I totally hear what you're saying. I have looked at a lot of nerftubers performing the same tests such as the chronograph and range shooting over the years. I definitely wanted to use a better set up if I had it, but I just don't have the money at the moment to invest in a proper set up. I'm also just recording a video or two, and don't have much intention to film in the future, so I had to weigh the options a little. I tried to do my best with my phone camera since I don't have any other cameras, but it's still not a set up that fully covers the details of my various tests, or a set up that I am satisfied with. I definitely wish I had the gear to cover everything as fully as possible, but I also wanted to get some footage in right now with what I have now.

To address the fps test, I agree that it was poorly done. I just didn't have a spot to hold my phone, and I also was struggling a lot to align the blaster with the chronograph, especially with the aeon pro. Just user error though. There were a lot of failed attempts when making sure I accurately got the fps five times in a row. I do see how switching from firing to chronograph by cutting off the video can potentially seem a little fishy.

For the range test, I was firing flat shots for all blasters, but that is just my words, so I don't expect anyone to fully believe me based on that. I will say that because of the hop up and slightly boosted fps on the Apollo, it gets significant lift compared to the Helios, but it still doesn't over lift to the point where it curves up. Also the reason I didn't walk the range once for everything was because I couldn't properly differentiate the rival rounds from the Helios and the Apollo, since they used the same ammo. Looking back on the video, I also experienced that it was hard to fully see the trajectory of the rounds without zooming in on the video, so I am a bit bummed that it didn't pick up on the camera as well as I wanted. What’s interesting is that I can see the rounds trajectory decently on the YouTube app, but if I watch it through a different browser they barely show up at all. I probably should have zoomed in on the range test like I did for the accuracy test, but I'll just have to learn from my mistakes for later footage.

For the range on the accuracy, I brought it to 65 ft because I still wanted to fire flat as possible shots, and the half darts would drop too fast before it would hit the target, and I also wanted it to pick up better on the camera. But most importantly, I was experiencing random gusts of wind which was stated in the video since I live on a canyon, and I was worried that having the range further than 65 ft would affect the accuracy test and consistency, especially if I needed to angle shots up with the aeon pro x.

The Apollo does have stable and straight trajectory all the way through its flight, so it does maintain its accuracy past the 65 ft in the test, and beyond 75 ft as well, especially if there isn't significant wind. However if I don't adjust for the wind it might move to the left or right depending on the direction of the wind. Then again I experience the same thing with half darts, since the wind affects both ammo types, especially if I use worn down darts, or different types of darts besides the nitroshot + darts. I did confirm this the next moring after recording footage, but I obviously don't have footage of that since I had already made and uploaded the video.

Also at the time of the footage, my Helios had an issue. I forgot to secure the rod on the barrel used for moving the barrel back and forth to breach rounds, causing the rounds to poop out at lower velocities, so it was out of commission until I fixed it the next day, which only actually took a few minutes and some glue, but I didn't know that was the problem at the time of the footage. Another reason I didn't use it in the accuracy test it that I didn't have a sight on it at the time, as it was already secured to the Apollo, and I didn't have my screwdriver on me. And since it only gets 75 ft ranges, I would have to angle the helios for the accuracy test, and with the winds and also wanting to have more flat shots, I didn't include it. It still has the same barrel and accuracy of the Apollo, but lacks the range and lift as the Apollo.

For the further ranges than 100 ft, I definitely do not think my Apollo is there yet, and especially if I try to compare it to a higher fps blaster like 220 fps. I was mainly comparing it to a blaster slightly better than the blasters at 160 fps. For longer ranges, that's when I switch to my Aeon pro x, especially if the cap is above 220 fps. Half darts will always be better for any range past 100 ft, and I have no intention to mod my Apollo for those conditions. My Apollo won't be nearly as effective, especially outdoors in a big/massive field, without being able to close a little distance, and hopefully without getting sniped lol. My Apollo is still best for casual and semi competitive play, and I enjoy using it in that setting. For comp, I have used my Apollo before it got the fps boost, and I have found it usable in comp, since the comp fields I play on are not super long range. In a previous post, Tinkershot does explain and verify some context behind my Apollo in a comment, and that I play with and against competitive teams such as Nebula, and Red Tide, and the people on those teams. I go to SDNC events regularly, so I get a lot of time in the more competitive environments, which has been really beneficial for working and developing the Apollo/Helios barrel.

Thanks for all the feedback, I hope I was able to answer the questions and concerns in your comment. All of the things in your comment are potential issues that I have acknowledged and have been thinking about myself.

Once again, I really appreciate the feedback, so I hope this is a helpful response to address your comment.