Advanced camera control - Litchi and Autopilot

[DefaultIT]

So I know there are a bunch of threads about these two apps elsewhere, but there has also been a lot of added capability over the lifespan of both of them. I'm curious what people's experience with mission-based camera work has been like, especially if you've used both. The things that interest me are:

Smooth path interpolation (rounded corners, spline control)
Smooth camera aim interpolation - esp. with respect to ease-in ease-out
Variable speed along route paths
Short time lapse intervals
VR (I think only Litchi does this part, right?)
Video casting (I think Litchi is alone here, too)
Secondary GPS targeting (this one goes to Auotpilot via "airspace" if I understand correctly)
Support/updates (especially for iOS for me...and whichever adds Mavic support first)

I think Litchi has a price advantage but neither is exactly in the impulse buy bracket...so I thought it might be worth discussing while we await shipping.

 

[Dirty Bird]

I use Litchi (Android here so AutoPilot isn't an option for me). In my experience Litchi has proven itself versatile & extremely reliable with repeatable results. My missions are generally long & fast (30 mph) as I seek to make the flight into an all-inclusive mini movie of sorts.

* You can choose curved or flat corners. No splines though you could manually design your own by adjusting waypoints & curves. The curve length is adjustable for each turn. With flat turns the drone briefly pauses at each waypoint, rotates to the new direction, then proceeds. With flat turns you have lots of options you can do at each waypoint (hold time at waypoint, rotate, adjust camera angle, stop/start record, take photo, take a panorama, etc) You don't get those options with curved turns. Litchi uploads all this waypoint, POI, & yaw data to the drone when the mission is launched so it will continue the mission & perform these actions even if RC contact is lost.

* The camera will yaw smoothly & you can control yaw speed by how you place the waypoints, set camera direction, and/or place POIs. Not sure what ease-in/ease-out refers to as I'm not a professional.

* Speed can be varied between waypoints while in RC contact. If you lose RC contact speed will remain at last set speed until contact is regained so be careful here! Same applies to camera tilt. You need RC contact to automatically tilt camera or it remains at last set tilt.

* The next couple things I don't know what they are? Litchi has great support & frequent updates. If you contact the author on his FB page he responds very quickly. Litchi doesn't have anything like AP's "AirSpace" but the birds fly precisely enough that you can accomplish some cool effects with multiple birds & some creative mission planning (see video below).

So I know there are a bunch of threads about these two apps elsewhere, but there has also been a lot of added capability over the lifespan of both of them. I'm curious what people's experience with mission-based camera work has been like, especially if you've used both. The things that interest me are:

Smooth path interpolation (rounded corners, spline control)
Smooth camera aim interpolation - esp. with respect to ease-in ease-out
Variable speed along route paths
Short time lapse intervals
VR (I think only Litchi does this part, right?)
Video casting (I think Litchi is alone here, too)
Secondary GPS targeting (this one goes to Auotpilot via "airspace" if I understand correctly)
Support/updates (especially for iOS for me...and whichever adds Mavic support first)

I think Litchi has a price advantage but neither is exactly in the impulse buy bracket...so I thought it might be worth discussing while we await shipping.

 

[nocaps]

Seems that with Litchi you could potentially get a lot more out of the limited time for each flight since you wouldn't be expending in-air time manually positioning the unit at each waypoint. IOW you could spend unlimited time on the ground getting the mission just right, and waste no time while in the air.

 

[piccoloflyerr]

only thing I dont like about any SDK App Litchi included is "smart RTH" is not available when RC contact is lost, so if you lose RC contact when using litchi, Mavic or P4 will not return home with OA, only in waypoint mode will it return to homepoint if you set the last waypoint near your homepoint, correct me if I am wrong.

 

[kmaluo]

I use Litchi (Android here so AutoPilot isn't an option for me). In my experience Litchi has proven itself versatile & extremely reliable with repeatable results. My missions are generally long & fast (30 mph) as I seek to make the flight into an all-inclusive mini movie of sorts.

* You can choose curved or flat corners. No splines though you could manually design your own by adjusting waypoints & curves. The curve length is adjustable for each turn. With flat turns the drone briefly pauses at each waypoint, rotates to the new direction, then proceeds. With flat turns you have lots of options you can do at each waypoint (hold time at waypoint, rotate, adjust camera angle, stop/start record, take photo, take a panorama, etc) You don't get those options with curved turns. Litchi uploads all this waypoint, POI, & yaw data to the drone when the mission is launched so it will continue the mission & perform these actions even if RC contact is lost.

* The camera will yaw smoothly & you can control yaw speed by how you place the waypoints, set camera direction, and/or place POIs. Not sure what ease-in/ease-out refers to as I'm not a professional.

* Speed can be varied between waypoints while in RC contact. If you lose RC contact speed will remain at last set speed until contact is regained so be careful here! Same applies to camera tilt. You need RC contact to automatically tilt camera or it remains at last set tilt.

* The next couple things I don't know what they are? Litchi has great support & frequent updates. If you contact the author on his FB page he responds very quickly. Litchi doesn't have anything like AP's "AirSpace" but the birds fly precisely enough that you can accomplish some cool effects with multiple birds & some creative mission planning (see video below).

Beautiful video. But are you not worried about violating FAA regulations? Flying at night, flying out of sight, flying over populated areas. Is there an airport or helipad within 5/2 miles? I'm too terrified of what could happen and the liability that would ensue.

 

[Dirty Bird]

That is incorrect. Smart RTH is available & fully functional if you have it enabled in the options. When the flight computer calculates the battery has reached the battery failsafe point the mission aborts & the bird engages RTH. The FC is conservative in its battery calculation so it is necessary to disable Smart RTH to complete longer missions like the one above (37,000'+). It uses the RTH altitude you have set so you want to make sure this is set properly according to your flight environment.

only thing I dont like about any SDK App Litchi included is "smart RTH" is not available when RC contact is lost, so if you lose RC contact when using litchi, Mavic or P4 will not return home with OA, only in waypoint mode will it return to homepoint if you set the last waypoint near your homepoint, correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Dirty Bird]

I'm not particularly worried I just am very careful to properly research & program my missions.

Beautiful video. But are you not worried about violating FAA regulations? Flying at night, flying out of sight, flying over populated areas. Is there an airport or helipad within 5/2 miles? I'm too terrified of what could happen and the liability that would ensue.