XSP For Professional/Business Applications?

[Dan AISCF]

As you can see, I'm new here. Been researching quads for half a year now and am just about ready to pull the trigger on a drone.

Quick background on myself, I'm a full time programmer for a tech company (10 years), HOWEVER, I DJ part-time on the side and have a decent customer base. I plan to introduce Drone Photography/Videography as one of my services...and then eventually try and get into many aspects of professional drone services (outside of entertainment and videos).

I have my choices narrowed down to a P3P, Mavic and an XSP. I love the community here. It kind of has that feel of an Android forum, where everyone is helpful, whereas many of the DJI boards have that Apple feel of elitism, lol. (No dig at XSP owners that also fly DJI). Don't get me wrong, I have all apple products, now, but still miss the days of Android. I digress....

Anyway, I was hoping to hear from XSP owners that use their birds for more than just leisure. Is the XSP professional enough to use for, say, roof inspections, tower inspections, commercial real estate work, etc.? Also, if these are used out in the Professional world, how do others view them, meaning the companies and clients that procure these services? I ask this because, sadly, a persons perception IS their reality, regardless of how true it is. I'd like to use a quad that works the way it is intended AND leaves a good impression.

Thank you all in advance for any insight/experiences you might have.

 

[JR Videography]

I would say yes of course you can use the XSP for professional use. Out of those three options, I believe the XSP is much superior. The only thing the Mavic has is portability, but the XSP has the best camera out of the three. Not to mention it has a removable camera and Autel will (hopefully) be releasing two other camera modules for it in the future. I heard once the firmware is made official (which is just was a few days ago) Autel will release the Flir camera module. I highly recommend the XSP.

 

[Dan AISCF]

I would say yes of course you can use the XSP for professional use. Out of those three options, I believe the XSP is much superior. The only thing the Mavic has is portability, but the XSP has the best camera out of the three. Not to mention it has a removable camera and Autel will (hopefully) be releasing two other camera modules for it in the future. I heard once the firmware is made official (which is just was a few days ago) Autel will release the Flir camera module. I highly recommend the XSP.

Thanks for taking the time out and replying. I have seen so many YT vids on the drone, my eyes hurt, however, I have not seen many vids on professional usage. All those types of vids seem to be dominated by Mavic and Phantom's... I'm sure to pull the trigger soon. Looking forward to hearing from others that use the XSP in their businesses.

 

[brian bwin]

I use the Autel for business purposes and you can see a short sample of work here:

Been away from the forums for a bit due to frustration with the FAA (eternity to approve airspace authorizations) and Autel (firmware/yaw issue + no 1" camera upgrade in sight).

I've been happy with the x-star but want better picture quality. It's hard to continue using it when there are better flying cameras out there, not to mention on drones where the yaw is smooth...

It also seems to have a tendency to drift closer to objects when it is near them. Supposedly better in the new firmware which I'm not going to be using because I'd rather not have horizon problems which some have reported.

Client perception.. I haven't had a ton of paying jobs but have been asked "do you use a phantom" on multiple occasions. The X-Star certainly looks cool

If drone work picks up I'll be moving on (P4P, most likely) with the XS as a backup but until then I can't justify the investment. Happy I got it over a P3 and I'm pretty sure the camera is better than a Mavic, though you'll lack advanced automation features and third-party app support that DJI has, if that is important to you.

 

[Dan AISCF]

I use the Autel for business purposes and you can see a short sample of work here:

Been away from the forums for a bit due to frustration with the FAA (eternity to approve airspace authorizations) and Autel (firmware/yaw issue + no 1" camera upgrade in sight).

BrianB, great video and thanks for the reply. As I'm totally new to flying, any info and feedback I receive is invaluable! I think I'll get a refurbished XSP to learn to fly and when I finally try and pass the 107 and have skills, I'll upgrade. I might also pick up a little Spark to do inside aerial party shots of the crowds (most of my venues are 400+ and might be a nice little addition to the djing package). Thanks again....

 

[JMV]

Hi DJSureShot, I hope I can help a little. I am based in Sydney Australia and own DJI phantom 3 both which are great and also the X Star Premium and since the new firmware upgrade
I reach a lot more for this bird. I have a full time aerial photography business and use the Autel XSP all the time. I find the Orange a big plus as most drones (phantom) are White and when my customers see the Orange they are impressed I guess as it's different. I have done roof inspections, park light towers, mobile phone towers etc and the Austel XSP is just great.
I mentioned I am based in Sydney and we get a lot of very bright sun shine days so I invested in some good quality filters and the video quality is fantastic, I think better than Phantom 3 Pro and Yuneec Typhoon H and Q500 4k. I also recommend an upgrade in propellers from Master Airscrew I just got them and they are great and improve the flight quality much smoother all round.
My customers perception is important to me and the XSP only enhances this.
Cheers John

 

[Dan AISCF]

Hi DJSureShot, I hope I can help a little. I am based in Sydney Australia and own DJI phantom 3 both which are great and also the X Star Premium and since the new firmware upgrade

John, thanks for the information. This information exactly what I was looking for! I had at one time considered the Yuneec's, however, they no longer make my list due to some oddities that I as a "soon to be" new pilot might have trouble getting past early on. Like you, customer perception is VERY important to me, and in my business, half the battle.

Thanks for the suggestion about the filters. I live in Sunny Florida, so I'll definitely go that route. I'd love to get into commercial work eventually and knowing the XSP does OK around towers is a great piece of info, as I was wondering about them and interference with the Autel.

I think I'll be pulling the trigger in a few weeks (need a couple more DJ'ing gigs to pay for this next venture). Thanks again.

 

[JMV]

Hi DJSureShot, One more thing I should mention and one reason why I choose the X Star Premium
is that the Video Link uses 902MHz to 928Mhz where all the others uses the standard 2.4 so that means when you are flying around Mobile phone towers which are on 2.4 the video will not drop out.
It is also good when I do roof inspections as sometimes a tree is in the way I do not have to stop as I still get the
video link.
I would consider buying the Premium as the standard does not have the 900MHz feed.
Cheers, John