Litchi for smoother waypoints ?

[mr.jipi_]

(sorry if you see double, my previous post seems to have been deleted).

Coming from the 3DR Solo drone, I am new to the DJI world with my Mavic 2 Pro and I don't know much about Litchi.

I’m trying to achieve the following for a specific shoot and I'm thinking Litchi might be able to help me where DJI GO failed.

My mission from beginning to end is roughly a 2 km course, deep in nature, that ends with a complet stop. I’m trying to achieve this in 4min, all in a smooth (cinematic) single sequence for a Music Video. In the best scenario, there are 4 different angles/shot I would need to get smoothly in the same sequence in between Start and Finish.

Because it is very hard to achieve a flawless 4 min flight over 2 km flawlessly (for me at least), I was hoping to use the DJI GO Waypoint's mode. It does 90% of the job but as you know, the transition are not very smooth. My biggest issue with it for this project has been the rough “stop” (brakes) at the end… I need the camera to very smoothly stop and stay still (hoover) for 30 seconds at the end of the music video. And with Waypoint, It is not a smooth stop like you can achieve manually or with the Cinematic mode.

So bottom line: Would Litchi allow me to achieve a smoother waypoint experience or at least a single point A to point B with a very smooth/gradual stop?


Thank you very much for your help.

 

[pelagic_one]

I’m only a couple months with Litchi, but I would attempt a Waypoint in Litchi that is programmed to slow the drone down to an optimal speed so that it stops smoothly. Also, for the effect you’re seeking, would a Point of Interest near the horizon work for you? Then the smooth stop would keep the camera pointed straight ahead in the distance.

WP1 - Cruising speed for your optimal 2km shot
WP2 - Reduced speed towards WP3
WP3 -
—- Command 1 — Stay in Place for 30+ seconds, so the drone would come to a gentle stop at a predetermined slower speed
—- Command 2 — Stop recording video
WP4 - Towards Homepoint

Might that work?

 

[brett8883]

I’m only a couple months with Litchi, but I would attempt a Waypoint in Litchi that is programmed to slow the drone down to an optimal speed so that it stops smoothly. Also, for the effect you’re seeking, would a Point of Interest near the horizon work for you? Then the smooth stop would keep the camera pointed straight ahead in the distance.

WP1 - Cruising speed for your optimal 2km shot
WP2 - Reduced speed towards WP3
WP3 -
—- Command 1 — Stay in Place for 30+ seconds, so the drone would come to a gentle stop at a predetermined slower speed
—- Command 2 — Stop recording video
WP4 - Towards Homepoint

Might that work?

Yea that’s what I was gonna say. Make a few waypoints at the end reducing the speed of each waypoint gradually. It may also be worth a try to just have the mission end action be “hover” instead of a “stop and stay for“ if that isn’t working

 

[Deleted member 94047]

Litchi definitely allows for much finer control over waypoint missions than is possible in the GO 4 app. Having said that, I am not at all clear on what it is that you want to do. The smooth stop at the end can be done manually so long as you still have connection with the aircraft - just bring it to a gradual stop as you approach the last way point (my understanding is that the AC will respond to throttle input even in a waypoints mission - again, so long as you have connection between the AC and RC) ; and add a "stay for 30s" at the last way point.

Now, as to what you want the AC to do in the waypoints in between, I am not really sure I understand what your desired goal is there. If it is a gradual change of camera angles, you can do that with the interpolate setting. If it is a gradual change in speed, add a series of waypoints before and after the waypoint you want the change to happen and incrementally increase/decrease the speed of the aircraft.

 

[Facherty]

One other thought if you are not filming people or vehicles: capture the route in 12-16 minutes, thereby running the drone much slower, and speed it up in your editor?

 

[Deleted member 94047]

One other thought if you are not filming people or vehicles: capture the route in 12-16 minutes, thereby running the drone much slower, and speed it up in your editor?

That is generally a good strategy, better to have a slow moving footage and speed it in post than having a fast moving footage and slowing it down. However, OP mentions this is "a 2 km course, deep in nature". Tree branches moving in the wind don't respond kindly to being sped up in post.

 

[mr.jipi_]

AC will respond to throttle input even in a waypoints mission - again, so long as you have connection between the AC and RC) ; and add a "stay for 30s" at the last way point.

This is very interesting, I think it might be worth buying the app to try it!

 

[mr.jipi_]

That is generally a good strategy, better to have a slow moving footage and speed it in post than having a fast moving footage and slowing it down. However, OP mentions this is "a 2 km course, deep in nature". Tree branches moving in the wind don't respond kindly to being sped up in post.

Yes the tree branches is a problem. I could play with timewarp a little, but not more than 10-20% more speed.

 

[mr.jipi_]

Thank you all for your input. I think I will give Litchi a try. One last question regarding Litchi:
Can you fly you drone and set your waypoints "on the go" like you can do with DJI App ? As opposed to planning everything in advance with a map. There is very little details about the app on Litchi’s website.

 

[brett8883]

Thank you all for your input. I think I will give Litchi a try. One last question regarding Litchi:
Can you fly you drone and set your waypoints "on the go" like you can do with DJI App ? As opposed to planning everything in advance with a map. There is very little details about the app on Litchi’s website.

Yes

 

[Deleted member 94047]

This is very interesting, I think it might be worth buying the app to try it!

Be advised that the AC will not exceed the max speed set in the mission settings. You also can't adjust height during a mission; so be careful with setting your heights. And yes, Litchi is definetly worth every penny. It takes a bit of learning and practice at first but you will master it pretty soon. There are plenty of helpful posts in this forum alone.

 

[mr.jipi_]

Fantastic thank you!

 

[CareyL]

Thank you all for your input. I think I will give Litchi a try. One last question regarding Litchi:
Can you fly you drone and set your waypoints "on the go" like you can do with DJI App ? As opposed to planning everything in advance with a map. There is very little details about the app on Litchi’s website.

Yes. Also if you create a route and set cruising speed to 0, you can manually control the speed as the route is being flown.

 

[mr.jipi_]

Yes. Also if you create a route and set cruising speed to 0, you can manually control the speed as the route is being flown.

Wow this is great. I’m giving it a try this afternoon!

 

[parkgt]

Litchi also has a Cable Cam feature you can use to fly, frame and save. Litchi with the MP2 will never be as smooth as the Solo unfortunately.

If you don't get what you want with Litchi you can try Dronelink, which is even more powerful and is free for non-commercial use.

 

[mr.jipi_]

Litchi also has a Cable Cam feature you can use to fly, frame and save. Litchi with the MP2 will never be as smooth as the Solo unfortunately.

If you don't get what you want with Litchi you can try Dronelink, which is even more powerful and is free for non-commercial use.

I don't see the cable cam in Litchi under the fly modes. Am I missing something ?

Do you know why we can't achieve smooth motion like we did with the Solo (released what, 6 years ago ?).

 

[mr.jipi_]

A did a quick test with Litchi in a parking lot yesterday and I think i might have found my solution here.

As stated by CareyL, the fact that I can set my speed to 0 and control the speed and gimbal pitch manually over a pre-planned course is fantastic. A bit like a cable cam in cinema but now with curves. I have planned a few tests in Mission Hub and can’t wait to test it. If everything goes well, I will publish the result here.

Thank you everyone for your help.

 

[parkgt]

I don't see the cable cam in Litchi under the fly modes. Am I missing something ?

Do you know why we can't achieve smooth motion like we did with the Solo (released what, 6 yea
rs ago ?)

Look at the Help section on the Litchi web app under Waypoints for an explanation.