as a big constructor of UAV,s we have builded more then 100 Ready to fly in the last 1,5 years with both MK and DJI the last few months.
all the major problems we see , have not been the case with us, and i dont mean we dont see them!
MK also has issues.
we sold thousands of dji systems with a less then 1% of failure rating , 99% is customer related.
even with all the postings , its still only a small margin.
we are actualy very carefull when it comes to upgrades or software changes.
for any product in that matter.
as with lots of software there will always be a bug of somekind.
infact i have suggested to DJI to select a 20 or so betatesters to first evaluate all firmwares before releasing them to the endusers.
we have experiance with lots of difference motors, es,s and frames and in all sorts of combinations.
with betatesters we can rule out any huge problem before something terrible happens with endusers crashing their expensive air crafts.
we also have a flight school and the thing we learn them first is how to handle the xcraft , importance of balance the aircraft.
batterys to use. balancing of props.
most important we learn them to fly WITHOUT any gadget like failsafe , hover , and come home.
most important is to keep visual sight and fly the copter from hand.
after their flying lessons they can decide to use the gadgets yes or no.
90% of professional filmers do not use any gadget to film , they all control it manual (atti active).\
as for DJI:
believe me they DO care about any mishaps as it is a failure to make something that does not work good.
do they need to improve some things? yes if you dont improve all the time the products goes out of sight.
at the time the esc trouble came DJI did their best to make new ESC and ship them out at a amazing time to the dealers. that actualy gave also free service to their customers.
our and their first concerns was helping the customers first and talk about labour costs later.
i call that a amazing service from a Chinese company.
i have met many of the staff of DJI in germany , and they are very proud in their work what they do.
and they are now more then ever open for suggestions , even from a different point of vieuw.
their CEO has studied in germany , and he speaks german fluently.
all in all we fly many DJI systems in 4-6-8 rotors combinations from cheap motors to most expensive ones.
if you buy a quality controller make sure you get also a quality ESC , MOTOR , Frame and matching props!.
as for prices for parts i cant be the judge of that.
i dont see anyone complaing about the expensive XOAR props , i tested many of them and i dont feel any improvement over other carbon props or even apc,s.
for example i tested a 13x6.5 from xoar and a aerobot 13x6,5 both carbon.
the xoar had higher rpm.s and different blade shapes.
for me it was clear the the 13x6.5 is different with many prop designers.
that is why the prop you suggest looks more a slow rpm prop.
S800
i still fly one of the first S800 no changes done in esc , still using the older software.
and logged over 40 hours with this aircraft.
my MC is also the old type MC with the different values comming out .
but i do know also my luck will eventualy may run out.
lets hope we land as much as we take off and keep this number equal!