There are so many things to write home about this drone. For example, offhand, it has some eye catching things such as 9000 meters of FPV range and remote controller range, 40 minutes of flight time, high capacity controller battery, high speeds of 15m/s and obstacle detection are just some of them. Of course, like any other drone, it also has a few downsides to it. We shall look at all these things, including the design and build quality, camera, flight functions and many more in greater detail.
Something important that you should note is that the Evo 2 is one in a series of Evo 2 drones. The others that you can buy include Evo 2 Pro, Evo 2 Combo, Evo 2 Pro Combo and Evo 2 Dual Combo. They cost different prices and they have different features.
Evo Autel 2 Features & Technical Details
The features alone can make or break the deal on a drone. Just as we saw in the Autel Robotics EVO (Evo 1) that we reviewed some time back, you will realize the build quality and durability are some of the key considerations for this dronemaker. However, the Evo 2 is a tremendous improvement on the Evo 1.
Design and Build Quality
When you unpack this drone from its hard shell case, you will realize that it is a well-built, solid and durable drone. You can tell all this from the quality of the casing and the weight of the drone. The heavier a drone is, the more stable the flight will be, even in the wind.
This is a foldable drone. The good thing is that it folds into a compact rectangular shape for packing. You also don’t have to remove the blades when you are packing the drone in its case. At your destination, just remove the drone, unfold and fly it.
This is a heavy drone. The take off weight is 1192g. You have to register it with the FAA if you will use the drone in North America.
The drone is SD card enabled. It is sold with 8GB of internal storage space. You can expand this to 128GB with a MicroSD Card. This should take many of your videos and photos before you need to transfer them to your computer.
The drone casing is made with ABS plastic. This is the common material used to make many drones. It has been beautifully finished with orange and black color.
Camera quality
One thing that you will notice with all the Series 2 Evo drones is that they have the same body. However, they have different camera specs. The Evo 2 has an 8K camera. This sounds like a marketing gimmick especially because 8K video is not common in consumer drones. However, in this case, it is true. The high battery and processing power of the drone makes it quite able to capture photo footage with 8000 by 6000P resolution and 7680 by 4320 videos. You might think that 8K is overkill for a drone. However, remember there was a time when 4K was thought to be overkill. Today, it is the standard for TVs and some computers. Therefore, an 8K camera can allow you to capture futuristic footage.
You can enjoy incredible FPV time with this drone. First, FPV is enabled for the entire flight range of 9000 meters. That is not all though because you can opt to either plug in your smartphone for your FPV or just use the built-in LCD screen on the remote controller.
You will get 60 degrees of horizontal field of view, vertical field of view of 80 degrees. You will be able to capture high quality videos and photos with this camera.
Battery and Flight Time
For a performance drone, you cannot expect nothing less of a high performance battery. And that is what you are going to get. The drone battery is 7100mAh LiPo 3S, which, frankly, is a beast of a battery and it will give you 35 minutes of hovering or 40 minutes of flight time.
Tell you what though … the advertised flight time is 40 minutes. However, realistically, things change a bit on the ground. So you are most likely going to get a flight time of 33 minutes, which is still good.
Remote controller
The remote controller for the Autel Evo 2 drone s quite something. First, with a built-in recharge battery of 5000mAh capacity. This is sure to see you through the entire flight time and still remain with a good amount of charge.
Secondly, it has a 3.3 inch OLED screen. You can view many of the drone statistics on the remote controller and at the same time, get good FPV transmission if you do not want to use your smartphone.
Flight performance and functions
When it comes to the flight performance and functions, this Chinese dronemaker really went out of the way to bring users a thrilling drone. Here are some of the functions to look forward to:
Obstacle sensors
The Evo II comes with a state of the art obstacle avoidance system. It has 12 vision sensors that are omnidirectional in design. That means that the drone can be able to avoid obstacles from below, above, the sides and everywhere else.
People who have flown this drone say that the sensors are so sensitive that they will even react to obstacles that are not even there. This means you should expect some erratic behavior from the drone.
Speed
This drone is quite a beast when it comes to speed. It has the standard mode of 15m/s and the faster Ludicrous mode that offers a top speed of 20m/s. Translated to km/h, this is about 72km/h for the Ludicrous mode.
Return to Home Function
This drone has a return to home function. When the battery runs low, the drone turns and heads back home. If the drone loses signal, it turns and comes back home. This is a safety function. It will keep your drone safe.
Gesture Commands
You can show this drone gestures to take selfies and videos. If you show it the palm gesture, it will start taking your photos. This makes it a lot of fun to use.
GPS and ATTI flight modes
This is what we also refer to as altitude hold. The drone uses barometer sensors to stay steady at the set altitude. It also uses GPS to hover precisely all the time.
Autel EVO 2 Pros
- Long flight time from high capacity battery
- Can be used for professional video jobs
- Shipped with a nice hard shell case for traveling
- Folds nicely into a small and compact shape
- Flies well even in the wind
- Good 8K camera is technology of the future
- Flies farthest – remote and FPV control range is 9km
- Safe flights always with crash avoidance sensors
- Short charging time for battery
Autel Evo 2 Cons
- Crash avoidance sensors are too sensitive and cause the drone to swerve without reason
- Drone does not really get 40 minutes of flight time. 33 to 35 minutes is more like it
- Drone app is erratic
Who Should Buy The Autel Evo 2 drone?
This drone will set you back a good amount of money. Therefore, before you buy it, you should make sure you really need it. If you are a photographer and you would like a good aerial camera to back you up, get the Evo 2. If you are a beginner, you will probably want to start with cheaper drone.
This is a performance drone made for people who love speed and long flight range. Costing more than $1500 on most online marketplaces, you should put it to good use to get good value for money. If you love capturing footage in wind and snow, this drone will do a good job of that.
Conclusion and Recommendation
The Autel Evo 2 is one in a series of four drones. The cameras are interchangeable, but the bodies are the same. When you buy yours, read the user manual carefully to see how to fly it. Start on the standard speed setting and then try the high “Ludicrous” speed later.
Do not break the law with your Evo 2. In most countries, it is recommended that you only fly the drone as far as your line of sight. Therefore, you will most likely not be able to do the whole flight range of 9km.
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