This is an exciting year for aerial drone photography. DJI has owned drone photography for the last several years, but now competitors like Yuneec and 3D Robotics are giving them a run for their money with more feature-rich drones. The most interesting development of 2016 in the drone war will be when heavyweight GoPro announces its upcoming drone.
Oh, and I should say right off the bat that this post is in no way sponsored or endorsed by Yuneec. I don't have any sort of backdoor deal with them. They have no idea who I am. I'm just excited about their new drone, and the price is right (check the current price on Amazon).
360 Degree Shooting
The biggest drawback to the DJI Phantom 3 is that you can only shoot through a tiny window. The landing gear block the camera from about half of the shooting area, so the only way to pan is to physically rotate the drone, which doesn't always work. This severely limits the usability of the drone.
If you want to be able to shoot from all angles, you have to buy the DJI Inspire, which costs three times more but has landing gear that lift up and free the camera. But even then, the Inspire 1 can rotate one and a half times and then stops. The Typhoon can rotate endlessly.
The Yuneec Typhoon H has landing gear that raise up, but costs only half of what the DJI Inspire does similarly equipped.
Included Hardshell Backpack
I spent a couple days trying to rig up a suitable case for my DJI Phantom. The fact that the Typhoon comes with a hard shell backpack that fits everything perfectly is really really nice.
Notice in this post how many “included” accessories come with the Yuneec Typhoon. Backpack, two batteries, touch screen, car adapter, handheld gimbal. I love buying from a company that doesn't nickel and dime me with every accessory.
Built-In 7″ Touchscreen
One of the biggest complaints about the DJI Phantom 3 and Inspire is the bugginess of the software when attempting to connect an iPad or iPhone to the controller. Users report constant errors where the connection can't be made.
Another benefit of the Typhoon H is that it has a built-in touchscreen on the controller which allows the pilot to use the camera. Since I'll be controlling the camera and piloting the aircraft, this is a huge benefit to have everything in one place without requiring multiple controllers or connecting third party screens.
There is a downside to the Typhoon's video link, however. While no one has been able to test the new video controller yet, it's likely that it will have more lag because it uses wifi. DJI's video downlink is buggy, but has very very low lag since it uses a different technology.
DJI Drones are Unreliable (In my experience)
This is a question mark for me. I own a DJI phantom and know how incredibly buggy it is. I remember updating the firmware a week before an important trip and the firmware reversed every movement on the control sticks, which basically made it impossible to fly. DJI does NOT produce a stable drone in my experience, and if you have issues, there is basically zero chance you'll get help from their famously horrible customer service.
Will Yuneec's drone be any more reliable? I don't know. It may be as bad or worse. But knowing that I'm not happy with the stability of DJI's drones, I have nothing to lose by trying someone new.
Folding Arms
The arms of Typhoon are not only retractable to get out of the shot, but they also fold down so when you're done shooting you can easily push down the arms to fold it in a nice little ball and put it in the included carrying case.
This makes the hexcopter much more portable for when I'm out traveling to shoot with you guys on our free photography workshops that we do all around the world.
The Price
The price is right for Yuneec's Typhoon H. It's not cheap, but when compared to similarly equipped drones from other manufacturers, it's a steal at $1,299. You can pre-order your Yuneec Typhoon H from Amazon here (that's an affiliate link). I got my pre-order in and I'm REALLY excited to use this thing! The Typhoon is set to be released in March, 2016. Get your pre-order in fast, because I can't imagine that this thing will be in stock for long.
Comes with Two Batteries
Not only are two batteries included, but it also includes both a wall and a 12 volt DC socket so that you can charge the batteries in your car while you're driving. For me as a travel photographer, that's HUGE! Batteries for a drone usually cost in the $100 range, so including two batteries makes a big difference in the overall price of the drone.
I also like that the batteries on the Yuneec have inclosed connections, so you can just push the battery onto the charging station, instead of connecting the cords coming out of the battery to connectors on the charger. I've lost a few batteries to the cords being worn out, so this will hopefully improve some durability of the drone batteries as well.
Another cool feature is that the controller has a USB port so you can charge the remote with USB instead of needing to carry another cord with you. Excellent!
Hexcopter vs. Quadcopter
It's tough to say what the number one feature is of the Typhoon H, but the six rotors has to be very high on the list. By utilizing six rotors, the drone can land itself even if one or possibly two rotors go out. That gives me some comfort when I'm flying a $2,000 robot in the air above huge waves in high winds.
Six rotors also produces much more power. Many reviewers of Yuneec's previous quadcopter offering complained that it simply was not powerful enough to go fast and fight heavy winds.
The other thing that six rotors gives you is significantly better stability. With only four rotors on a quadcopter, imagine that the drone drifts to the right. The only way to stabilize it is for the two right rotors to spin up faster and tilt the drone down to the left to push it back to its original position. This tilting produces a shaky shot. Now imagine you have six rotors. Only one rotor needs to spin up, producing much less tilt in the shot.
Improved Stability
I have not yet flown a Yuneec drone, so I can't comment on this one personally, but everyone I hear from says that the Yuneec drones drift much less in the air than the DJI drones do. That's a huge benefit for photographers who want to push the limits of a slow shutter speed and still get a sharp photo.
This has been reported to be true even with Yuneec's previous quadcopters, so I am hoping that the stability is dramatically better with this hexcopter offering.
Programmed Flight Paths
Orbit mode will fly a circle around the controller, which I plan to use when I'm standing epically on the side of a mountain with my tripod. Journey mode flies away from the controller to show the entire environment. It also has a follow me mode, as well as the ability to put in waypoints.
Obstacle Avoidance
A third party add-on for the Yuneec Typhoon is Intel's Realsense technology, which will sense objects close to the drone and will fly the drone around them to avoid crashing. That's an incredible ability to add to a drone, but the finer details of the cost of this add-on and exactly how well it will be implemented remain to be seen.
It's Not All Rainbows and Unicorns
I don't pretend that the Yuneec Typhoon H will be an error-free drone that beats the DJI drones in every spec. In fact, I expect a lot of bugs. I also know that there are some serious drawbacks to this drone: reduced range when compared to the DJI offerings, no Glonass, no micro 4/3 camera like the Inspire 1 (the Typhoon H uses the same sensor as a GoPro and the DJI Phantom 3), etc. The Typhoon H is not perfect and I don't expect it to be.
However, the Typhoon H promises a significant upgrade from my DJI Phantom, and I'm anxious to see if Yuneec has outgunned DJI with its latest offering. Time will tell.
What do you guys think? Did Yuneec just announce a DJI killer, or is this a scrappy young company with an inferior product just announcing myriad features and accessories to try and compete?
Get the Yuneec Typhoon H on Amazon
I buy all my quadcopter and photography gear on Amazon. Check the price of the Yuneec Typhoon H on Amazon here. I like buying from Amazon because their return policy is much better than many of the retailers that sell drones online, and the shipping is always better and the price is usually the same or better.
Hello,
I own a hobbyshop in Germany. And I tested a lot of copters.
My experiences:
Q500
+ transmitter quality (ST10+)
+ transmitter ergonometry
+ drone Quality
+ Plug and Play! Very easy to handle
+ Very stable
But
– You cant switch off GPS the mode while flying (so we had flyaways because of a GPS failure)
– the downlink range (about 250m. In Germany the power is reduced to 25mW)
– The camera quality. There is a huge distortion in the edges, So you need a lot of experience in Photoshop
DJI P3P
+ Really fast (but you will see the props in fast flying videos)
+ agility
+ safe technology with ultrasonic
+ lightbridge
+ Battery management
+ camera settings
but
– you need an extra monitor
– the transmitter handling. If you use a 7″ phone, the transmitter tilts over
– flight time
We saw the Typhoon H at the international toy fare in Nürnberg:
+ very high quality
+ very ergonomic transmitter with built in monitor
+ transport
+ 6 rotors
but
– no glonass
– no downlink system like lightbridge
– high price
I´m looking for:
Hexacopter with Yuneec transmitter and lightbridge downlink that runs 30 Min. Price: Not more than 1500.-
Came here to post the same thing, although from the perspective of buying the Phantom 4 or the Typhoon H. The main drawback of the Typhoon for my purposes is the lack of lightbridge. Otherwise, it checks everything else on my list. I have Phantom 4 on pre-order but may reconsider if I can get a better feel for living without lightbridge tech.
In my opinion it is not serious, to fly a mile out with a drone…
Both Systems have their pros and contras.
The Typhoon H DOES utilize GLO NAS & will lock onto the European satellites as well. Also you didn’t mention the DUAL OPERATOR feature (as with the inspire 1) Owners of the previous typhoon or yuneec drones can utilize their ST ground station controllers to include a camera operator while the pilot focuses on flight.
Max range is 1 mile btw, and even @ 3000ft your platform is a small dot, geo fencing CAN be altered in the g.u.i. the presets are just set in compliance with F.A.A. regulations.
I work with Yuneec on the development level, and I can tell you that the Intel upgrade is only $199 for the add-on. It will have 360 degrees of obstacle avoidance on board and allow for real time corrections while in flight. It seems like DJI is the Apple of the Drone world. But if we all think back, when Apple first got its start, IBM wasn’t far behind. Today, Yuneec is in the same position as IBM back in the day. Yuneec will be producing reliable drones with open source hardware and software as well as one of the best customer service teams in the industry,
Im an avid DJI fan and new to yuneec. Does the 1299 price point comes with extra battery and hand held adapter for camera? Where can i find info on exact items that come with.
Actually I have seen it advertised for $1,200 or $1,299. It’s pre-order and that’s a hell of a deal, I have a chroma blade and had a flyaway which horizon hobby addressed as my fault but I know better and have found this to be true with other blade owners! Does yuneec know they have this problem and if so is it fixed with the typhoon H. There’s nothing worse then to worry about 1,000 to 2,000 dollars just flying away!
The Q500 4K is admirable in the air as far as stability is concerned even with strong winds. The fact that DJI has been around longer and as so builds a better drone is just not the case. Are they bad drones…no..there very good,but there not fantastic. Yuneec took there time and quite simply got right from the start. Flight control,video,user friendly interface all better than DJI. I have a Phantom 3 and I like flying it but I love piloting my Q500…..JMO
3000ft that may be more than line of sight! Good enough for most flyers.
New to the drone scene, and trying to figure out which drone to get. I would have gone for the Yuneec Typhoon H without much thought except for two things that seem like set backs.
122 m maximum flying altitude, while the Phantom 4 can go up to 6000 m …
I dont think I need my drone up to 6000 meters but 122 m seem very low for when you want that nice wide aerial shot of such and such village or monument etc …
What do you think? Am I completely missing the plate here?
The Typhoon H only says that because it is the federal maximum limit. Phantom 4 lists the capability, not the federal law. The Typhoon will easily hit 1000m
Your missing the mark by a mile, it is against FAA Regulations to fly above 400′ without a COA anyways, so unless you are a Cosmonaut, what are you doing up there?
Flying altitude is limited to 400 Feet in the US and it can easily do that so no worries there. If you fly it higher that is technically not allowed. The drone CAN technically fly higher but is software limited to the 400 Feet. I am unsure if that can be bypassed, I am sure you could find a way. 400 feet is enough for me.
Range will be about 1 mile (5280 feet) so even with interference that is probably at least 5100 to 5200 feet and that is plenty of distance IMHO. I personally don’t want to fly a drone much further than that anyway. I want to keep an eye on it and that is also required by the FAA. You must keep your drone within site.
So it can handle everything that is legal so I am unsure what else others want. Flying outside those perimeters is technically againt FAA regulations. Even if it wasn’t that is plenty of distance.
And to add I understand that the video link will probably max out around 1400 feet as it is running on the 5.8Ghz band but that should be enough for most use. Again that is about the line of site. Also there may be 3rd party options to increase that if need be. They did that for the Yuneec Quads.
Does this Typhoon H come with all the accessories mention above i.e backpack, second battery and hand held device or it is false advertisement?
Nope, it’s legit.
Show me where it is legit?
Yuneec on facebook says one battery and no backpack. I dont know where he got his info. Maybe that is what was originally gonna happen and Yuneec changed it.
Well, now the Typhoon H is only $1300, and $1800 for the spinning RS module!
I ordered this drone from US Drones for $1254 total. It ONLY comes with the bird, the controller, ONE battery, charger AND a FREE Wizard Wand. I’m cool with all that and will be selling my DJI Phantom 2 Vision + to some lucky person (bird, remote, THREE batteries, chargers, blade protectors, extra set of blades, hard carry case and 32GB microSD card). The order should be here by mid April and I’m cool with that and have no regrets.
http://www.amazon.com/Typhoon-Collision-Avoidance-Hexacopter-Controller/dp/B01AT4BKFU?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00
The biggest feature I’m looking for is Waypoint flying which you say it can do, but the Yuneec website says that it does not do waypoint flying.
do you know if the amazon kit includes the backpack and collision avoidance system? I have heard not and that may be why it is only 1399.00
I’m relatively new to the art and pleasure of flying a multirotor with professionally capable videography. In saying that,I’ve spent numerous years researching on the net and conversing with many very experienced aerial pros..Started airborne 3 years ago with recommended toys and graduated through the ranks of flying and building psuedo racers to FPV level,until finally confident enough to invest in a quality platform with the intention of producing nature videos and stills in semi retirement..Budget restricted and comparing all that was on offer,I finally chose the Yuneec Q 4K..It’s QUIET,it’s reliable ,it’s relatively robust,it indeed produces artful video and stills and if ungoverned (no gps) it flies brilliantly far and fast if required in very harsh conditions…50+ carefree flights logged so far… Of course I’ll recomend it and I may also purchase an “H” down the track as I become more experienced,but only when it’s been proven as well as the Q has….I live in the sub Arctic on a peninsular in northern Finland and the much touted aftersales customer service,along with all the aforesaid makes it fit for purpose imo.
An update,
Having now flown well over 300 missions with the Q4k .I’m about to advance its capabilities with a Rakonheli cnc/cf mod for ease of maintenance and hardware swap out options,as it being forsure a more robust frame…I can’t fault the Q’s electronics yet. The yaw issue,which is rarely evident and only if the wind is temperamental,can be limiting…
I, having cut my teeth on various copters over the past few years,even owning a Runner 250,of which although heavily slated, is once mastered, a relatively cheap, fastish, modular learner quad, covering all aspects of drone building,setup, repair/FPV etc; The Q imo, is a top gun beginners prosumer tool for quality imaging.The frame is relatively weak plastic junk,but parts availability is currently well established now for replacements,especially when the odd tree jumps up and bites through pilot error …I live on a forested peninsular,surrounded by a very large lake at the edge of the Arctic circle,with temperamental weather to say the least,but the Q has proven it’s worth to me and I shall now enjoy the long winter, cropping and editing all the seasonal pics and vids so easily gathered…..My knowledge endorsement is from being an apprenticed instrument maker at Sperry Gyroscope Co. UK from a large family of engineering technicians…The H can wait a tad longer methinks 🙂
Any new up date on the typhood H release date????
I would make sure everything that you say about the contents of the package is correct just to be sure. I have pre ordered my TYPHOON H and cannot wait to get it.
So long DJI ?
Besides not being micro 4/3, the Typhoon H is better than the Inspire.
I own the Phantom 4 and Phantom 2.1. I find this article very misleading. First of all, although the Phantom 4 has only recently been released, I will tell you from experience it’s amazing. I have had ZERO issues, and have already taken it on 6 or 7 flights I think. Everything just works out of the box. While true that 2 and 3 years ago the Phantom was a bit buggy, I never had any show-stopping bug other than a bad battery causing the drone once to land in water (and it survived.)
Iphone integration for me with iPhone 6s+ is perfect. Tablet is too big to lug around, but with the 6s+, you have a big enough screen to be able to easily see FPV, and make your setting changes, etc.
I’ll wait and see, but the promo video does not look as though the IQ on the camera is very good! Competition is great as other people say!!! … but I doubt highly this is going to be a phantom killer (I doubt very highly!)