Camera options with a Yuneec drone remain limited

Options for cameras attached to a Yuneec drone, whether the RC quadcopter Yuneec Q500 series or the hexacopter Typhoon H models, a series of potential glitches thwarts pilots.

Ironically, one of these glitches comes with a Yuneec drone designed to accommodate a GoPro camera.

The Typhoon G was built specifically to house a GoPro along with the Typhoon G500 4K and Typhoon G500+, but a software update by GoPro “GoPro halted the camera stream out of the USB port, rendering the user helpless to get the desired video. This can leave the Yuneec drone without the ability to capture video, in essence.

As well, the struts need to be removed from the undercarriage of the Yuneec drone to attach the camera mount, the often-flimsy Yuneec SteadyGrip, onto the gimbal. But the AA NiMH battery system gimbal of the Yuneec drone does not charge the GoPro via the via USB and blocks the memory card slot.

These problems highlight earlier comparisons of DJI Phantom vs Yuneec in quality, notes a review in the World According to Cole that discusses the Yuneec drone.

“Getting back to the original comparison between the DJI Phantom 3 and the Yuneec Typhoon Q55+ Quadcopters: These two drones are similarly priced with similar, but not certainly not identical features,” Cole writes.

“If you’re interested in getting higher quality video (up to 4K), you may want to consider the Phantom 3 Professional, which can record video at three levels: High Definition (HD), Full High Definition (FHD), and Ultra High Definition (UHD), whereas the Typhoon Q500 only supports video in HD. If HD is enough for you, then the Phantom 3 Advanced model has the advantage based on price.”

Then of course there are the connection issues between the camera and controller that come with almost every Yuneec drone because of faulty internal WiFi cards and fewer satellites to lock on than DJI has for GPS connections.

This can result in a flyaway Yuneec drone, especially if line-of-sight is lost, and a loss of video. DJI routinely show better attention to detail in the operation of drones.

“The Phantom 3 holds the clear edge when comparing the maximum transmission distance of the controller, i.e., what’s the maximum distance (line of sight) that the drone can communicate with the controller? For the Phantom 3, it’s 2,000 meters; for the Typhoon, it’s only 600 meters, which is more than 3 times less than the Phantom 3,” Cole writes.

Practically speaking, the GPS transmitter on every Yuneec drone needs to be in sync with at least six satellites to get the Yuneec drone to follow the operator’s movements from above and aid in possible recovery – particularly important for new users, to maneuver the drone home if it comes out of range.

These transmission issues affect a number of in-flight parameters of a Yuneec drone that new users can probably adapt to with some trial and error. But the bigger issue on a Yuneec drone is when the casual user starts to want to use the drone for work-related tasks. This is a big and growing area that includes using drones to survey roof tops for repair issues, or surveying land.

Quality video is crucial to getting the work done.

 

 

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