Pros and cons so far

[VEGASROBBI]

I hope the updates are well tested.

Regardless of manufacturer we're all beta testers at the end of the day.

 

[Ridefreak]

I’m curious to see how often or with what kind of regularity Skydio will send out firmware updates. Hopefully it will be more often then Autel. So far just the one for telemetry that I’ve noticed.

They're up to #4 on the updates.

 

[Bill Davison]

Pros
1. 60fps 4k in a drone costing 1k
2. Good colors in the eyes of most
3. Ability to fly fast/sideways/backwards in obstacle-rich environments without (much) fear allows for exciting cinematic shots very difficult to get with other drones
4. Best fast tracking in obstacle-rich environments of any drone
5. Dronie, boomerang, and other automated shots done in 4k unlike with DJI
6. Best OA of any drone
7. Can point gimbal up
8. No geofencing
9. Can fly near large metal objects (no compass)
10. All this for 1400 if you include beacon, controller, and extra battery

Neutral/mixed
1. Small USA company means better customer service but also backlogged orders
2. Having great OA always on allows for more confident manual flying but also causes the drone to move in ways you don't want it to sometimes
3. Slow tracking in obstacle-rich environments generally very good but can be worse than other drones sometimes because of hesitation and jerky movements as the drone decides how to avoid objects
4. Beacon very useful for tracking but has some serious bugs and limitations
5. Battery life ok
6. Fairly compact but not foldable
7. Good "height floor" option, but not paired with "height ceiling" option for environments where most obstacles are above a certain height, such as forests

Cons
1. Bad range
2. Can't turn off/limit OA
3. Can't fly at night
4. RTH behavior glitchy and not customizable
5. Manual flight not quite as smooth as other drones, even when no obstacles present
6. Can't track from as far away as other drones
7. Tracking at medium distance and slow speed with few obstacles not as good overall as other drones because of restless movements
8. "Uncrashable" claim overblown and misleading: it can crash in many situations
9. App doesn't show as much info as apps for other drones
10. Controller not as good as most
11. Camera doesn't automatically point toward beacon/controller when GPS tracking or using automatic RTH
12. Not as many options, such as hyperlapse or orbiting a large object, as other drones of comparable price

Despite the long list of cons, I still think that for most people this is the best drone to have if you can only have one. Even if I mostly wanted a drone for getting cinematic shots flying manually I'd want this, with the cinematic "pros," especially #3, #5, and #7, outweighing cons like bad range. And several of the cons are likely to be eliminated/ mitigated with firmware updates.

Cons #2:
I think by cancelling a landing obstacle avoidance and height floor may remain turned off.

During my first day flying, I tested to upper altitude limit and took the drone to above 400 feet In hover mode. I hit the land button, but since it was taking so long I cancelled landing a manually reduced altitude. Drone flew below the height floor, which surprised me.

Cons #3:

Found a YouTube video showing that takeoff from well light parking lot will defeat fly at night restriction.

 

[skydioconvert]

Cons #2:
I think by cancelling a landing obstacle avoidance and height floor may remain turned off.

During my first day flying, I tested to upper altitude limit and took the drone to above 400 feet In hover mode. I hit the land button, but since it was taking so long I cancelled landing a manually reduced altitude. Drone flew below the height floor, which surprised me.
How long were you then able to keep flying beneath the normal height floor thresh hold?

Cons #3:

Found a YouTube video showing that takeoff from well light parking lot will defeat fly at night restriction.
Not sure trying to trick a system based on visual flight rules is going to end happily

Nice finds....

 

[Cicada]

My S2 is beginning to shine. I think it updated because when I booted up today I had to accept the user agreement again.

I'll post a video soon but today my S2 stayed locked on target, no more turning off to the side. I flew 2 batteries trough it and not once did it lose me or mis-frame the subject. Also my S2 flew lower to the ground, it still flared up a bit but better than before.

I had my Typhoon, Anafi and S2 out today and it was so nice to throw the S2 up and forget about it while the other drones had to be "flown".

How long are you getting on the battery, to what % ?

 

[Lon Denard]

Cons #2:
I think by cancelling a landing obstacle avoidance and height floor may remain turned off.

During my first day flying, I tested to upper altitude limit and took the drone to above 400 feet In hover mode. I hit the land button, but since it was taking so long I cancelled landing a manually reduced altitude. Drone flew below the height floor, which surprised me.

Cons #3:

Found a YouTube video showing that takeoff from well light parking lot will defeat fly at night restriction.

#2 So you were flying it manually and expected it to stop at 8 feet? The height floor only affects autonomous operations. Like Motion Track.

#3 In my testing, I found it to be a little sketchy. Similar to the Mavic Mini, strangely enough. Sudden changes in lighting conditions can cause the drone to react rather badly. I tried it in my warehouse from light to dark and back to light. Skydio no likey. It was similar to the reaction I got when I flew from a cold outside to a warm inside and the OA lens fogged up. Maybe if you ease it from one condition to the other or it's not as abrupt as my conditions, it may be fine. I'd be careful with that though, as I'm sure that's something Skydio won't cover under warranty.

 

[Skyking]

Pros
1. 60fps 4k in a drone costing 1k
2. Good colors in the eyes of most
3. Ability to fly fast/sideways/backwards in obstacle-rich environments without (much) fear allows for exciting cinematic shots very difficult to get with other drones
4. Best fast tracking in obstacle-rich environments of any drone
5. Dronie, boomerang, and other automated shots done in 4k unlike with DJI
6. Best OA of any drone
7. Can point gimbal up
8. No geofencing
9. Can fly near large metal objects (no compass)
10. All this for 1400 if you include beacon, controller, and extra battery

Neutral/mixed
1. Small USA company means better customer service but also backlogged orders
2. Having great OA always on allows for more confident manual flying but also causes the drone to move in ways you don't want it to sometimes
3. Slow tracking in obstacle-rich environments generally very good but can be worse than other drones sometimes because of hesitation and jerky movements as the drone decides how to avoid objects
4. Beacon very useful for tracking but has some serious bugs and limitations
5. Battery life ok
6. Fairly compact but not foldable
7. Good "height floor" option, but not paired with "height ceiling" option for environments where most obstacles are above a certain height, such as forests

Cons
1. Bad range
2. Can't turn off/limit OA
3. Can't fly at night
4. RTH behavior glitchy and not customizable
5. Manual flight not quite as smooth as other drones, even when no obstacles present
6. Can't track from as far away as other drones
7. Tracking at medium distance and slow speed with few obstacles not as good overall as other drones because of restless movements
8. "Uncrashable" claim overblown and misleading: it can crash in many situations
9. App doesn't show as much info as apps for other drones
10. Controller not as good as most
11. Camera doesn't automatically point toward beacon/controller when GPS tracking or using automatic RTH
12. Not as many options, such as hyperlapse or orbiting a large object, as other drones of comparable price

Despite the long list of cons, I still think that for most people this is the best drone to have if you can only have one. Even if I mostly wanted a drone for getting cinematic shots flying manually I'd want this, with the cinematic "pros," especially #3, #5, and #7, outweighing cons like bad range. And several of the cons are likely to be eliminated/ mitigated with firmware updates.

I always test RTH every time I fly (will all of my drones). Never had an issue. I've done about 20 flights in 40 or so days.