Walkera Vitus - finally a serious contender to the Mavic?

[LongRifle]

 

[Turnerm]

Walkera is nothing more than a cheap copycat company. They've been doing this for years with their helicopters. They wait for Blade to release something and then they copy it but it's always an inferior product.

So... buy at your own risk.

 

[LongRifle]

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a huge fan of the Mavic. And I appreciate DJI products in general, but DJI needs serious competition to keep it on its heels. The resulting innovation can only be good for us consumers. I've heard of Walkera as far back as DJI's first Phantom, so I think they're capable of turning out quality drones. Whether the new Vitus is one remains to be seen.

 

[darren6270]

I think Walkera are quite well respected in the racing drone market.

 

[JoostGT3]

It looks like a serious competitor, with comparable specs. It outperporms the mavic with the side objec avoidance sensors.
However, it is also interesting what they don't mention: speed, weight, dimensions, pricing and compatibility with android. And to be honest, I found the footage of the promo movie very restless and it didn't really provide steady longer shots to be able to judge the footage quality and stability.

My guess; a serious competitor on paper, but underperforming in real life, at a slightly lower pricepoint than the Mavic Pro. Will be following this one with interest!

 

[junyong]

Walkera is nothing more than a cheap copycat company. They've been doing this for years with their helicopters. They wait for Blade to release something and then they copy it but it's always an inferior product.

So... buy at your own risk.

I echo these sentiments. I started my foray into droning with the Walkera QR-X350 because it was within my budget range at the time. Little did I know I'd be getting sucked into dozens of hours of:
1) troubleshooting to get it to operate in all of its published functionality.
2) significant repairs due to crashes resulting from MAJOR hardware malfunctions at no fault of mine (it literally dropped out of the sky on more than one occasion).
3) add-ons and upgrades to achieve the same built-in functionality on a stock Phantom.

And because I was so vested in the other Walkera heli products as well (which all operated on the same transmitter, which I liked) I kept buying replacement parts (including an entire quad once).

So. Much. Trouble.

And because Walkera is a Chinese company with their culture of warranty policies, forget about making a claim. Based on the forums I didn't even bother. Seemed cheaper to just repair yourself or get a new one. BTW, good luck finding manuals that make much sense.

In sum, I'm glad I bought the Walkera Phantom-knockoff because it confirmed that I loved flying drones and led me to a Mavic purchase. Also, I learned a LOT about drones and all the integrated technologies from having worked on mine for so many hours. In many ways it was a labor of love. But what started out as a $400 initial purchase I ended up spending probably twice that for a really poorly performing product. Granted it's sort of unfair to compare such different generations of product but if the Mavic is a 10 (and I think it absolutely is) then the QR X350 is a 3. And if I had to speculate, this new quad of theirs is a 6 or 7 at best. And if you lose it or crash it, don't expect any useful customer service from this Chinese company who knows they're a world away from any obligations to you (you think DJI is bad you've no idea).

If you're going to buy Walkera, get their cheaper helis and call it a loss if they break or malfunction. That's where their value lies. Their products are often a lot cheaper than their copycat equivalents because of their lack of support and warranty.

 

[LongRifle]

Thanks for sharing your experience with Walkera. It will certainly factor in if I ever decide to buy their products.

I started out with Parrot drones. My very first was the AR2.0 then the Bebops which I still fly. I'm glad I learned my drone lessons on those before I got my Mavic. Parrot drones may be inferior to DJI's, but they have outstanding customer service. It's disappointing to hear about Walkera's subpar customer support.

 

[SeaComms]

Yep ditto for my sentiments. The first few minutes of that video they mention unrivaled technology etc.. it's a copy of the Mavic with almost identical specs! (Except for the side sensors - that is a great idea that I am surprised the Mavic does not have)

I to have a background experience with Walkera helicopters too, and from that experience would never buy another walkera product. Very cheap knockoffs is the politest description I can give.

 

[Kestrel]

I think Walkera are quite well respected in the racing drone market.

Um their runner 250 had lots of problems.

 

[darren6270]

Um their runner 250 had lots of problems.

The 210 often tops "best racing drones" tables.

 

[JoostGT3]

So I have looked at a couple more movies and foto's.
To be honest, the build quality seems far off from the Mavic's, both the drone and the controller.
While I like that there will be some competition to the Mavic, I think I would still choose the mavic if I had to buy a new drone now.

 

[Jerry]

On a plus note .. I like the way the legs fold, less stress than the mavic I think .. more obstacle avoidance is a good thing .. indoor flight ability is less dangerous ... screen sits above tc so easier to add tablets and not restrict view of rc ... integrated waypoint app rather than separate to Go4 ... several features here for mavic mkII to include and improve on

 

[Lapeer20m]

That Chinese to engrish script is hilarious.

 

[Kestrel]

The 210 often tops "best racing drones" tables.

Their 250 often fell out of the sky because they designed it wrong to where if you cut the throttle it would turn off the props and lots of peoples quads fell and broke.

 

[darren6270]

Their 250 often fell out of the sky because they designed it wrong to where if you cut the throttle it would turn off the props and lots of peoples quads fell and broke.

I know, but the 210, 215, 320 and even the 150 are highly rated. The 250 motor cut off was a big problem

 

[Kestrel]

I know, but the 210, 215, 320 and even the 150 are highly rated. The 250 motor cut off was a big problem

the f110 arms crack around the motors because of where the screw holes are, you're lucky if you get a few crashes out of it. Walkera is hit and miss.

 

[JoostGT3]

And? Anybody here got one yet? Would be interesting to read some first-hand experiences...

 

[drrjv]

Not much less expensive than the Mavic Pro

Found this - lots of info: Walkera Vitus Intelligent and Portable Drone | Available now !

 

[darren6270]

It looks very similar. I hear Walkera customer service is much better than DJI's. Could be a factor for some people.

 

[Biggle]

Walkera VITUS 320 5.8G Wifi FPV With 3-Axis 4K Camera Gimbal Obstacle Avoidance AR Games Drone

$800. That's too close to the Mavic to be really competitive on price. Now at $600 it would be a tough choice - would you pay an extra $400, just to have a DJI badge and their famously bad customer service?

At $600 it would pull me into the market and presuming reviews were not terrible I'd go for it. As it is, I'd pay the extra $200 for the name and model that's easily re-sold and has so many vids and tutorials and whatnot for it. Having said that, DJI's famously bad customer service is why I have not purchased one, including seeing so many stories of them crippling those already purchased unless you agree to let them screw you over later.

I'm just not feeling it, so nope to both at the moment, and the Spark is a toy with a toy's range, so for now I remain without a drone.

Update: looks like the price has bounced around a bit, and that's for the obstacle avoidance version, though I can see no sign of any version without it. I'd happily buy one if a lot less money and without such features. However the range appears to be no more than 1.5 km, and no idea if that also applies to CE models, which is what us peasants in the resoftheworldoutsideofmurica have to put up with.