Phantom 4 Pro or Skydio 2?

I used to have a Phantom4 and used Drone Deploy and it worked great. Then I sold it and got a Mavic, and that worked not as great. So I sold it and kept waiting for a Phantom 5.
Fast forward 3 years: I pre-ordered a Skydio2 and mine is ready to ship now. It’s $1000 for just the drone and a battery. $1800 to get the controller, beacon, case, extra batteries.
Given the range of the Skydio2 and the immaturity of the App, it’s hard for me to pull the trigger on this even though I’ve been waiting for months.
Anybody have any thoughts? Is the Phantom still the go-to for mapping? Those can be had for around $1000 on eBay.
Thanks,
Tony

The Phantom 4 Pro is still the prominent drone for mapping, but the likes of Skydio and Autel are quickly catching up. Since DroneDeploy already has support for the Skydio I’d say it’s got a few more tricks than the Autel particularly since they released vertical scanning, but I have been looking at the Autel myself mostly because of the RTK model that is soon to release.

Chat with with @Sam_De_Long about the Skydio. He swears by it.

Thank You! The vertical scanning is very cool! I’m mapping a 400-acre mountain that has a 2000ft range of height from highest to lowest. I did portions with the Phantom, was going to go back and redo the entire thing now. Thanks again.

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Skydio 2 is amazing for small complex construction sites I frequent in urbane environments. Large topographical scenes I still use the Phantom.

@MichaelL you always know how to catch my eye lol.

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Thanks. I sold my phantom 4 a few years ago when I got the mavic, but eventually got rid of that. I can’t believe there’s no Phantom 5 at this point.

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Also just to be sure, I need to get the Non “plus” version because the screen can’t load 3rd party apps easily, right?

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Yes that has been my experience. I have 2 controllers for my P4P; the Plus version with a brighter screen for non-mapping applications and the non-Plus controller that I use with DD.

Regards,
Terry.

Personally I would never use the Plus model, but between Pix4D and Litchi I am certain that I could accomplish pretty much any flight I would ever need. I just can’t think of why I would when I could by an extra couple of batteries instead.

I bought my Plus controller so long ago it was before the lack of 3rd party support was even known to be a problem. It has a brighter screen which makes it nice for sports applications and manual, non-mapping flights.

For new purchasers it important to know the limitations of the Plus controller; if they want to do mapping with DD, do not get it.

Regards,
Terry.

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Thanks Everyone.
Iʻm now also looking at this Evo 2 Pro for about the same cost.

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Skydio2 user here, and if you’re in production using a drone, then I’d stay away form Skydio. I think the Skydio platform has promise, don’t get me wrong, but there are some serious issues to consider before putting a Skydio to work.

FIrst, if accessing flight logs are important, know that you can’t access them with Skydio (or transfer them via 3rd party using Drone Deploy apps).

Second, image/video transfer from your wireless device is not possible using the Drone Deploy App (which uses the DJI SDK). Without a major rework of the app, I wouldn’t hold my breath on that feature. So, in the field you have to connect the Skydio by USB to a computer (I haven’t tried iPad) and then upload using hotspot data.

Third, and maybe the most concerning is the complete lack of support from Skydio. I know they’re swamped with production and maybe support will change but in February 2021 Skydio support is beyond abysmal. I wanted to buy their “enterprise” app however each inquiry just puts me on Skydio’s marking list. If I ended up with a real problem with the drone, there’s no way to get help.

They HAVE to change how they do business if they want to stay in business. Skydio has sound technology, but the way they treat customers will shorten the line to get a drone in no time.

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What are the steps to connect a Skydio2 to DroneDeploy? I can fly it manually with no issues, but cannot get it to connect to DD for autonomous flights. I have the controller and have connected my iOS mobile device via USB to the controller. I have experience flying DJI with DD with no problems. I’m sure I’m missing a step or two but it will not connect. Thanks for any advice!

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I wish that I could offer you a helpful answer, however my experience has been intermittent at best. My greater concern is do I really want to put a drone in the air under part 107 if I’m not absolutely sure what is going to do?

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Thanks. It just sounded like you had gotten it to fly an autonomous mission using DD. I am willing to try a mission if I can get it to connect.

If anyone has had success with a Skydio2 autonomous mission, would appreciate any tips on getting it connected.

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@Sam_De_Long , good morning! Any advice for these folks?

Yo! I have had no major issues connecting with Skydio to DD. Power on the drone, start up then controller, and connect the same way you would with a DJI bird. You can also run it through the beacon connected to your phone over the WiFi. I ran the Skydio last thursday on a flight with no issues. I’ll test it today on another project.

Skydio is slammed right now with the full roll out. If you are a true multiple drone enterprise user I can put you in contact with the enterprise team.

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Just a few things to double check, you probably know these but:

Drone Deploy and Skydio2 are NOT compatible with the Skydio2 iPhone app or the beacon. Use the controller only.

Make sure that you’ve connected the controller to the Skydio2 per the manual. (turn both on, then plug the controller into the drone with a USB cable). I believe that the controller creates it’s own wifi link with the drone (separate from the phone), so be sure to turn off the wifi on the phone when conecting the controller to your phone.

You shouldn’t have the Skydio app and Drone Deploy app open on your phone at the same time. One or the other, not both.

Finally, there is a setting in Drone Deploy > Projects > Fly >, Then only in Map Plan > Advanced > Planning Camera > Skydio2 which may or may not affect the ability to launch, I dunno. But, since it’s in the settings you may as well set it to Skydio2.

With all of the above taken care of, on site after I turn the drone on and connect my phone, the Drone Deploy app shows “drone connected” then it’s just a matter of selecting the mission and pressing fly.

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I’d love to hear more about using the beacon. I’d read somewhere (of course I can’t find the reference now) that Drone Deploy only worked with the controller. I may have just posted incorrect info above. If you’ve done it, I believe you, but would very much like to know details if you’d post those please.

As for Skydio, sheesh, I know the pandemic hit production capability and they’re behind. Trust me I really really want to like the product, there’s SO much to like. But, my experience with the company has been so excruciatingly poor and that against the backdrop of a limited feature set compared to DJI is kinda of a dealbreaker. I doubt that you’re speaking for Skydio, but that I’d have to be multi-drone enterprise user to get their attention is exactly my experience. I’m a small business and only bought two of their drones which should be enough to get a reply, any reply.

If you do have the ear of the enterprise sales guys at Skydio, please pass along a hearty “thanks for nothing”.

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Beacon acts as the controller link. Connect your phone to the beacon with a cable or WiFi. Then just start drone deploy mission as usual. It’s been awhile since I have done it, but I believe I was not using the cable between my phone and the beacon.

Still no luck. I believe that I am following all of these steps. One thing I will change out is the cable from the controller to the phone just to see if that makes any difference.

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