Potential Skydio 2+ purchase question about Sony IMX577 sensor.....

[MileHi_Skydio]

First post here ........I've been contemplating pulling the trigger on the Skydio 2+ this weekend to take advantage of the Fathers Day sale. Just like any electronic purchase I don't want to fall victim to buying older hardware when it comes to camera sensors in this instance.

The specs of the Sony IMX 577 sensor read below as:

SENSOR TYPE
Sony IMX577
1/2.3” 12.3MP CMOS
SENSOR ACTIVE PIXELS
4056 (H) x 3040 (V)
LENS APERTURE
f/2.8
LENS FOCAL LENGTH
20mm (35mm format equivalent)
LENS DEPTH OF FIELD
1m - ∞
SHUTTER SPEED
electronic shutter 1 to 1/1920s
ISO RANGE
video 100-3200
photo 100-3200
EXPOSURE CONTROL
-2.0, -1.5, -1.0, -0.5, 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0
IMAGE SIGNAL PROCESSOR
Qualcomm QCS605
GPU
Adreno™ 615
CPU
64-bit octa-core Kryo™ 300
DSP
Hexagon™ 685, 2x HVX
RESOLUTION AND MODES
3840x2160 30 fps
3840x2160 60 fps
3840x2160 48 fps
3840x2160 24 fps
1920x1080 120 fps
1920x1080 60 fps
1920x1080 30 fps
BITRATE
100 Mbps
VIDEO FORMAT
MPEG-4 (AVC/H.264, HEVC/H.265)
STILL RESOLUTION
4056x3040 (12 MP)
STILL FORMATS
JPEG, DNG (RAW)
STILL MODES
Single, Interval
DYNAMIC RANGE
13 stops
STORAGE
Removable Micro SD Card
UHS Speed Class 3 / V30
STABILIZATION MECHANICAL RANGE
pitch ±124°, roll ±120°, yaw ±12.5°
PITCH CONTROLLABLE RANGE
-110° to +45°

That being said I've read that a fair amount of people were disappointed with the release of the Skydio 2+ version that they didn't take the opportunity to upgrade to a bigger sensor particularly with better low light performance just seemed like a no brainer in an upgrade cycle for this drone to expand it's capabilities with photography/video.

So my question is do you think that Skydio will upgrade the sensor with the next iteration of the Skydio drone (Skydio 3?), and do you think that they have a 2 year upgrade cycle which we won't see Skydio upgrade the sensor on the drone until 2024?.....

I just don't want to have the Osbourne Effect when it comes to this drone, but have been waiting to purchase this drone for about a year now.

I have been impressed with what Autel has used for low light performance in the Nano+ with the 1/1.28 inch (0.8 inch) CMOS with an f/1.9 aperture. This sensor uses RYYB technology to further boost the contrast range, allowing for exceptional results in low-light conditions. Of course that drone is not comparable to what the Skydio offers in terms of autonomy but in terms of sensors used there is no comparison in how that performs in all situations with it's strength in low light gathering capabilities.

Opinions....?

Thx guys!

 

[Dilan]

Yes camera is as bad as SD1, it's very grainy even in cloudy days, no HDR encoding. And those ND filters they offer aside to buy are make it even worse. Such a disappointment.

 

[MileHi_Skydio]

So it's the same camera (sensor) as the Skydio 1?

 

[Dilan]

So it's the same camera (sensor) as the Skydio 1?

yes it’s exactly the same

 

[MileHi_Skydio]

Interesting that Skydio didn't upgrade the sensor considering it's a few years old at least and there are better sensors out for this drone if they so choose

 

[Dilan]

Interesting that Skydio didn't upgrade the sensor considering it's a few years old at least and there are better sensors out for this drone if they so choose

Because they don't think it's important. They added external antennas and a bit fatter battery. No more upgrades, but price is ramped up. Of course they are happy to save on using old sensor.

 

[MileHi_Skydio]

Are you still happy with your Skydio 2+...?

 

[Dilan]

Are you still happy with your Skydio 2+...?

Happy? No, I'm not happy paying 1200 and get basically the same hardware. My old SD1 just got broken and I hoped for an upgrade.

 

[MileHi_Skydio]

Well I have to make up my mind today if I want to go ahead with the purchase.....today is the last day of the Fathers Day sale

 

[yohdah]

Well I have to make up my mind today if I want to go ahead with the purchase.....today is the last day of the Fathers Day sale

I just bought the Skydio 2+ with the Father's Day special -- got it a few days ago and I'm actually pretty impressed with the video quality. Having owned the Mavic 2 Pro, video quality is something I was apprehensive about. I honestly wouldn't worry about it and if you're unhappy with it, you have a month to return it. Not sure how the previous poster is getting grainy image on a simple cloudy day -- I'm definitely not seeing that.

 

[MileHi_Skydio]

Awesome to hear! Which kit did you get?......trying to decided between the Sports kit vs Cinema kit

 

[yohdah]

Got the Sport. I figure if I want cinematic footages, there’s keyframes which will do much better than my manual flights, and I can also order the controller separately in the future if I really want it.

 

[MileHi_Skydio]

Very true, I'm leaning on the Sports kit at this point

 

[Dilan]

Got the Sport. I figure if I want cinematic footages, there’s keyframes which will do much better than my manual flights, and I can also order the controller separately in the future if I really want it.

And how those key frames will help taking aerial films? Nohow.

 

[Dilan]

Awesome to hear! Which kit did you get?......trying to decided between the Sports kit vs Cinema kit

Get starter kit. You don’t need those ND filters and etc, you will be very disappointed when you will open your video at 4K tv panel, it will be very noisy. Waste of money.

 

[MileHi_Skydio]

The ND filters come with the Cinema kit so the Sport kit is one step below and seems to be a better deal

 

[yohdah]

And how those key frames will help taking aerial films? Nohow.

I do weddings and real estate, so I can already see how I would use it. Why do you think it wouldn’t help?

 

[BlueHeeler]

OP,

Skydio2 Fan here for almost 2 years, I have both the Skydio2 and 2+. I am also impressed with the video quality myself, though I do not have anything to compare the S2 with, but I am very happy with the quality and I do get the wow factor from friends and family. The S2 is my first drone, planning on adding the X2 next year for Enterprise use, the S2 is good for that also. If you are concerned with the specs for cinematography, there are other drones better for it, that is of course up to you. The 2.8 Aperture on the cam does let in much light, so the ND filters that come with the upgrade are very useful, otherwise everything gets washed out on bright sunny days, I do some of my flying during the golden hour, so shadows are prevalent, but they're not grainy.

Good luck with your purchase of the drone of your choice, lots of good ones out there, although NONE are perfect.
To Each His Own.

 

[MileHi_Skydio]

Thanks for your feedback! Sounds like your experience with the Skydio 2 & 2+ has been a good one. Yea I have been on the fence about getting this drone for about a year now (summer 2021) and then Skydio released the Skydio 2+ in January so I started to get paranoid that they were going to release the Skydio 3 with an improved sensor in January 2023....but alas that is the life with technology and it's pace of innovation and don't know if that's going to be Skydio's upgrade cycle with the 2+

But I did take the plunge yesterday and ordered the Sports kit to take advantage of the Fathers day sale. I bought it for it's keyframe functionality and autonomous flight abilities but I started this thread just wanting to know if the current sensor they (Skydio) have apparently been using for years now is still sufficient for most owners of the Skydio 2 platform. Sounds like most owners still like the video quality.

I might have to bite the bullet and get some ND filters soon if the footage gets washed out in bright sunlight. Besides the Skydio ND filters are there any aftermarket ND filters for this drone that someone has experience with?

Thx

 

[BlueHeeler]

Thanks for your feedback! Sounds like your experience with the Skydio 2 & 2+ has been a good one. Yea I have been on the fence about getting this drone for about a year now (summer 2021) and then Skydio released the Skydio 2+ in January so I started to get paranoid that they were going to release the Skydio 3 with an improved sensor in January 2023....but alas that is the life with technology and it's pace of innovation and don't know if that's going to be Skydio's upgrade cycle with the 2+

But I did take the plunge yesterday and ordered the Sports kit to take advantage of the Fathers day sale. I bought it for it's keyframe functionality and autonomous flight abilities but I started this thread just wanting to know if the current sensor they (Skydio) have apparently been using for years now is still sufficient for most owners of the Skydio 2 platform. Sounds like most owners still like the video quality.

I might have to bite the bullet and get some ND filters soon if the footage gets washed out in bright sunlight. Besides the Skydio ND filters are there any aftermarket ND filters for this drone that someone has experience with?

Thx

Awesome, you'll enjoy it.

B & H Photo sells Freewell ND/Polarizer Kits for the Skydio 2. I bought a Kit which unfortunately has been discontinued that has an ND4 that I use often ( part of a 4 filter kit ). That ND4 is now part of an 8 filter Kit that costs more, which also has ND/Polarizer combos. I also use the filter as a protective lens when storing or moving the drone around until not needed. The Polar Pro set that Skydio sells is quality, it came with the Cinema kit I bought back then, but it has the ND8, ND16, & ND32 which I believe to be a bit much to my tastes.