The different factor the Evo Lite+ presents is best low-light efficiency. The Air 2S has a most ISO of 6,400 in guide video seize, or 1,600 in the event you’re capturing D-log. The Evo Lite+ can shoot ISO 48,000, due to a devoted Night Mode. Now, that quantity would possibly sound like a recipe for noisy, principally ineffective video, however surprisingly, it is not. Autel’s Dark Mode algorithm manages comparatively crisp video with out scene-ruining ranges of noise, even in moonlight. That stated, I’ve by no means really flown a drone at night time (apart from to check this characteristic), so how helpful that is will rely a little on the way you shoot.
For extra basic video, the Evo Lite+ is able to capturing 5472×3076 pixel video, which is what will get labeled “6K”. For stills you may shoot 20 megapixel JPEG and RAW photographs. There’s additionally the marginally cheaper Evo Lite, which is in any other case the identical, however with a smaller sensor digital camera that may shoot 4K, however does provide 50 megapixel stills. I have never examined it, but when larger-resolution nonetheless photographs is your major use case, that Lite would possibly prevent some cash. For most individuals, I’d advocate the Lite+.
The digital camera you shoot with is not the one digital camera that issues on a drone. The EVO Lite+ additionally has obstacle-avoidance sensors on the entrance, rear, and backside of the drone. That principally matches the Air 2, although DJI does have an upward-looking sensor as effectively, which could be essential in some conditions (like flying beneath tree branches). That stated, the Evo Lite+ did a good job of avoiding every part I attempted to run it into. Overall, its collision avoidance is on half with the Air 2S and may maintain you out of hassle in most conditions.
One factor that stunned me is that the Evo Lite+ will warn you in the event you’re flying someplace you are not purported to—subsequent to an airport, for instance—but it surely would not fully shut off the plane the way in which DJI does. On one hand, I applaud letting the consumer make their very own selections, however however I’ve seen that new drone flyers are displaying an rising lack of expertise and customary sense that’s frightening a rising hostility towards drones. If persons are capable of fly the place they should not, they may, and it will not be lengthy earlier than the scenario will get worse. For testing functions I relied on the FAA’s B4UFly app (Android, iOS) to verify I used to be authorized to fly.
Autel additionally would not have the AirSense alerts that DJI presents. AirSense, which first confirmed up in DJI drones in 2020, tracks the situation of close by manned and unmanned plane and alerts you in the event you’re close to something. I’ve by no means had Airsense set off an alert about something, however it will be good to see one thing comparable in Autel’s drones.
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Photograph: Autel
Autel’s Sky app for iOS and Android is similar to DJI’s apps and is intuitive and straightforward to make use of. The controller, I used to be much less thrilled with. It seems like an Xbox controller, which is ok, but it surely lacks any cupboard space for the detachable joysticks, such as you get with DJI drones. Worse, Autel would not present an additional joystick like DJI does.
That stated, the controller is straightforward to make use of and I had no hassle flying. When you are taking off for the primary time, the Sky app will put you in a newbie mode that limits pace and altitude. I counsel staying on this mode till you get comfy. The Evo Lite+ is perhaps barely much less responsive than the DJI Air 2S, because of the further weight, however the weight is a bonus within the wind, which I handled a lot when testing.
The Sky app presents a number of flight modes, together with Smooth, Standard, and Ludicrous. The latter permits a prime pace of 42 miles an hour and roughly negates the obstacle-avoidance options, since you are not going to have time to react to any warning. But it is enjoyable to fly in Ludicrous mode.
Overall, the Autel Evo Lite+ is the primary drone I’ve examined that holds its personal in opposition to DJI’s very spectacular choices. If you need the management of a variable aperture digital camera, together with the elevated flight time, and do not thoughts the marginally larger worth, the Autel Evo Lite+ trumps the DJI Air 2S.
