Advice on a new purchase please

[DavoMr2]

I am a photographer and currently fly an Inspire 1 with an X3 and X5 camera and I am looking for a second drone (under 2kg). For me the camera quality is very important but I am leaning towards the H+ over DJI as I like the redundancy of 6 rotors.

With the C23 camera, the available details seem limited. Does anyone know how many stops of Dynamic Range is has in raw or if there is in camera image stabilisation for long exposure images? It would seem that there is no auto bracketing for this camera but I have had a look at a couple of single exposure DNG and it seems quite good.

I also believe there is a built in pano function (8 shots), is there any way of including a ground shot to create a 360 image and is a single ground shot all that is needed?

Any advice or assistance would be fantastic

 

[PatR]

Best person to answer your questions is Mickeyboo.

 

[DavoMr2]

Thanks for your honesty. The big drawcard for me would be the 6 rotor for safety but I dont want to create more problems

 

[Steve Carr]

I am a photographer and currently fly an Inspire 1 with an X3 and X5 camera and I am looking for a second drone (under 2kg). For me the camera quality is very important but I am leaning towards the H+ over DJI as I like the redundancy of 6 rotors.
With the C23 camera, the available details seem limited. Does anyone know how many stops of Dynamic Range is has in raw or if there is in camera image stabilisation for long exposure images? It would seem that there is no auto bracketing for this camera but I have had a look at a couple of single exposure DNG and it seems quite good.
I also believe there is a built in pano function (8 shots), is there any way of including a ground shot to create a 360 image and is a single ground shot all that is needed?
Any advice or assistance would be fantastic

Perhaps @Ty Pilot or @Mickeyboo can give you some insight. I did a pano on the first flight but I haven't done anything with it. However, I did not have the camera exposures set up properly. I can send you a link for the online storage if you would like to see the originals.

In the brief time I've had the H Plus, I found it is very stable and has good flight times. The connection time was very fast between the H and the controller. The mushroom antenna had a rather short range for video but the flat panel antenna did very well.

As with all newly released Yuneec products the initial firmware is limited in function. They tend to add more functions as more information comes in from the field. I expect this to be the same with the Plus.

Regarding Customer Service, those who chose to use the online chat get much faster answers and response. Waiting in the phone queue can be frustrating.

 

[Barton]

Regarding Customer Service, those who chose to use the online chat get much faster answers and response. Waiting in the phone queue can be frustrating.

I have used the online chat a couple of times and have found the response to be timely and helpful. They do not appear to be staffed over the lunch hour (Pacific Time) so take that into consideration.

I just recently purchased the H+ and have not had any product issues (warranty). That said, there have been some posts in the 'Typhoon H Plus Help' forum and this forum regarding equipment issues (usually camera C23 not binding/working and in one case, a crash). The responses that I have read seem to be consistently positive with respect to the speed that Yuneec USA has responded to the issues and provided replacement products. YMMV

I am a newbie to UAVs and obviously have a bias for the Typhoon H+ since I just purchased one . If flying a quiet drone is high on your feature list, I suggest the H+ has the advantage over a DJI Phantom 4, V 2.

So far, I have been very happy with my purchase, especially the stability and ease of flying of the H+. I am a hobbyist, not a professional. As a consumer of digital images and videos, I am impressed with the results the H+/C23 system provides. You might want to read (if you haven't already) a thread posted by @Ty Pilot (an experienced pilot) First Flight Impressions of the Plus about his recent experiences with the H+. He has multiple posts in this thread so be sure to read all of them.

 

[Peggy]

Stick with DJI
Yuneec has horrible support. Horrible equipment, quality control is down and warranty sucks.
I own H520 and the latest episode with it took 3 calls and over half a day waiting on hold
Also when they break for lunch you get to hold for that to. They don’t have enough operators. Im no DJI fan but i would stick with what you know and DJI has certainly come up in the costomer service side of things

All depends where you are from.
Yuneec USA has a few terrible reviews for hanging on the phone.

Here in the UK Maria basically answers your call within 5 rings.
You can then speak with Dan or Perry at the tech centre on just about anything.
If they are not available Graham will speak with you and get the tech guys to call you back.

Try and get that service from DJI. You can’t!!!

Yuneec UK customer service well above the call of duty. If customer service was beer it would probably be called Carlsberg. (You’ll only get that if you are old)

 

[DavoMr2]

Thanks for all the feedback. I am Aussi based and there is no "official" sales chanel here that I know of so even buying from a local importer would mean having things solved from OS

 

[DavoMr2]

Perhaps @Ty Pilot or @Mickeyboo can give you some insight. I did a pano on the first flight but I haven't done anything with it. However, I did not have the camera exposures set up properly. I can send you a link for the online storage if you would like to see the originals.

In the brief time I've had the H Plus, I found it is very stable and has good flight times. The connection time was very fast between the H and the controller. The mushroom antenna had a rather short range for video but the flat panel antenna did very well.

As with all newly released Yuneec products the initial firmware is limited in function. They tend to add more functions as more information comes in from the field. I expect this to be the same with the Plus.

Regarding Customer Service, those who chose to use the online chat get much faster answers and response. Waiting in the phone queue can be frustrating.

Thanks I would love to see the images taken

 

[Steve Carr]

Thanks for all the feedback. I am Aussi based and there is no "official" sales chanel here that I know of so even buying from a local importer would mean having things solved from OS

@Haydn is a dealer in Australia and a member of this forum.
Mountain View Enterprises

 

[PatR]

Haydn is a very good guy, quite responsive to calls and inquiries, and one of the few not afraid to experiment with a new product to explore the boundaries, even if such activity voids warranties. If I lived in Oz he would be the first, and likely the last place I would go.

 

[Peggy]

Thanks for all the feedback. I am Aussi based and there is no "official" sales chanel here that I know of so even buying from a local importer would mean having things solved from OS

I chat with Haydn daily, I’ll send him this thread link

 

[DavoMr2]

Thanks I have already been in touch with Hayden and if I go with a Typhoon I will be buying through him. I am just trying to make sure that it will do the job I need before I commit As a photographer it is really about the images and the quality and that is where I find a lack of information available,

 

[Peggy]

Well if it really is about the photo and that’s what counts, it’s a no brainer for an i2 with X7. But that’s gonna cost ya

 

[DavoMr2]

Agreed and my current Inspire 1 X5 quality is also good. I am not trying to match that, I am looking for a sub 2kg unit so I supose I am comparing the H+ to the Phantom 4. The main advantage seems to be the 6 rotors over 4 for redundancy, camera basic specs seem to be simillar as a 1" sensor @ 20mp but the H+ seems to be missing some functionality with bracketed exposures and there does not seem to be third party apps available like Dronepan etc. I am probably just a cautious buyer and want to make sure I am basing my decision correctly and I value the opinions of thouse who actually know

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

If there's any flexibility in your timeframe, I'd wait 4 to 6 weeks... There are still only a small percentage of users with this new release yet, and many outlets are still only taking pre-orders. There is usually little information ahead of release, on issues/features addressed in Yuneec firmware. Also as it appears this process is now completely OTA, you have no firmware version information on the website, with the Plus.

While exposure bracketing would be a nice addition, experienced H pilots are going to be looking for a restoration of classic H functions, like cruise control and the ability to turn off GPS. Also some tweaking of spherical aberration corrections in the camera.
I also am confident that overwhelmingly, (as the number of times discussed) the assigning of GPS on/off functions to the AUX button would be preferred to additional exposure control.

 

[PatR]

Agreed. A good photographer that understands a histogram and shoots in raw has less need for bracketing than someone shooting JPG’s.

App functionality will be the forte of DJI products for some time to come. If all the whistles and bells are critical and mandatory the H would likely not make you happy. According to an independent U.S. testing facility report, motor failures are not uncommon with some DJI products.

 

[Barton]

One difference between H+ and P4 is that the P4 has a mechanical shutter if you need that for high speed movements of the subject...

 

[Steve Carr]

One difference between H+ and P4 is that the P4 has a mechanical shutter if you need that for high speed movements of the subject...

The mechanical shutter is used for stills and a rolling shutter for video. But it may be an important distinction to a photographer.

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

The mechanical shutter is used for stills and a rolling shutter for video. But it may be an important distinction to a photographer.

There is no Smart mode on the H Plus. That is now Sport mode which is GPS off.

So if there is some situation with a GPS or compass error (flyaway, toilet bowling) and you can instantly remove the GPS from the equation by going into sport mode? If that is the case, that essentially gives us what has been asked for with the AUX button reassignment... one button non-menu, full manual control.

 

[Steve Carr]

So if there is some situation with a GPS or compass error (flyaway, toilet bowling) and you can instantly remove the GPS from the equation by going into sport mode? If that is the case, that essentially gives us what has been asked for with the AUX button reassignment... one button non-menu, full manual control.

I misunderstood the operation in Sport mode and I've deleted that comment. @Ty Pilot has tested Sport mode and has shown that GPS is operating at all times. If GPS is lost the aircraft defaults to Angle mode with IPS on in order to maintain stable flight.