Autel Robotics EVO II Drone - 8k Camera Drone

I’m glad that I purchased through Autelpilot. Shipping was quick from California and Michael was great in responding to all of my inquiries during the process. The Evo II has met my expectations and the video & photo quality is superb. The battery life and flight time are impressive.

Well, I finally got to fly the Autel Evo 2 today thanks to a friend, and fellow OKC Drones member Dave Livingston. I have to say I am very impressed with this drone. Flies very well and shoots some great video and pictures (the 8K camera). My impressions: Great flying drone, but is a bit twitchy in the wind. (10-15mph) Although it does not effect the video at all, it does effect the mind of the pilot. It just doesn't seem to have the stability of the Mavic 2, and it is very sluggish when maneuvering in the wind. I have flown the Mavic 2 in 30mph winds with a lot more stability than the Evo 2. Inputs are slow to react. It seems you really have to be deliberate in your inputs and it really seems like it has a lot of delay between input and reaction. Certainly not as crisp as I was hoping it would be, but you have to remember it is a bit bigger than the Mavic 2. The battery life is amazing! 33 minutes of flight time on a charge is amazing. However, I don't think the 40 minute advertised flight time is very realistic, just as the 31 minute flight time of the Mavic 2 is not realistic at all. I imagine if you were to simply take off and hover, you may get 40 minutes. BUT, 33 minutes in such a high quality drone is incredible in my book! One thing I was really surprised by, and really didn't expect is the time it took to get ready to fly. I set it up properly, turned everything on and everything booted up fine, but every time I tried to start the motors I would get a gimbal warning saying that the gimbal was not ready. I initially thought I had left the gimbal cover on, but that was not the case. It did this every flight I made. I had to wait a good 30 to 45 seconds for the gimbal to 'warm up' before it would let me start the motors. Very odd. As I stated before, it was sluggish in the air, but, it also had Ludicrous mode, which I was hesitant to try as it disengaged the obstacle avoidance. I like the crisp clean movements of the Mavic 2 much better. Another thing I did not like was the responsiveness of the gimbal tilt. It almost seems like it is not linear in its movements and it took a lot of input to get it to move. Again, very different than what I am used to in the Mavic 2. Now for its strong points. What impressed me the most, and the main reason why I had to fly this drone was NO GEOFENCING! No warnings, no red areas, no nothing. I had authorization to fly all the flights I made today and had no problems at all getting it in the air. It was a far cry different than the DJI products. As frustrated as I was over my Mavic 2 not even allowing me to start the motors, I was absolutely relieved to fly a drone without those pesky warnings. Now getting warnings is fine to me. Let me know I am in restricted airspace, but don't disable my drone because of it. This is a huge problem with me because I have the proper authorizations, wouldn't fly without them, and this should be good enough to fly. DJI loses to this one for sure. Now we come to the radio. I love the display, but hate the radio itself. Why Autel did not create a new radio for this drone over the first gen Evo is beyond me. This radio is very awkward to hold the way it is made. One of the most frustrating thing about it is you are limited to a smart phone and not a tablet. The phone holder is very flimsy and just doesn't feel very steady. Maybe I am just too used to my DJI Smart Controller, but I just don't like the Evo 2 controller. Now if Autel would come out with a Smart Controller-ish radio, I think they would knock it out of the park. So, bottom line I am very impressed with Autel's attempt to take on DJI in an amazing foldable drone, but I just don't think they are quite there yet. I am extremely impressed that they have come this far though considering this is really only their 3rd drone come to market. I was ready to take the plunge and get one just based on the flight time, and the non geofence capabilities, but after flying it I am not sure I will. Plus, I recently found out that the batteries are $219 each, ouch! Great job Autel, and I can tell you I am really excited to see where you go from here. Welcome to the big boys for sure, you have come a long way! A very special thanks to Dave for letting me take it for a spin. I was able to fly these flights for the Mid Del school system without the restrictions set out by DJI, and do it all with one charge. DJI, if you ever need input on how inconvenient and over reaching your geofencing really is, please let me know, I will be happy to give you my input!

The release of the EVO2 series has been confusing to say the least. The team at autelpilot kept the lines of communication open and handled my transaction professionally. The drone itself is an absolute beast.

Received!

I really love my Autel Evo 2. Big thanks to Michael who has put up with a lot of misinformation from several sources. He came through as promised and the service was always positive and quick. I highly recommend this dealer and the product they carry. And yes, it is warrantied In North America.

Overall buying experience with AutelPilot is excellent. I ordered the Autel EVO 2 8k. They ship the drone to me real quick. Thank you to the Autel Pilot Member -- Michael you're the best..