Anafi vs Evo

[Thanev]

I am looking for opinions on a comparison between the Anafi and Autel Evo from members who have had access to both.DJI is not an option for me.
I am familiar with the capabilities of the Anafi and its software and hardware.
- I know Parrot sucks in the customer service department ...is Autel better?
- Parrot does not ship to Canada and warranty in Canada is a nightmare.Autel better?
-Parts fior the Anafi don't exist,is Autel better?
-is the Evo transmitter screen useable in real world lighting?
-are upgrades to firmware existant/easy for the Evo
-is the Evo range more "robust"?
As I am looking to upgrade,any info would help.And input from members seems like the best place to start.
Thank you.

 

[pmh1nic]

I did a search on the Autel forum and for the most part those that own them and have had an issue give high marks to Autel customer service: Autel Customer Service

 

[jmbsmt63]

I have both an Anafi and an EVO

Autel's customer service is US based. I have had excellent experiences with them as have the majority of others

Unsure of the EVO's warranty/shipping procedures in Canada but Parrot has basically decided not to service or ship to Canada at this point

Other than a very few accessories and batteries/props/UV filters etc. There are no spare parts available for the EVO either

The built-in screen on the EVO controller is as useable as the majority of phones as far as brightness/resolution, etc. You need the app for many "options" but it is very useable and handy if just doing basic flying/photos and video

The EVO's update procedure is about the same as the Anafi but the Anafi has a bit better visual " progress indicators" ...The EVO can be updated manually with an SD card inserted with the downloaded firmware on it..which is a more reliable option than "over the air" in my opinion.

The EVO's range is much better than the Anafi under the same conditions...At least 2-3 times farther in a similar "high interference" area and probably more than that in an "open" area. That is all subjective and will vary but as a general rule...The EVO has a better range by a healthy margin.

The Anafi is MUCH quieter and has a much better selection of autonomous modes and photo options such as a panorama mode

 

[Jagerbomb52]

- I know Parrot sucks in the customer service department ...is Autel better?
-Autel customer support is number one in the industry, even for Canadian customers.
- Parrot does not ship to Canada and warranty in Canada is a nightmare.Autel better?
-Yes Autel ships to Canada but be prepared for the extra duty fees our border people want from you even on warranty work.
-Parts fior the Anafi don't exist,is Autel better?
-No real parts, must be sent in for service, at least they have service.
-is the Evo transmitter screen useable in real world lighting?
-Yes
-are upgrades to firmware existant/easy for the Evo
-Yes
-is the Evo range more "robust"?
-Yes

 

[Nidge]

For what it’s worth I was extremely interested in the EVO when it was released. However when I searched Autels website for my nearest supplier/service agent the result was Canada!!! I’m in the UK.

So it appears that what is Parrot’s major failing (no support in Canada) is Autel’s major strength.

Regards

Nidge.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Sure would like to know who the service agent is for Autel in Canada? I have been flying Autel products since they first came out with the X-Star premium and any service\warrant work is all done through their office in Bothell, Washington. They do pay for shipping there and back but unfortunately we Canadians get stuck with duty charges. I have had several batteries replaced and you end up paying arounf 22-28 dollars duty depending on the difference on the American dollar compared to the Canadian dollar.
Walmart Canada sells the EVO and seems to be about the best deal from what I can tell. Not sure how they will handle warranty work if needed.

 

[Thanev]

Wow! Thank you for the replies everyone!

 

[CraigCam]

I have both. Evo will get props in the shot if you don’t tilt the gimbal a bit. The Anafi will never do that. The Evo has better range and great for fun and fast where I find the Anafi better for more precise work and close flying. The raw photos from the Anafi are amazing but the Evo has better video rates like 1080 at 120 frames. I typically take both with me but lately because I’ve been beach flying with the wind, I take the Evo out as it’s a far superior flyer with really great RTH and I trust that very much. I think the two have unique set ups and systems that are well thought through and I like having a drone with collision sensors in the Evo for safety but I do close up work with the Anafi because it doesn’t stop forward flight when I do my close stills.

So for me, the daily documentation I’m doing of the Agave plant behind my house is all Anafi because I’m grabbing lots of photos for a future montage showing the plants crazy stalk growing and then dying this fall. The Anafi allows me to get below the arms and film upward and grab great angles and perspectives that no other drone can achieve currently. I have a GoPro also that’s been shooting a frame a minute set up it has been running non stop for a month now. No neighbors are bothered by my dawn flights in this project by my Anafi as it’s size and sound are not intimidating.

For the Evo, I enjoy using the third party ND filters along with its “natural” setting for color and it does very good quality motion video but requires more post editing as it’s not very cinematic in yaw and turning and it’s not as smooth as the Anafi here. One of those reasons are that I usually do more focused clips with the Anafi and make shorter videos I can immediately download to the gallery and enjoy at breakfast. With the Evo, I run long videos because I’m goofing around more and it goes 45mph and that’s not happening with an Anafi.

Perhaps you can tell us what you want to create? Of the two, for sure the Anafi is a more superior film maker with the zoom and and indoor capabilities and I love mine for my dedicated projects like my train graffiti art and this century plant study I’m doing.

Here is an example of an odd Anafi angle photo that is impossible with any other camera.

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[Thanev]

This is excellent info! Thank you!
With a number of years using different DSLRs I quickly learned that lenses make all the difference.I had 9 "go-to" lenses which were required to capture the different shots I wanted.
With info such as yours and the others who replied,I can see the Evo in my future.Not getting rid of the Anafi,but adding to my arsenal.

 

[CraigCam]

Agreed. I honestly feel between the two, I’ve got all options available for any job. The house in Mexico I’m helping repair required the Evo for the close parapet and roof line inspection with a video but photos and video tour of interior was Anafi. I’ve got shoulder bags for both and it’s easy to carry them together out in the field.

As a side note, yesterday, a large Crane flew directly at the Evo and was not happy. With the Anafi, I could have snuck up more and used the zoom and captured more of it feeding and not bothered it. It would have taken longer to get there as the bird was a blip against the upwind shore line about 200 yards away. No guarantee that it won’t fly away as you sneak up.

Since I was piloting the Evo, I went for it as I was using my 22mph set up, and of course that got the bird flying. I expected away not attack and the footage is absolutely astounding. I like 1080 60 frames and with the ND 4 filter, I got a Wild Kingdom level shot. I believe that bird would have hit the Anafi but the size of the Evo and obviously scarier props did cause the bird to break away at camera and birds eye level. I’m working on getting that footage up on my YouTube tonight.



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[Thanev]

Please post a link!

 

[CraigCam]

I can toss up a quick no music version soon.


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[Thanev]

Had 2 Canada geese fly by one of my toy drones a couple of years ago .One goose actually turned and looked into the camera before they flew off. Cheesy little camera on the drone,and the geese were only in the shot for a couple of frames,but wow.Wish I had the quality back then that I do now.

 

[CraigCam]

Here you go.

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[Thanev]

Here you go.

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Yup.Crane wanted some action on that one!
I see you had the Yuneec H plus as well.Darn near sprung for the Typhoon plus before the Anafi.Heard good things about Yuneec service,but size held me back.And that controller was massive!

 

[d95gas]

A recent review on a Slack channel I subscribe too, mainly DJI related, but someone asked for a comparison between the DJI MP and the EVO:

Autel is so amateurish-Their "customer support" consists of four guys and a "head engineer" with his head up his rear end!

Everything Autel is backwards from DJI, and nothing works as it should. Even the micro-SD cards insert upside down from DJI., and the micro-SD card cover requires a screwdriver to open.

They keep blaming the environment, instead of admitting that they cannot compete effectively with DJI on any level, when their signal and FPV start dropping out at 1.5 miles! Their range sucks.

The FPV drops out long before signal is lost. None of their custom settings survive a reboot, requiring 2 minutes of battery life to reset all your custom settings.

Their camera can't tilt up 30° from horizontal, which is required for spherical panoramas.

Their battery life is horrible, and is optimised only by flying at a sluggish 22mph. Their claim of unrestricted flight is at the expense of continuous on screen warnings that cannot be removed, which obstruct your FPV. Even DJI lets you dismiss the warning completely, after self authorising.

Compass direction is not visible while viewing FPV, so it is impossible to keep the antennas pointed at the aircraft at any distance. FPV is not restored after restoring signal loss.

There is no numeric remaining battery percentage display in the Explorer app.

The flight logs cannot be synced from any iPad. The flight logs cannot play back remaining battery percentage after any signal loss. On Android Explorer, the flight log Play bar cannot be dragged manually because it drags the map in the background instead!

Oh, and at 7% remaining battery, it is coming down, and no stick override is possible! Compare that to DJI where you can still override the forced descent below 0%, until one of the cells drops below 3.0V! Would you like me to go on?

 

[Thanev]

Thanks for your input,but was looking more for an Autel vs Parrot comparison.Not considering DJI at all.But thanks anyway.

 

[d95gas]

It was only to show some of the facts, these would still be so when comparing Parrot to Evo.

 

[Thanev]

Thanks

 

[CraigCam]

Um...not. DJI thread but since you brought it up...if they are so great why did they not get selected by the Army for their prototype? Oh yeah, you left out the geo fence BS and data hijacking by this “superior” company.

Why are you flouting clear violations of the rules and soon to be laws in regards to passing safe VLOS? Why are their well known and well regarded YouTube personalities saying the EVO is good? Could it be the cost is less? And finally, why do you need to push your obvious bias into our friendly conversation on a frikin EVO thread?

I hope your kickback from your Chinese overlords is worth the amount of time you obviously have to come in here and throw your “facts” around. Did it ever occur to you that not everything is a competition and many of us just don’t care and are happy with our purchases? Ah but you’ve bought into the one mind set of the Chinese for unity as driven by hyperbole so as long as you sip DJI tea, please leave the pilots who like freedom and choice alone.


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