Autel Evo Nano+ review

Autel will not be as immediately recognisable a model as DJI, however the firm has the favored drone model in its sights. Autel boasts a spread of shopper and enterprise drones, with the Evo Nano+ representing one of many higher-end choices out there in Autel’s assortment.

Coming in at 249g, the Autel Evo Nano+ doesn’t compromise on video high quality with spectacular efficiency in the course of the day and evening, and with fixed updates from Autel, it simply retains getting higher.

The large query is, must you purchase one as an alternative of the cheaper DJI Mini 3? Properly…

Design & construct

• Transportable foldable design
• 249g
• Not probably the most sturdy drone

The Autel Evo Nano+ doesn’t look that totally different from different sub-250g drones with a compact, folding arm design that permits you to retailer it away in a comparatively small bag.

Whereas the folding arm design is welcome, it’s price noting that it’s not fairly as flawless as DJI’s integration which lets you unfold any arm in any order. With the Autel, you need to first unfold the bigger entrance arms earlier than extending the rear arms.

The place the Nano+ does stand out is within the alternative of color choices out there; whereas different producers like DJI usually go for impartial colors like gray, Autel has gone within the different course with a shiny orange end – although there may be nonetheless a extra delicate gray choice out there.

I’m undecided it’s meant to be a characteristic, however the shiny orange physique of the drone does assist me maintain observe of it throughout flights – a vital rule for drone flight within the UK.

By way of dimensions, it’s the same dimension to the DJI Mini 3 each folded (142 x 94 x 55mm) and unfolded (260 x 325 x 55mm), although DJI’s choice does look extra svelte and premium than Autel’s vibrant choice. Weighing in at 249g, it’s light-weight sufficient to keep away from many drone restrictions, although there have been sacrifices to realize such a lofty intention.

The most important of which is sturdiness, with a good quantity of flex within the physique and arms that doesn’t instil quite a lot of confidence that it may survive something greater than a lightweight bump. Actually, one foldable arm of my preliminary evaluation pattern snapped after my first mid-flight accident, although Autel was variety sufficient to offer one other so I may proceed with the evaluation.

One potential motive why the housing is so light-weight may very well be as a result of the detachable battery is hefty at 83g, making up round a 3rd of the general physique weight.

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The drone doesn’t characteristic a battery cowl door on its rear, as an alternative utilizing the battery itself as the duvet. The ability button and associated LEDs are immediately constructed into the battery too, permitting you to shortly examine battery ranges even when not put in within the physique of the drone.

Hooked up beneath the drone on a 3-axis gimble is a digital camera housing a 1/1.28in CMOS sensor together with a PDAF (phase-detection auto-focus) and CDAF (contrast-detection auto-focus) twin focus lens. If that wasn’t spectacular sufficient, it boasts a formidable f/1.9 aperture and RYYB sensor tech that enables it to excel in low-light circumstances – however extra on that a little bit later.

You may additionally discover a smattering of sensors pointing forwards, behind and beneath the drone. These enable for three-way impediment avoidance to assist keep away from objects across the drone, and whereas it received’t warn you to things to the edges or above the drone, it ought to assist going head- or rear-first into timber, partitions or every other close by obstacles.

The Evo Nano+ comes with the identical controller that shipped with the corporate’s Evo Lite+, which is not any dangerous factor. It’s well-sized, straightforward to make use of and boasts a formidable vary of as much as 10km (within the US, much less in Europe to abide by native regulation).

Lewis Painter / Foundry

It boasts devoted controls to maneuver the gimbal together with reprogrammable buttons to make accessing sure capturing modes or controls simpler, and the built-in battery may also cost your related smartphone on the identical time. I’ll say although, the built-in dock is stretched to its limits with the chunky iPhone 14 Professional Max.

The one actual frustration is a comparatively easy one; there’s nowhere on the controller to retailer the detachable thumbsticks when not in use, making them exceedingly straightforward to misplace in the event you don’t have a devoted drone bag.

The saving grace is that in the event you go for the pricier Fly Extra package, you’ll get a useful bag to retailer the drone, controller and different equipment, together with two extra batteries and substitute blades.

Options & flight efficiency

• Three-way impediment avoidance
• Variety of automated capturing modes
• Spectacular vary
• Responsive controls

When you’ve downloaded the Autel app in your iOS or Android smartphone, related it to the controller by way of the offered cables and unfolded the drone, you’re able to rock and roll.

As you’d count on, a lot of the controls come immediately from the Autel app, permitting you to alter varied settings together with the seize mode and enabling automated capturing modes. It’s pretty well-equipped and Autel is continually bettering not solely the app however the options out there on the drone, which is good to see.

The app isn’t fairly as user-friendly as that from the likes of DJI, missing the final polish and extra superior options like a neighborhood map with no-fly zones, however it’ll nonetheless get the job achieved.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

In flight, the drone is fast, responsive and manoeuvrable, boasting three motion modes with the Ludacris mode on the prime finish that strikes at a formidable 15m/s, although that’s solely advisable for knowledgeable pilots because it disables the built-in impediment avoidance.

It’s useful in case your drone will get caught within the wind, permitting for additional oomph to deliver the drone dwelling, however it will possibly nonetheless get taken on significantly windy days.

The Evo Nano+ boasts Autel’s proprietary Autel SkyLink transmission expertise that, as we talked about, can present as much as 10km of vary within the US, although it’s restricted to 5km in Europe to abide by native regulation. Even at round 1km away (nonetheless in line of sight!) the controller offers instantaneous response, and the app nonetheless manages to offer a reside 1080p video feed with no interference or dropped connection.

Autel says that it’ll finally change to a 720p stream because it will get additional away, however it ought to by no means completely drop out, although that’s not one thing I may check attributable to native regulation constraints.  

If, in significantly dense or signal-heavy areas you do lose your connection, the drone’s built-in return-to-home tech will deliver the drone again to wherever it took off from. The automated return flight isn’t clever sufficient to navigate round obstacles although, so ensure you set your return peak excessive sufficient within the Autel app beforehand.

The built-in impediment avoidance does present confidence in flight, particularly for novice drone pilots, because it offers each visible on-screen markers and could be set as much as mechanically cease and hover in place if it detects a close-by impediment. The problem is that the sensors sometimes choose up false positives, and the fast braking can interrupt an in any other case completely shot video.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

It’s additionally not fully fool-proof, missing sensors atop and to the edges of the drone, however that’s not one thing you’ll discover in any sub-250g drone in 2023.

In addition to flying the drone your self, there’s a swathe of automated pictures out there inside the Autel app. These can help you choose a topic and get the drone to fly round it, in direction of it or away from it and supply fairly respectable leads to open environments.

There was one large omission at launch – a easy comply with mode – however the performance finally made an look by way of a software program replace, permitting it to higher compete with the likes of QuickShot on DJI’s light-weight drones.

By way of battery life, the two,250mAh battery ought to present round 28 minutes per cost however it will after all rely in your velocity and different elements. That’s not fairly as much as the spectacular 38-minute battery lifetime of the competing DJI Mini 3, however you’ll be able to simply swap the battery out to additional prolong battery time.

The aforementioned Fly Extra package offers an extra two batteries that reach total flight time to as much as an hour and 24 minutes.

Photograph & video high quality

• Spectacular element in movies and pictures
• First rate low-light efficiency
• No excessive body fee capturing modes at greater than 1080p

With regards to capturing video, you’ve bought three choices: 4K@30fps, 2.7K@30fps or 1080p@60fps. It’s a little bit of a disappointment to not get 60fps at 2.7K or 4K, although the latter isn’t even out there on the newer DJI Mini 3. When you do wish to decelerate your footage in post-production, you’ll should sacrifice total picture high quality and go for a 1080p recording.

The Evo Nano+ affords the identical 100Mbps bitrate because the DJI Mini 2 & 3, together with the same digital zoom and the power to export a H.264- or H.265-compressed MP4 video.

Gripes with capturing modes apart, the 1/1.28in 50Mp CMOS sensor delivers spectacular high quality in the course of the day. Photos are well-lit and balanced with HDR enabled, with loads of element at 4K that’ll can help you pick particular person particulars from the shot and even crop in with out important high quality degradation.

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The three-axis gimble does a formidable job at delivering regular pictures, even on pretty windy days, with the one actual stutter in pictures coming from my (at occasions) dangerous piloting. You may modify the pitch of the digital camera with a toggle on the controller, permitting you to pitch up and down, although going too excessive will deliver the arms of the drone into shot.  

Right here’s an instance of a clip shot in 4K in shiny daylight:

And right here’s a pattern of the 48Mp photographs taken, captured in each JPG and RAW relying on what you’re employed with.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

You’ve additionally bought the choice of capturing in a devoted HDR mode in more difficult circumstances, however what’s extra fascinating is the 10-bit A-log mode, permitting you to use the sharpening and grading required in post-production to get the perfect high quality potential – although this does require additional work and received’t be ultimate for novices.

The large frustration is you can’t shoot in HDR or A-Log with handbook settings – you’re locked to computerized publicity mode, which appears counterintuitive provided that solely pro-level customers would choose to allow both.

Night time efficiency is especially spectacular on the Evo Nano+ in comparison with a lot of the competitors, thanks largely to the 0.8in sensor, extensive aperture, and use of RYYB sensor tech, with the latter letting in as a lot as 40% extra mild than typical drone lenses.

I didn’t fairly expertise a next-level low-light mode, however the digital camera does a superb job at capturing as a lot mild as potential in dim circumstances, with streetlights and different ambient lighting offering beautiful night-time pictures, each when it comes to video and picture. It’s roughly in keeping with that of the DJI Mini 3 regardless of the Mini 3 having an improved f/1.7 aperture rather than Autel’s f/1.9.

The large problem with capturing at evening is, properly, that you simply’re capturing at evening! It makes it a lot tougher to keep away from obstacles and the built-in impediment avoidance received’t work in low-light circumstances both, so be assured that you simply’re flying in a very open house and received’t encounter any timber throughout your flight.

There’s an LED on the underside of the drone to assist control its place throughout low-light flights, however it’s solely seen when the drone is immediately overhead.

Right here’s a video shot on the Autel Evo Nano+ in low mild:

And right here’s {a photograph} captured in low mild:

Lewis Painter / Foundry

Value & availability

The Autel Evo Nano+ could be a well-equipped drone, however you’re paying a premium for that pleasure – even in comparison with DJI’s newer $559/£519 Mini 3.

The usual Evo Nano+ package begins at $949/£811 and comes with the drone, controller, a single battery and substitute propellers, whereas the premium Fly Extra package will set you again $1,049/£923 and comes with a smooth carry case, two extra batteries and extra substitute propellers.

There’s the cheaper Nano mannequin to think about, however that lacks the large video sensor of the Nano+ that makes it so fascinating.

If you’re tempted, you should buy the Autel Evo Nano+ immediately from Autel, although I’d advocate heading to retailers together with Amazon within the US and Amazon within the UK as they’re providing a a lot better value than Autel itself.

For extra drone inspiration, check out our number of one of the best drones.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

Verdict

The Autel Evo Nano+ is a compact sub-250g drone that doesn’t compromise on video high quality, boasting respectable efficiency each in well-lit and low-light circumstances due to a big 0.8in sensor and RYYB sensor tech, although the omission of 60fps seize at 2.7K or 4K is a slight disappointment.

Vary is spectacular and it’s straightforward to regulate with quite a few automated flight modes out there within the app, and Autel is continually updating each the app and the drone to introduce new performance.

Whereas it was an enormous enchancment on the DJI Mini 2, the newer Mini 3 makes it a harder promote at the next value level, however there may be nonetheless lots to love about Autel’s succesful mini drone.