The Autel Evo II films in excellent resolution and delivers inspiring videos and photos.
With a weight of 1,130 grams, the Autel model is surprisingly heavy. The workmanship is good overall, the arms with the propellers can be folded in and out - so the copter fits easily into any backpack or in any larger photo bag.
Filming in 8K: Autel Robotics Evo II
The camera is attached to a 3-axis gimbal and features a 1/2-inch CMOS sensor. It is recorded with a data rate of 120 Mbit/s in 10-bit color depth and with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for higher contrasts and more dynamics. 8K recordings with 7,680 x 4,320 pixels succeed with a maximum of 25 frames per second. Of course, this results in huge amounts of data. In everyday life, nobody needs 8K videos yet. However, the high resolution has the advantage of being able to zoom into the material during post-processing and to generate 4K films without loss of quality. However, an extremely fast computer is absolutely necessary.
The Autel also films with 6K/30p and 4K with a maximum of 60 frames. The adjustable ISO range is between 100 and 6,400, pilots can optically zoom four times. Photos can be taken with up to 48 megapixels (8,000 x 6,000 pixels) in both JPG and RAW format. An 8 gigabyte memory is permanently installed, which can be expanded by 256 gigabytes via a microSD card.
Twelve sensors for obstacle detection
Autel has equipped its Evo II with sensors for obstacle detection all around. There are twelve pieces in all, which should protect the aircraft from collisions in all directions. Disturbing objects are detected up to a distance of 30 meters. In the live image, potential danger spots are represented by colored lines.
The motors in the copter are powered by a 7,100 mAh LiPo battery, which is fully charged again after around 90 minutes. Autel promises flight times of up to 40 minutes. In the test, the battery lasted around 32 minutes, which is still a very good value. Depending on the mode selected, the drone reaches top speeds of 54 or 72 km/h.
The supplied controller has an integrated 3.3-inch OLED display. This not only provides information about the battery status and flight data, among other things, but also shows the live image from the camera in 720p if you are not using an additional smartphone. With 330 nits, the display is unfortunately too dark in sunlight, then you can hardly see anything, and it is extremely reflective. The fold-out smartphone holder is a bit wobbly, and the two function keys on the back are placed in an unfavorable way, so you often hit them unintentionally.
Using the remote control, the quadrocopter can be started and landed independently, and the go-home function can be triggered so that the drone climbs to a predetermined height and returns to the starting point. This worked perfectly in the test. The control principle is otherwise identical to almost all other drones available on the market.
To make all the important settings, you should install the "Autel Explorer" app on your Android or Apple smartphone. Here you can change the shutter, the ISO number and the resolution, among other things, and get information about the camera tilt, the distance and height of the copter, the current flight speed and the remaining capacity of the drone and remote control battery. The clarity of the app is good, but not all functions are immediately apparent and a short period of familiarization is required.
Flying the Evo II is straightforward and beginner-friendly. It reacts promptly to control commands, acts good-naturedly and stops as soon as you let go of the stick. Thanks to the striking color, the aircraft is perfectly recognizable in the sky. Of course, a copter for around 1,800 euros in this discipline has to compete with the market leader DJI. Here it is noticeable: The DJI drones can be flown a little more sensitively and precisely and are really nailed in the air. The Autel model tends to prance slightly at times, it's a bit more restless in the air. The manufacturer specifies a maximum range of 5 kilometers for Europe. In the test, we let the Evo II fly up to 400 meters away, the signal was stable at all times, and image transmission was successful without dropouts.
The obstacle detection also slows the drone down a bit at times. If you approach a tree, a hedge or another obstacle, the copter does not glide past dynamically, but throttles its speed to a snail's pace and slowly gropes its way past. DJI is light years better here.
However, we are absolutely positively surprised by the film material. Although we took to the skies on a rather dreary autumn day, the 4K resolution, 60 frame video is super sharp, detailed and vivid. The colors are strong, but still natural, and the automatic exposure control does its job excellently. The gimbal is also great. Movements are super balanced, the recordings are smooth and steady, and manual maneuvers around your own axis are excellent.
Here Autel does not have to hide from DJI at all. Even unedited JPG photos are dynamic and rich in contrast. These results are really impressive. For creative filmmakers, the Evo II also masters various flight modes such as object and person tracking, flying from self-defined waypoints and maneuvers in which the copter circles around a selected object or automatically moves in the direction of a selected destination.
Conclusion: The Autel Evo II is a fairly expensive drone for around 1,800 euros, which delivers excellent videos and photos and can be controlled precisely. In terms of quality, there are hardly any better aircraft in this price range. The 8K resolution should currently be a nice but dispensable extra for most people. The remote's display is a weak point because it's too dark and too reflective. Otherwise, DJI can also be happy: finally a competitor who can compete with the popular drone manufacturer a bit.
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