Creators and hobbyists shopping for a drone often target aircraft with 249g takeoff weights in order to sidestep the hassles of FAA registration. Autel's take on the concept is the Evo Nano series, which matches featherweight engineering with gimbal camera stabilization for perfectly stable aerial footage. Like the basic Nano ($799), the Nano+ ($949) we're reviewing here supports 4K HDR video, sports sensors to prevent collisions, and can fly for nearly a half hour between charges. It's an overall good performer, but it's not quite as well polished as our Editors' Choice, the $669 DJI Mini 3 Pro, which offers better video quality for fewer dollars.
A Light Airframe Sidesteps Registration
We don't think of ounces and grams as a feature point for many products, but the Nano+'s 249g takeoff weight matters for drone pilots. For those flying in the US, it makes it a bit easier to get started as you won't have to bother with an FAA registration fee. Instead, you simply need to take an online knowledge test. And for pilots in other regions, Canada and Europe are much less strict for ultra-light drones.
Autel markets the Nano+ in its signature orange color scheme, which we received for review, as well as Arctic White, Blazing Red, or Deep Space Gray. I do like the colorful orange version, which stands out clearly against a blue sky—it's easier to spot from a distance when compared with a gray drone, especially on overcast days.
Plastic construction goes a long way to keeping weight down. The materials used in the Nano+ are lighter grade than the composite material DJI uses for its Mini 3 Pro, but fall well shy of being called shoddy. The propeller arms fold snugly into the body for storage and transport, and the battery locks solidly into place.
Autel markets the Nano+ on its own for $949, a configuration that includes the drone, remote, and a single flight battery. We received the Premium kit for review, a $1,099 bundle that adds two additional batteries, a multi-charger, and a small carrying case. The multi-charger is useful, and works with an included USB-C plug, but while the bag is well made, it's a little tight to hold the drone and accessories comfortably.
There's no internal storage in the Nano+, a slight surprise given that the larger Evo Lite+ comes with 6GB of memory. Instead, you need to add a microSDXC card to save video; the card slot is on the rear of the airframe, just below the battery and next to the USB-C data port. The Nano+ doesn't support in-body charging of its battery; you need to use the included external charger to replenish it.
The Nano+ is rated for about 28 minutes per flight by Autel, and got close to that in our test flights. Our tests indicate that real-world performance is closer to 26 minutes of flight time, though how you fly your drone and ambient conditions come into play. The DJI Mini 3 Pro is a little better performer here, with up to 34 minutes of airtime with its standard battery.
Remote Control and Autel Sky App
The Nano+ is the first in a new series from Autel, but drone pilots who are familiar with the brand may remember the old Evo II, one of the few drones to ship with a remote with a built-in screen for camera view and control. That design is out. If you want a small drone that you can use without a smartphone, the DJI Mini 3 Pro is available with the touch-screen DJI RC remote for $909.
The new remote sports updated USB-C connectors for both charging and plugging your phone in, as well as removable joysticks so it can fit into the drone's extra-snug Premium satchel. Autel bundles short connector cables for iPhones, as well as micro USB and USB-C handsets. All and all it's a good remote control, though I have a minor complaint: There's no storage onboard storage compartment for the removable joysticks, so you have to take extra care to keep track of them.
The Autel Sky app is a free download for Android and iOS. I test-flew the Nano+ with two different phones over my review period, first with an ancient iPhone 8 Plus and later with the slightly smaller iPhone 13; the remote's phone clip handled both phones, even when using a case with the chunky iPhone 8 Plus.
The Autel Sky app is used for camera control (Credit: Autel)
The Sky app shows a view from the camera on your phone's screen, along with telemetry data to show airspeed and altitude, and a map that shows where the drone is located at any given time. You also see a readout of the expected battery life, visualized using a virtual fuel gauge in addition to numerical percentage and (estimated) remaining fight time readouts. If the gauge goes to yellow you're in danger of not getting all the way home to the launch point on your remaining battery, so keep an eye on it.
The battery gauge isn't the only safety feature of note. The Nano+ includes a GPS to determine its location, and supports automated return-to-home in the event of low battery or a loss of connection to the remote control signal.
The drone also supports downward, forward, and rear obstacle avoidance sensors. These effectively detect obstructions within the flight path and stop the Nano+ in place. That's as far as the functionality goes, however, as the Nano+ isn't quite as smart as the DJI Mini 3 Pro in that regard—the Mini 3 Pro is able to adjust its flight path to avoid obstacles, not just halt in place.
DJI also pus an ADS-B receiver in the Mini 3 Pro, which is able to warn you if there are manned aircraft flying near your drone, not included in the Nano+. On the other hand, pilots who may be frustrated by DJI's strict FlySafe geofence will find an Autel drone to be a breath of fresh air. It won't prevent takeoff based on airspace restrictions, so make sure to double-check the FAA B4UFLY site to make sure drones are allowed in your neighborhood.
4K Video With RYYB Color
The Nano+ uses a new camera for Autel, a Type 1/1.28 CMOS chip matched with a wide 23mm f/1.9 lens. The camera supports 4K30 video with standard, HDR, or 8-bit Log color, and can snap 12MP Raw or DNG stills, as well as 50MP JPGs.
The high pixel count isn't the camera's only differentiating feature; on a technical side, the color filter array uses a RYYB color filter array, rather than the more typical RGGB. Yellow filters transmit a bit more light than green, for a picture quality advantage in dim light.
In practice, I found it to be a modest benefit for video and JPG imaging, but it makes working with Raw DNG images a little tricky. In Adobe Lightroom Classic, reds shift to yellow, something that's quite noticeable when comparing an early morning sunrise scene in JPG format (above) with DNG (below).
Adobe doesn't offer a custom profile to match up with the RYYB color, but if you're savvy enough with Lightroom to install a custom profile, you can lean on one made by Lodge Photo. It does a better job with colors; I used it to make a third version of the same image, below.
The 50MP photo mode can come in handy, depending on your subject matter. When comparing overhead shots of a landscape scene, a creek, and surrounding landscape, I was quite underwhelmed by the 50MP output; for complex detail like foliage and grass, the downsampled 12MP pictures look better.
But for urban and suburban aerials, as well as close-up scenes, the 50MP results are clearer, with crisper views of houses and parked cars. I'd still say that, for most everyone, 12MP is the way to go, but you may find the high-pixel count option useful for specialized cases, like inspection work.
For video, the 4K30 footage offers good-looking, accurate color, and the three-axis gimbal makes for perfectly smooth aerial footage. You also get a useful digital zoom—its maximum 16x magnification is a bit blurry, but at its midrange setting the results are clear.
I have one complaint, and it's that the video profile is overly sharpened. It leads to some shimmering effects and a noisy look. Unfortunately, there's no way to fine-tune the video profile, a feature Autel dropped for this generation.
If you want more control over how your video looks, you can swap to a Log capture profile. It's only available with automatic exposure settings, though, which is puzzling as it's a feature with more appeal for experts who are likely to use manual settings. An HDR profile is available too, which is also restricted to auto mode.
In addition to basic photo and video modes, the Nano+ has a few other capture modes, some more useful than others. We like Hyperlapse, where the drone takes a series of images and puts them together in a quick time-lapse video, and there are a handful of automated Quick Shots (Fade Away, Flick, Orbit, and Rocket), as well as dynamic subject tracking. A portrait mode, which is supposed to blur backgrounds like a smartphone camera, is less useful; I've tried it on a few different Autel drones and it doesn't really work.
All and all, the camera is a slightly mixed bag. For stills, out-of-camera picture quality is great, and while the 50MP capture mode isn't needed for every shot, it doesn't take anything away either. But it's very hard to get the right color of the camera if you want to use Raw DNG. For video, the 4K30 footage is clear, colorful, and stable, but overprocessed.
The Little Drone That Could
Autel drones have their fans, and I can see why. The Evo Nano+ is a peppy little flyer that is sized well for travel, light enough to avoid FAA registration requirements, and offers up ample battery life. Add in safety features like a reliable GPS and obstacle avoidance sensors, and there's a lot to like.
Even so, the Nano+ has some drawbacks. Its retail price is a bit high when compared with the DJI Mini 3 Pro, and Autel's offering simply isn't as sturdy or slickly engineered as DJI's. Likewise, the Mini 3 Pro wins out in picture quality, with better-looking 4K60 and 10-bit Log video.
If you're wanting to try a brand that isn't DJI, however, Autel's drones are about as good as it gets. The EVO Nano+ is safe to fly and has a very capable camera; it's an especially good choice for beginner pilots. The Nano+ isn't quite as well polished or engineered as the Mini 3 Pro, which remains our Editors' Choice, but it still offers plenty for drone, photography, and video enthusiasts looking for an alternative to DJI.