Autel Evo Lite+ review: great flying camera

When the first drone with a 1-inch sensor came out, it was kind of a big deal, and this sensor size is still a favourite among both amateurs and professionals. The Autel EVO Lite+ is the company’s newest drone with a 1-inch sensor. It is also the company’s top model.

Regarding how its camera works, the Lite+ falls between the DJI Mavic Air 2S and the DJI Mavic 3, but it may be in a class of its own. The Autel EVO Lite+ came out in January 2022, along with two different kinds of the Autel EVO Nano and an Autel EVO Lite model with a smaller sensor.

The Lite+ is the most advanced drone in the line-up. It has a camera with a focal length of 29 mm and an aperture that can be changed from f/2.8 to f/11. Photos can be taken in JPEG or RAW, and videos can be taken in Standard or Log Color at 5.4K up to 30 fps, 4K up to 60 fps, 2.7K up to 60 fps, and HD up to 120 fps.

People say that the Lite+ can fly for up to 40 minutes, and it can go up to 40 mph and resist winds up to 38 mph at level 7. This makes it a very powerful drone. The drone has a lot of power, which makes it seem like it might be a bit of a brute. However, the controls are smooth and responsive for precise control, and the cinematic Smooth flight mode makes the drone move more slowly and smoothly so it can be used to take videos.

Specification

Autel Evo Lite+ review: Design

The Autel EVO Lite+ can be folded up, which makes it much easier to carry around and store. When folded, the drone is 210 mm by 123 mm by 95 mm. When opened, it is 427 mm by 384 mm by 95 mm and weighs 835 g. Overall, the build quality of the Lite+ is very good.

It comes in three colors—Classic Orange, Deep Space Gray, and Arctic White—so you can choose the one you like best. The Lite+ is said to be able to fly for up to 40 minutes thanks to its high-capacity 6175 mAh flight batteries. In real-world flying conditions, the flight times are just over 30 minutes.

Which is still impressive and takes into account the default Return to Home (RTH) when the batteries reach a minimum charge of 25%. The app can change this, but the best way to ensure a safe and reliable Return to Home when needed is to leave RTH at its default.

The Lite+ uses Autel’s standard controller, which is also used for the Lite and Nano series. It looks like a gaming controller and has a textured surface to make it easier to hold. It has all the controls you need for basic flight and camera control, including a customizable Fn button that can be used to click once or twice. You can buy this digital camera world from its official website.

Autel Evo Lite+ review: Controller

The Autel controller, which we’ve seen before in the form of the Nano, looks a lot like a game controller. In fact, it looks so much like a game controller that old-school professionals might grumble and mutter about kids and their new ways. In use, it fits very well in the hands and stays there because the grip is textured.

The phone holder can be stretched out to fit even the biggest phones. We had no trouble getting an iPhone Pro Max in a case in. The Autel radio system has a great range of 7.46 miles (12 km) in good conditions, so don’t worry about that. During our testing, we didn’t have a single dropout, and where the signal is strong enough, the live stream can reach 2.7K, which is a great preview.

We must admit that DJI says the Mavic 3 can fly up to 15 km away, but these drones have about the same range. The controller’s shape is similar to that of a console, making it easy to hold and use. However, it seems to have less space for power than some of its competitors.

We found that it would probably have to be charged every three or four flights. That’s fine as long as you don’t buy more than four batteries and charge them all at the same time, which still takes almost two hours. However, some batteries last longer.

Autel Evo Lite+ review: Camera

Undoubtedly, the Lite+ makes great images for a serious workflow. The Lite+ we tried has an aperture range of /2.8 to 11. The cheaper Lite has a 50MP camera with a /1.9 aperture and a 1/1.28-inch sensor that can be turned on a 4-axis gimbal. This could be appealing to people who make videos for social media.

The Lite+’s camera takes 20MP pictures, but they are much bigger 2.44m photosites. Comparing the Lite+ to other DJI products, the Air 2S doesn’t have an adjustable aperture like the Lite+ does, but the Mavic 3 does. The other cameras’ megapixels and microns are the same as for the Air 2S.

Lastly, the field of view is narrower on the Mavic 3 (24mm) than on the Air 2S (22mm). The relative benefit depends on your point of view. When we reviewed the Air 2S, it felt a bit too wide, but the Lite+ didn’t have that problem.

Autel Evo Lite+ review: Track mode

The EVO Lite+ can be used to track in two ways. The drone works like a video camera on a tripod with a moving head in one mode. It will stay in one place and follow the subject wherever it goes by panning and tilting the drone and gimbal camera, as shown in the video below.

When it loses track of me walking, you can see it stutter and jump around, but when it’s tracking well, it’s smooth and doesn’t have many jitters. The other mode can keep up with a person as they move. As you can see in the second half of the video below, where we were walking on a trail under trees, the drone will still use its sensors to move around things and avoid collisions.

Autel Evo Lite+ review: Price

Still, based on how well the product works and how much it costs, we continue to recommend the DJI Air 2S to creators who want a drone with a 1-inch camera. Its lens doesn’t have a variable aperture, so you have to rely more on ND filters.

However, we like the default colour of the DJI more, and we can’t ignore its much lower price of $999. If you don’t need a big sensor, the Parrot Anafi is still a cheaper alternative to the Air 2S or Evo Lite+ from DJI.

Autel Evo Lite+ review: Final words

The Autel EVO Lite+ provides outstanding value for the price and all of the functionality that the vast majority of consumers would ever require. The drone does have a few quirks, such as numerous shooting modes that only function with Auto mode rather than Pro/Manual mode, but perhaps these can be smoothed out in future firmware upgrades. The drone does have a few peculiarities.

FAQs

Is the Evo Lite Plus worth it?

The Autel EVO Lite+ provides an outstanding value for the price and all of the functionality that the vast majority of consumers would ever require. The drone does have a few quirks, such as numerous shooting modes that only function with Auto mode rather than Pro/Manual mode, but perhaps these can be smoothed out in future firmware upgrades. The drone does have a few peculiarities.

Is Autel a Chinese company?

Shenzhen, known as the “Capital of Drones” and the “Industrial and Software Frontier of China,” is where the company’s headquarters can be found. In addition, Autel has substantial subsidiary bases in several countries, including the United States, Germany, Italy, and Singapore. These subsidiaries are responsible for attracting top personnel to study and develop industry-leading drone technologies and autonomous solutions.

What is the top speed of Autel Robotics Evo Lite+?

The EVO Lite comes with three different flight modes: smooth, and standard. In smooth mode, the maximum flight speed is 11 mph, in standard mode, it’s 22 mph. And in ludicrous mode, it’s 40.2 mph. The user can switch between smooth, standard, and ludicrous modes in the app, depending on how good such as they are controlling the flight and how the flight is going.`