and attention I give my craft, is not afforded to DJI's nanny-ware.

I love my M2P and will buy DJI again but I will never settle for brand loyalty over my needs.

Take a good look at the Autel Lite+ drone,super camera quality.I have one,the flight controls may be a little
smoother with the DJI drones.But the camera on the Lite+ is so good.

 

[shb]

THREE times I went there and had an unsuccessful unlock each time.

It's really bad when you go somewhere and think the area is unlocked, only to find it's not, and you can't unlock it without internet. You should email DJI support about this before you go again.

 

[scoobie77]

It's really bad when you go somewhere and think the area is unlocked, only to find it's not, and you can't unlock it without internet. You should email DJI support about this before you go again.

I have run into this problem multiple times. I now fly with a Mavic 2 and carry an Air 2s as a backup. When the M2 is stymied by restrictions, even with prior authorization, the Air 2s will still fly. They may text me a code to plug in, but the M2 doesn't get that.

 

[GFields]

DJI's hard programing airspace restrictions is like having a car that won't start until you fasten your seat belt. I too have run into problems with the DJI Safe Fly Zone having obtained the necessary unlock code to drive over 2 hours for a photo shoot and not being able to launch the drone. My drone fleet now includes the Autel EVO Lite +. The Lite+ does a fantastic job! The images are great right off the SD card. It actually has been my "go-to" drone until purchasing the Air 3. However, the Lite+ goes with me on every photo shoot just in case I have an "unlock" issue. As far as Autel's customer service, I haven't had the need to contact them, so I cannot comment on that.

 

[DARKSeifer]

I have been repeatedly frustrated with DJI's flight restrictions. First, I unlocked an area that I was going to visit in the mountains that happened to near a very small airport. THREE times I went there and had an unsuccessful unlock each time.

Another, more recent adventure, I was in the high Sierras and attempted to film this beautiful mountain and was flummoxed by an altitude restriction. I get the ceiling restriction for urban areas but in the middle of nowhere in the mountains? I am aware that Autel drones do not have these restrictions.

Why would I not buy an Autel for my next drone?

There are some "old" DJI drones where you can remove both the geofencing and the air limit, like the Mini 2 for example.

Autel drones don't have any kind of quality control, I had an Autel Evo Lite and the first one arrived bricked, the second one failed to start motors after 60 hours of flight time... I didn't risk a third one and just picked the Mavic 3.

On the software side, they are also full of bugs, just like DJI, and there isn't any hack available to switch Autel to FCC so yep, the only good point is that they don't emit Aeroscope, but I suppose they'll emit RID at some point, just like the M3 is doing right now in Europe.

I switched to Autel because I wanted to get rid of Aeroscope emissions and the overtuned babysitting that every DJI drone comes with, but reliability wise, they are miles away.

In resume, I prefer to deal with the occasional police officer lured to my position than risking a midair failure.

 

[ssb73q]

Hi,

IMO Autel is getting out of the consumer drone business. I have two Autel EVO ll and one Nano+ drones. They are excellent drones. I will need to fly my EVO ll V1s using a RID module. However, I have become a DJI fanboy of late.

Buying an Autel drone today risks obsolescence tomorrow.

Regards,
Richard

 

[mavic3usa]

Hi,

IMO Autel is getting out of the consumer drone business. I have two Autel EVO ll and one Nano+ drones. They are excellent drones. I will need to fly my EVO ll V1s using a RID module. However, I have become a DJI fanboy of late.

Buying an Autel drone today risks obsolescence tomorrow.

Regards,
Richard

But Autel is the only drone manufacturer that has published a firm schedule on end of life and end of service on each of their drone models. Still it is possible they could shut down tomorrow but if they launch an Evo3 I’m getting one.

 

[RemoteFlyte]

DJI's hard programing airspace restrictions is like having a car that won't start until you fasten your seat belt. I too have run into problems with the DJI Safe Fly Zone having obtained the necessary unlock code to drive over 2 hours for a photo shoot and not being able to launch the drone. My drone fleet now includes the Autel EVO Lite +. The Lite+ does a fantastic job! The images are great right off the SD card. It actually has been my "go-to" drone until purchasing the Air 3. However, the Lite+ goes with me on every photo shoot just in case I have an "unlock" issue. As far as Autel's customer service, I haven't had the need to contact them, so I cannot comment on that.

I agree. I bought a Lite+ just for that reason. I'm beginning to fly it more often than the DJI's. I love the quality and the way it flies.

 

[PhoebeSnow]

The flight restrictions were one of the reasons I mainly fly the Fimi X8SE 2022 V2 drone. The range exceeds any of my 4 DJI drones and the remote is very bright and easy to see on any sunny day. Here I have these very pricey DJI drones but get better results with the relatively inexpensive Fimi without the annoying flight restrictions. Granted it doesn't have OA but experienced fliers don't need it anyway.

 

[Dmcvey]

Rotating our fleet of 65 DJIs for Autel. Own 25 Evo 2 ver 2&3. Pilots have nothing but good to say.

 

[Mrprop365]

Having been flying since long before regulations started, having a "drone" that is completely and utterly unrestricted has become very valuable (to me). Picking the right "unrestricted" drone these days is a little harder, based upon one's needs. I feel very fortunate that I have a camera drone that has a camera that is still at, or near the top of the consumer market, yet was produced before manufacturers felt so obligated as DJI does now to make restrictions to flight such as they do.

If Autel makes a comparable camera drone to the typical DJI in terms of imagery, and is (or can have all restrictions), turned off, I would be looking at one. I would (and do) sacrifice much of the advancement of modern drones in order to have flight freedom totally at my disposal just when and where I need it.

Shorter flight time, shorter flight distance, less OA, less autonomous flight - I will sacrifice all this and more to have a drone with a really good camera that does not have GEO zones or other restrictions.

I live in some fairly complex airspace in the US (Orlando/Space Coast) and regularly fly and work in areas that could (or would) be questionable by DJI's GEO maps.

Before you ask, I am 107 and law abiding, its just at times I don't need (nor can I tolerate), nanny-ware - especially given that; the time and attention I give my craft, is not afforded to DJI's nanny-ware.

I love my M2P and will buy DJI again but I will never settle for brand loyalty over my needs.

is it not worth it to just buy drone hacks? i am not really familiar with drone hacks so if im saying something dumb dont hesitate to respond

 

[Ty Pilot]

is it not worth it to just buy drone hacks? i am not really familiar with drone hacks so if im saying something dumb dont hesitate to respond

I have no experience with "drone hacks" either. In my post that you quoted, I was referencing a drone I purchased from a different manufacturer (Yuneec Typhoon H Plus) that in its normal state from the factory - had no restrictions, (or more precisely) - I got an early version that allows me to turn on and off all restrictions, right in my controller.

 

[Mrprop365]

I have no experience with "drone hacks" either. In my post that you quoted, I was referencing a drone I purchased from a different manufacturer (Yuneec Typhoon H Plus) that in its normal state from the factory - had no restrictions, (or more precisely) - I got an early version that allows me to turn on and off all restrictions

i was suggesting dh for a dji drone

 

[Ty Pilot]

i was suggesting dh for a dji drone

Well here again - I have no experience with drone hacks so I don't know what to say, except to say: I would rather not have to go to an aftermarket "hack".