Dessert Rat
 lvl.3
United States
Offline
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Thanks for the heads up. If it really supports the Air 2S I'd be willing to wait. That's the time frame I was expecting. However, after waiting that long with no support for the Air 2S I'd be really unhappy. Since the Air 2S isn't listed anywhere in the documentation, it does make me worry quite a bit. The Evo 2 Pro is looking better (but the size and cost aren't).
It's really sad that DJI is even considering stopping SDK support for the low end drones, this is what sets them apart from the others (and quality - but how much longer will that be true as they focus on the "Enterprise" market). I teach sUAS classes at the local college, and the loss of SDK support will be a huge negative for the students and our program. As it is now, they can get into the profession at an affordable price, then move up in cost as needed (it also makes it easier for us to offer drones for their use). Capturing videos and landscape photos is such a small portion of how drones are being used, and the 3rd party software enables additional capabilities to help mimic/execute other professional applications. For example, one of the students during the spring semester did a construction monitoring project with a Mavic Mini and DroneLink. Without the SDK, this simply wouldn't be possible with a sub $500 investment.
I really hope DJI re-thinks this. If not, we (the college) will be back to using custom, "home" built, and small company drones using PixHawk controllers and open source software. Not a terrible option, but a lot more work for the instructors, and a steeper learning curve for the students (and back to hacking cameras/sensors/etc. to use with the drones). Maybe Hubsan or Fimi could be encouraged to fill the gap that DJI is opening up (their quality isn't quite up to par with DJI, but increased sales might improve quality).
Maybe I should just wait and see what happens. My plan was to practice more videography and landscape photography while waiting for the SDK (I can borrow a Mavic 2 Pro while waiting, and continue to use my P4). But, if DJI isn't going to provide an SDK, I would much prefer to move on now, rather than later when I'd lose even more $$ on my Air 2S purchase. |
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