Hello all. I'm new to pro drones but not the platform altogether as my son has a few of the cheap toys.
I just wanted to chime in, especially with an R&D guy peeking in every so often and figured this is a good thread to throw my $0.02 into the fray.
Everybody wants the best for their money. I know I'm not special. But in my research, I keep seeing one phrase that is common for Autel products. "You get the best for your money/at this price point." That is great and all. I get it. But if $800 is crashing into the ground, why not spend $1500 and get a drone with fewer issues? Yes, I know DJI is not perfect, the Mavic is having "Fly-off" issues which I find totally unacceptable.
I don't want to go DJI. For basically the same reasons Apple doesn't appeal to me. But I want to buy ONE drone, Once. I'm confident in my being able to fly it properly, but I can't tolerate all that money crashing and burning because of an internal error. Granted Autel CS seems to be their best asset. But that is a not a ringing endorsement when CS is needed because of so much error.
I'm on the fence with buying a drone and am leaning to a P4P, but I really want to support Autel and buy an Autel product. The Orange XSP was very much at the top of my list until I scoured the internet forums of both companies and watching many YT vids. I'm praying a new model in the mould of the XSP comes out and soon. If DJI has a black Friday P4P deal that is irresistible I may jump on it. (really don't want to though)
Let me reiterate. I believe in Autel. I can tell the work is being put in and they value their customers. That speaks volumes. But I can't afford multiple drone purchases. And I don't want "best at it's price point" quality. I want reliability paramount to premium features, and then premium features dictating price point levels.
As a customer hesitant to drop large money on an iffy platform, these are issues I'd like to see in a "New Model" and wouldn't mind paying extra for. For $800, I'd rather spend a bit more for piece-of-mind.
1) Better orbit stability
2) Less choppy video (seems like a fps issueon some YT footage)
3) Better connectivity between RC and Quad. (this issue really scares me, a number of disconnects I'm seeing on owner vids)
4) More range. (1 mile of "safe" flight isn't really that much, especially when capturing the landscape I live near)