Autel’s Nano and Lite drones get substantial firmware updates to fix ‘Jello effect,’ add capture modes and more: Digital Photography Review

Improvements have been made to the Autel EVO Lite drone (pictured above).

Last September, Autel announced the EVO Nano series, a sub-250g set of drones, and the EVO Lite series—a mid-level drone in the same class as DJI’s Air 2S. Today, the manufacturer has announced a firmware update, version 1.1.1, that adds features and fixes bugs to both lineups.

The most notable update is the addition of video frame rates up to 50p (24/25/48/50p), manual focus control for most models and enhanced photo resolution in some models. If this sounds confusing, this is because there are four different drones this update applies to: the Nano+, Nano, Lite+ and Lite. The ‘+’ models in each series are costlier and offer up more powerful cameras.

Besides auto focus, manual focus is now available on the Nano+, Lite+ and Lite drones. Photo stamps, available in the English-language version of the Autel Sky app, gives users the option to add in pertinent information directly to a photo’s frame including the time of day said photo was taken.

Some much needed updates for the Nano series have been added. The ‘jello-effect’, which creates wobble in video footage has been fixed. New and improved high photo resolutions of 8192×6144 and 8000×6000 pixels have been added to the Nano+ and Nano, respectively. The following video showcases both the ‘Jello effect’ as well as the lack of continuous zoom while shooting:

Another improvement available for all the aforementioned drones includes optimized continuous zoom. Now, users can press and hold down the zoom button for gradual and fluid zooming in on a subject. Ludicrous Mode, which is Autel’s equivalent to DJI’s Sport Mode, or the fastest the drone can fly, has added Speed Priority (up to 33 mph) and Video Priority (29 mph) options. Wind resistance while hovering has been improved as well.

Autel’s Sky app is free of charge and available for iOS and Android.