Would you buy a H520 today?

[OnTheRopes]

Just wondering really if I should consider one. Given all the issues.
I am in need of a good drone for structural inspection, so I need a decent focal length (E50 I suppose) for inspection work. I also want to be able to do photogrammetry (E90 I suppose)
Obviously geo tagging and automated mapping routes etc.
I am aware of some of the shortcomings but to save me trawling through months of posts, those of you who own a H520 in particular, but any valid opinion welcome if you wanted to do the above would you buy a H520 today, or if not why not and what alternative would you go for?
I own an H and a H920 but neither are really suitable for what I wish to do (fully)

 

[Graham]

Yes probably. It's very easy to fly, it's a very stable platform and Datapilot and the E90 work well for surveys. Waypoint, nadir and oblique missions are easy to plan and execute. However, I have not succeeded in getting Datapilot to continue a mission beyond 3 batteries. It's quiet and looks professional. Being able to use batteries from the H is a big advantage. And while different, operation is very similar to the H.

 

[arruntus]

I'd wait a little longer, if you could. There is news that updates with promising features are coming but until they come out it is better to wait. The rest of us have been waiting for you for a long time. Don't fall into the same trap as us

 

[OnTheRopes]

Yes probably. It's very easy to fly, it's a very stable platform and Datapilot and the E90 work well for surveys. Waypoint, nadir and oblique missions are easy to plan and execute. However, I have not succeeded in getting Datapilot to continue a mission beyond 3 batteries. It's quiet and looks professional. Being able to use batteries from the H is a big advantage. And while different, operation is very similar to the H.

I'd wait a little longer, if you could. There is news that updates with promising features are coming but until they come out it is better to wait. The rest of us have been waiting for you for a long time. Don't fall into the same trap as us

Both good points but yes I can wait a little longer, I can manage with the 920 for now, actually did an inspection course these last two days there were three of us on the course and funnily enough the M210 failed, the I2 failed but my H820 and H just sailed through with no faults. The 930 handled structural inspection quite well just the mapping that it can't really do in any way shape or form.

 

[dsandson]

Interesting comments about the M210 & I2. Can you elaborate on how they failed?

I too an interested in the H520. For me updated firmware with POI, probably CCC waypoint missions, and an improved E90 firmware to bring it on par with the C23 would be enough for me. A price drop would help too! ;-)

 

[10-8]

I believe it has the features he listed in his original post. I know some of you wan more cinema related options like POI, and that is coming. In the meantime, many are doing daily what he is needing based on his post. Here is a review that was posted yesterday:
REVIEW: Yuneec H520 combines intuitive manual flight, autonomy in a rugged drone aimed at construction

 

[OnTheRopes]

Interesting comments about the M210 & I2. Can you elaborate on how they failed?

I too an interested in the H520. For me updated firmware with POI, probably CCC waypoint missions, and an improved E90 firmware to bring it on par with the C23 would be enough for me. A price drop would help too! ;-)

The i2 had a lens connection issue and would not operate, swapped with another lens and still would not operate. Not sure of the outcome.
The M210 was due to out of date firmware on one of the batteries so it was grounded. Somebody else lent him a set of batteries that had the latest firmware but they would not work either, when it did take off prior to this with a different set of batteries it was having gimbal shake. Thats all I know really

 

[dsandson]

Thank you Stephen. We hear a lot of negative stories on here about cameras failing to bind, updates failing, signal loss, etc. Guess thats the rub, people predominantly only share bad experiences as they irk us so much. Its nice to see its not always greener on the other side!!

 

[claudius62]

Hello,
I add my little touch, (French Touch ...)
Yes if it was again, I answer YES.
I own the H520 since October 2017 and despite the lack of current automatic flight possibilities, I love it. It is so much easier to fly and more clever to sneak, I do not regret the purchase, although I initially pestered by its lack of possibility.
I even allowed myself several times not to do an automatic flight with the Inspire to finally do it with the H520. Yes, some missions with the Inspire have finally done with the H520, I must say that the video with the H520, for me, does not need color editing as on the other.
Last month, out of 42 flights, 16 were made with the H520.
In fact, not like others, I never had problems with updates, gimbal and camera. If the only camera problem I had was unscrewing the filter, the whole goal came with it! Well, a little trickle of epoxy and the repair still holds. Not enough to stir after-sales service.
The best flight time was 25 minutes 45 seconds, but it was a test flight after the 1.4.1 update. I was down to 10% battery.
I know that if I lose orientation, a TapFly brings it back to my foot. Sorry, I'm absolutely not a follower of RTH.
The next ......... a H520 unsurprisingly, finally we must break it again!
For the anecdote, his brother, the Inspire is now three years and three months, 196 kilometers in propellers and the H520, 33 kilometers. He still has some way to go ....
Yours truly
Jean Claude.

 

[NorWiscPilot]

Hello,
I add my little touch, (French Touch ...)
Yes if it was again, I answer french YES.
I own the H520 since October 2017 and despite the lack of current automatic flight possibilities, I love it. It is so much easier to fly and more clever to sneak, I do not regret the purchase, although I initially pestered by its lack of possibility.
I even allowed myself several times not to do an automatic flight with the Inspire to finally do it with the H520. Yes, some missions with the Inspire have finally done with the H520, I must say that the video with the H520, for me, does not need color editing as on the other.
Last month, out of 42 flights, 16 were made with the H520.
In fact, not like others, I never had problems with updates, gimbal and camera. If the only camera problem I had was unscrewing the filter, the whole goal came with it! Well, a little trickle of epoxy and the repair still holds. Not enough to stir after-sales service.
The best flight time was 25 minutes 45 seconds, but it was a test flight after the 1.4.1 update. I was down to 10% battery.
I know that if I lose orientation, a TapFly brings it back to my foot. Sorry, I'm absolutely not a follower of RTH.
The next ......... a H520 unsurprisingly, finally we must break it again!
For the anecdote, his brother, the Inspire is now three years and three months, 196 kilometers in propellers and the H520, 33 kilometers. He still has some way to go ....
Yours truly
Jean Claude.

Jean Claude,

Very glad to see you appear to be happy with your H520.

After following the H520 discussions (I have one, by the way) and your contributions, I must admit I was surprised when I read this most recent post. It was refreshing to know, despite some grumblings, there are those who are making good use of the platform and that the skies are not as gloomy as some may think.

Thanks for updating us. It is most enlightening!

Jeff

 

[OnTheRopes]

Hello,
I add my little touch, (French Touch ...)
Yes if it was again, I answer YES.
I own the H520 since October 2017 and despite the lack of current automatic flight possibilities, I love it. It is so much easier to fly and more clever to sneak, I do not regret the purchase, although I initially pestered by its lack of possibility.
I even allowed myself several times not to do an automatic flight with the Inspire to finally do it with the H520. Yes, some missions with the Inspire have finally done with the H520, I must say that the video with the H520, for me, does not need color editing as on the other.
Last month, out of 42 flights, 16 were made with the H520.
In fact, not like others, I never had problems with updates, gimbal and camera. If the only camera problem I had was unscrewing the filter, the whole goal came with it! Well, a little trickle of epoxy and the repair still holds. Not enough to stir after-sales service.
The best flight time was 25 minutes 45 seconds, but it was a test flight after the 1.4.1 update. I was down to 10% battery.
I know that if I lose orientation, a TapFly brings it back to my foot. Sorry, I'm absolutely not a follower of RTH.
The next ......... a H520 unsurprisingly, finally we must break it again!
For the anecdote, his brother, the Inspire is now three years and three months, 196 kilometers in propellers and the H520, 33 kilometers. He still has some way to go ....
Yours truly
Jean Claude.

Jean Claude thank you for your input. This helps in my decision making process. I will still hold back for now and monitor what any firmware updates may (or may not bring to the H520) and if time allows wil make a decision to buy or not to buy.

 

[Peggy]

Interesting comments about the M210 & I2. Can you elaborate on how they failed?

I too an interested in the H520. For me updated firmware with POI, probably CCC waypoint missions, and an improved E90 firmware to bring it on par with the C23 would be enough for me. A price drop would help too! ;-)

Blimey you don’t want much do you [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] I’ve been waiting 10 months for those features and in the end ended up getting the H Plus which I have to say I like a lot. I still like the 520 but it’s not even been up in the air since I got the Plus

 

[OnTheRopes]

Blimey you don’t want much do you [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] I’ve been waiting 10 months for those features and in the end ended up getting the H Plus which I have to say I like a lot. I still like the 520 but it’s not even been up in the air since I got the Plus

Ha ha yes asking a lot. The H plus is unlikely to have the commercial applications for photogrammetry though.

 

[dsandson]

Blimey you don’t want much do you

I’ve been waiting 10 months for those features and in the end ended up getting the H Plus which I have to say I like a lot. I still like the 520 but it’s not even been up in the air since I got the Plus

I know, but theres no point buying a new drone that can do less than my current drone. I do hope the software that the beta testers are seeing comes your way soon. Lets face it, Yuneec's behemoth competitor rakes in huge profits through addressing industrial drones. However they are highly versatile beasts which tie in to the essentially the same SDK as some of their much lighter consumer drones.

I think if Yuneec want to leverage the money they've spent on developing the H520 (and to me the forthcoming E10T camera suggests they do) then they need to give the H520 a more rounded feature set (pun intended!). Its in their interest to widen the H520's audience to gain more sales. Lets face it this drone should have at least a 2 year shelf life.

I do notice a small fall in the prices for new H520s and E90 in the UK. However I was quite impressed at the US offer of 2x extra batteries and the DY5 dual battery charger for free wihe an H520/E90 bundle... thats more like it!

 

[arruntus]

I know, but theres no point buying a new drone that can do less than my current drone. I do hope the software that the beta testers are seeing comes your way soon. Lets face it, Yuneec's behemoth competitor rakes in huge profits through addressing industrial drones. However they are highly versatile beasts which tie in to the essentially the same SDK as some of their much lighter consumer drones.

I think if Yuneec want to leverage the money they've spent on developing the H520 (and to me the forthcoming E10T camera suggests they do) then they need to give the H520 a more rounded feature set (pun intended!). Its in their interest to widen the H520's audience to gain more sales. Lets face it this drone should have at least a 2 year shelf life.

I do notice a small fall in the prices for new H520s and E90 in the UK. However I was quite impressed at the US offer of 2x extra batteries and the DY5 dual battery charger for free wihe an H520/E90 bundle... thats more like it!

The money invested in the H520 is clearly visible in the H PLUS, it's the same drone. The difference is the firmware. That's where the problem really is.

They've pulled down the middle street with an evolution of the system they used on the H480. I hope it works out well for you. The H520's firmware is supposed to be more robust and feature-rich, just as it is someday

 

[seowashdc]

I am considering the H520, and if I am reading this correctly, the H520 currently does not have Orbit Me, Point Of Interest and Journey, is that correct?

And if I am primarily going to do roof inspections (commercial/residential), which payload would be better suited for this?

 

[DroneCalzone]

Yes, there is no orbit, poi or others. Just waypoints.

For roof inspection probably E50 would suit you best. I has a smaller sensor (1/2.3), but focal length is longer, allowing for closeups.

 

[OnTheRopes]

Are there any recent samples of a real world images from the E50?

 

[Jungwolf]

[QUOTE = "OnTheTropes, post: 143544, member: 2716"] Ich frage mich nur, ob ich wirklich darüber nachdenken sollte. Angesichts all der Probleme.
Ich brauche eine gute Drohne für die strukturelle Inspektion, also brauche ich eine angemessene Brennweite (E50 nehme ich an) für Inspektionsarbeiten. Ich möchte auch Photogrammetrie machen können (E90 nehme ich an)
Offensichtlich Geo-Tagging und automatisierte Mapping-Routen etc.
Ich kenne einige der Mängel, aber um mich zu retten durch Monate von Posts, diejenigen von Ihnen, die insbesondere eine H520 besitzen, aber jede gültige Meinung willkommen, wenn Sie das obige tun wollten, würden Sie heute eine H520 kaufen, oder wenn nicht Warum nicht und für welche Alternative würden Sie sich entscheiden?
Ich besitze ein H und ein H920, aber beide sind nicht wirklich geeignet für das, was ich tun möchte (vollständig) [/ QUOTE]

Hallo, was ich über den H520 lese, ist unglaublich. Anscheinend habe ich einen Super H520 gefangen. Weil diese Probleme, die hier beschrieben werden, ich nicht von meinem H520 kenne. Ja und nochmal Ja, ich würde diese Drohne wieder kaufen. Schon wegen der Möglichkeiten, verschiedene Kamerasysteme zu montieren. Wir benötigen den H520 für Inspektionsflüge, Rettungsflüge und Überwachungsflüge. Auch erstellen wir mit dem H520 3D-Mapping. Alles in allem sind wir nicht nur zufrieden, sondern auch sehr zufrieden. Viele Grüße aus der Schweiz.

 

[OnTheRopes]

[QUOTE = "OnTheTropes, post: 143544, member: 2716"] Ich frage mich nur, ob ich wirklich darüber nachdenken sollte. Angesichts all der Probleme.
Ich brauche eine gute Drohne für die strukturelle Inspektion, also brauche ich eine angemessene Brennweite (E50 nehme ich an) für Inspektionsarbeiten. Ich möchte auch Photogrammetrie machen können (E90 nehme ich an)
Offensichtlich Geo-Tagging und automatisierte Mapping-Routen etc.
Ich kenne einige der Mängel, aber um mich zu retten durch Monate von Posts, diejenigen von Ihnen, die insbesondere eine H520 besitzen, aber jede gültige Meinung willkommen, wenn Sie das obige tun wollten, würden Sie heute eine H520 kaufen, oder wenn nicht Warum nicht und für welche Alternative würden Sie sich entscheiden?
Ich besitze ein H und ein H920, aber beide sind nicht wirklich geeignet für das, was ich tun möchte (vollständig) [/ QUOTE]

Hallo, was ich über den H520 lese, ist unglaublich. Anscheinend habe ich einen Super H520 gefangen. Weil diese Probleme, die hier beschrieben werden, ich nicht von meinem H520 kenne. Ja und nochmal Ja, ich würde diese Drohne wieder kaufen. Schon wegen der Möglichkeiten, verschiedene Kamerasysteme zu montieren. Wir benötigen den H520 für Inspektionsflüge, Rettungsflüge und Überwachungsflüge. Auch erstellen wir mit dem H520 3D-Mapping. Alles in allem sind wir nicht nur zufrieden, sondern auch sehr zufrieden. Viele Grüße aus der Schweiz.

[QUOTE = "OnTheTropes, post: 143544, member: 2716"] Ich frage mich nur, ob ich wirklich darüber nachdenken sollte. Angesichts all der Probleme.
Ich brauche eine gute Drohne für die strukturelle Inspektion, also brauche ich eine angemessene Brennweite (E50 nehme ich an) für Inspektionsarbeiten. Ich möchte auch Photogrammetrie machen können (E90 nehme ich an)
Offensichtlich Geo-Tagging und automatisierte Mapping-Routen etc.
Ich kenne einige der Mängel, aber um mich zu retten durch Monate von Posts, diejenigen von Ihnen, die insbesondere eine H520 besitzen, aber jede gültige Meinung willkommen, wenn Sie das obige tun wollten, würden Sie heute eine H520 kaufen, oder wenn nicht Warum nicht und für welche Alternative würden Sie sich entscheiden?
Ich besitze ein H und ein H920, aber beide sind nicht wirklich geeignet für das, was ich tun möchte (vollständig) [/ QUOTE]

Hallo, was ich über den H520 lese, ist unglaublich. Anscheinend habe ich einen Super H520 gefangen. Weil diese Probleme, die hier beschrieben werden, ich nicht von meinem H520 kenne. Ja und nochmal Ja, ich würde diese Drohne wieder kaufen. Schon wegen der Möglichkeiten, verschiedene Kamerasysteme zu montieren. Wir benötigen den H520 für Inspektionsflüge, Rettungsflüge und Überwachungsflüge. Auch erstellen wir mit dem H520 3D-Mapping. Alles in allem sind wir nicht nur zufrieden, sondern auch sehr zufrieden. Viele Grüße aus der Schweiz.

Thanks for your reply below using Google translate:

"Hello, what I read about the H520 is incredible. Apparently I caught a Super H520. Because these problems described here, I do not know of my H520. Yes and again Yes, I would buy this drone again. Already because of the possibilities to mount different camera systems. We need the H520 for inspection flights, rescue flights and surveillance flights. We also create with the H520 3D mapping. All in all, we are not only satisfied, but also very satisfied. Many greetings from Switzerland."

I would still like to see some real world examples from the H520 and E50 camera in particular. The ability to photograph a structure from 20 metres distance and crop in and get the detail in particular.
In an ideal world I would like to use the Sony A7Rii for its high resolution and ability to crop. The H920 can mount a A7R but only with 2 person operation.
The E50 needs to give enough detail to use professionally for clients for inspection.