so my buddy keeps telling me to look at Autel instead of just defaulting to DJI like everyone does. ive been shopping for a while now and the Evo Lite+ keeps popping up, the variable aperture thing sounds genuinely interesting and the sensor size is competitive. but i see way less discussion about it compared to DJI products and im not sure if thats because its actually not as good or just because DJI dominates the conversation so much that other stuff gets buried.

main things i care about are image quality (primarily photos, some video), reliability, and how the app holds up ? ive heard autel's app can be a bit rough compared to DJI fly but i dont know if thats still true or if they've updated it. also curious how the range holds up in real world use vs the specs. anyone actually flown one of these long term? not looking for the marketing answer, just want to know what its actually like day to day

had an evo lite+ for about 8 months before i eventually moved on. image quality is genuinely excellent, the variable aperture is a real differentiator and you can tell in the photos especially in mixed lighting situations. buuut the app was my main gripe the whole time ? it improved somewhat over the time i had it but it still felt kind of clunky compared to DJI fly which is just so polished at this point. not broken, just not as smooth. also had one firmware update that temporarily messed up my return to home settings which was a bit alarming, though they fixed it fast.

range was fine for everything i actually needed it for. i never felt range-limited. i think if you're someone who prioritizes image quality and wants something that isnt DJI it's a solid choice, just go in knowing the software ecosystem isnt quite at the same level yet

the autel stuff is underrated imo but yeah the community and third party support just isnt there the same way. if something weird happens mid flight you can find a DJI forum post about the exact same issue within 30 seconds, with autel you're kinda on your own sometimes. thats not a dealbreaker but worth thinking about if youre newer to this