Litchi vs Dronelink... getting started- my impressions

[vindibona1]

I've owned Litchi for about a month or more and while I have the beta version for my Mini, they haven't rolled out all the features yet. I was wondering what Dronelink had to offer, so I decided to look into it as well.

Litchi is pretty straight forward. You download the app for $23, open an account, watch video for 20 minutes and I was ready to plan my first mission, which I did and successfully flew it. Dronelink is MUCH different.

First, the Dronelink app is free to download (maybe good for people with both Apple and Android devices). The ACCOUNT cost starts at $20 for recreational (and goes up based on use). No big deal. Getting started was a bigger deal. I watch about 30 minutes of various tutorials, and while I got the general gist of Dronelink's capabilities, it seems WAY more complicated, as there are drop-down menus everywhere and everything has to be sequenced just so. The word on this forum was that "the learning curve on Dronelink is steeper". What an understatement! After 30+ minutes of watching 5 or 6 tutorials I thought I'd try my hand at a basic "plan". The program has "repositories", which I guess are compliations of instructions, then a separate column for the "plan". What isn't widely known is that many of the features of Dronelink require a premium account subscription. In any event I was unsuccessful in creating my first mission. I don't think I'm ready to give up yet, but was definitely overwhelmed.

One thing that I really like with Litchi is that it shows you altitudes and gives you both options set height above current ground level, adjusting for elevation, or at static elevations over take off point. THAT is a premium feature in Dronelink. Additionally, Litchi displays the height on the screen at the waypoints. Dronelink's data is hidden in the dialog boxes.

Having said all that, one of Dronelink's strengths is that you can better control where the camera is pointed at any given point in the mission and can set auto start/stop of recording at various points. I think Litchi can do similar things, but I haven't explored that. I tried messing with Dronelink's camera settings, which seems to be done in multiple "component" menus, but wasn't really able to get the camera fully set. Perhaps I haven't watched enough videos?

I'm going to try to find 3rd party Dronelink videos to see if I can get it operational. I think Dronelink has some value and could be pretty powerful, probably overall more powerful than Litchi, but compared to Litchi, the learning curve isn't steep... but STEEP! JMO

 

[bob_r]

I'm learning Dronelink and it appears to be very powerful. Yes, the learning curve is steep!

I tried creating a very simple mission - fly from point A to point B and turn on video. Wow, did it get complicated fast.

Some of the things I had to learn by trial and error as there is no written documentation. Do I have to go back and watch all the tutorials again? Oh no.

Fortunately, a couple of 3d party youtube videos helped enormously:

Creating a list:

Creating a simple mission:

 

[vindibona1]

Thanks. Unless you have a MA2 or Mini Litchi is MUCH easier to get up and running. I'll watch the vids later tonight when I can concentrate.

 

[Tolly]

I too have bought both for my mini and although I agree that Dronelink is complex with a lot to learn, the things you can do with it are almost limitless. It's power is well worth the learning curve. The series of Dronelink 101 tutorials are the best way to learn in my experience and I recommend making some notes of your own as you go along. Take your point about altitudes not showing at waypoints but what is really useful and gives me confidence to run a mission is the 'simulated drone' feature which also links to google earth where you get a full 3d run of your mission to tweak and tune at home before you go out and run it. I spent about 6 hours on my PC before I went out and ran my first mission and after that progressed quickly. It's also worth looking at other people's missions and going through them to see what they do.
Stick with it its worth it honestly !!! This is a mission I flew a couple of days ago :

Dronelink

app.dronelink.com

the result is in the first part of this video:

 

[sarniac]

I have been flying DJI drones for two years and a user of Litchi for a year. I like Litchi and find it capable for most everything I do. Then I bought a Mini and wanted to have Litchi Waypoints, etc. I bought the DroneLink app and started watching videos, FB groups, Forums, etc. Definitely not as intuitive as Litchi, but DroneLink has features not found with Litchi. I’ve tested some basic Flight Plans with DroneLink and will continue. Bottom line, it isn’t easy but has a lot to offer. I like it.

 

[vindibona1]

I have been flying DJI drones for two years and a user of Litchi for a year. I like Litchi and find it capable for most everything I do. Then I bought a Mini and wanted to have Litchi Waypoints, etc. I bought the DroneLink app and started watching videos, FB groups, Forums, etc. Definitely not as intuitive as Litchi, but DroneLink has features not found with Litchi. I’ve tested some basic Flight Plans with DroneLink and will continue. Bottom line, it isn’t easy but has a lot to offer. I like it.

Do you have a recommended "sequence" of how you build a mission, especially if you need to start and stop video recording or take photos? It seems like you have to manually program every single step. I failed at trying to program my first mission and never tried again having spent so much time only to be unsuccessful. I do think there is potential, but the learning curve isn't a little steeper than Litchi... it is a LOT steeper, if only because the mission programming is so much more involved. Additionally, one of the things I like about Litchi that is missing in Dronelink is the ability to see altitudes and distances without having to go to menus.

 

[Tolly]

Totally agree on the learning curve but now I have the hang of it I love it. I too initially thought I wanted to see altitudes and distances on the mission plan but actually running the virtual mission in google earth is what gives you the confidence your mission is perfectly as you want it and to me extra numbers on the screen would just add clutter. The link below is is a mission I flew recently to try it out in my local park (thought it a bit risky to fly it over the sea first time but it executed perfectly). Now I plan to run it from the pier head when the weather permits as you can easily move missions from one location to another. It has most elements including orbit and a full 360 pano shoot. The 360 is a preset cluster of commands so you just add it in one entry but you can go in and change anything you want (number of photo's, ISO, shutter speed, etc). I'm well impressed.

Dronelink Southend Pier

 

[sarniac]

Do you have a recommended "sequence" of how you build a mission, especially if you need to start and stop video recording or take photos? It seems like you have to manually program every single step. I failed at trying to program my first mission and never tried again having spent so much time only to be unsuccessful. I do think there is potential, but the learning curve isn't a little steeper than Litchi... it is a LOT steeper, if only because the mission programming is so much more involved. Additionally, one of the things I like about Litchi that is missing in Dronelink is the ability to see altitudes and distances without having to go to menus.

For the most part, it is trial and error. Dronelink is different than Litchi in the way missions are put together. I watched a lot of YouTube videos and more than once, thought this isn't worth it. I know how to use Litchi, take it for what it is, and use it. But, I also saw in Dronelink features that would be worth the challenge to learn. So, I put together missions following and pausing videos. I started out with basic paths and destinations flying them in wide-open spaces. There are also missions you can import from Dronelink pilots and Litchi missions that you have put together. Again, if I imported a mission - mine or someone else's - I would fly it virtually and then in a wide-open space (where possible). Also, I have a Mavic Pro that I use for maiden flights and a Mavic Mini I use when I feel the mission is solid. You will get frustrated with it, but don't give up on it. Good luck.

 

[dawgpilot]

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Does Litchi work with Mavic Air 2? No mention of the web site.

No, not yet because DJI hasn't released the SDK for the Mavic Air 2, so no 3rd party apps can work as of now.

The SDK is expected to come out sometime in the next month, and then apps like Litchi can update to support the MA2.

 

[Repaid1]

No, not yet because DJI hasn't released the SDK for the Mavic Air 2, so no 3rd party apps can work as of now.

The SDK is expected to come out sometime in the next month, and then apps like Litchi can update to support the MA2.

I went to reply as you did and that post disappeared...what gives? It was in line with topic, so not sure if it was a mod or what..this has happened several times over the last few days.. Wonder if they are doing site maintenance? Or just glitches...oh well you got it answered if the OP gets your post.

 

[ldallara-air2]

I went to reply as you did and that post disappeared...what gives? It was in line with topic, so not sure if it was a mod or what..this has happened several times over the last few days.. Wonder if they are doing site maintenance? Or just glitches...oh well you got it answered if the OP gets your post.

Hi, I didn't reseach the topic before I posted, that's why I deleted it . I saw lots threads on the subject. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Repaid1]

air2" data-source="post: 1148616" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

Hi, I didn't reseach the topic before I posted, that's why I deleted it . I saw lots threads on the subject. Thanks for the reply.

Thanks for that

 

[mavonover]

I've owned Litchi for about a month or more and while I have the beta version for my Mini, they haven't rolled out all the features yet. I was wondering what Dronelink had to offer, so I decided to look into it as well.

Litchi is pretty straight forward. You download the app for $23, open an account, watch video for 20 minutes and I was ready to plan my first mission, which I did and successfully flew it. Dronelink is MUCH different.

First, the Dronelink app is free to download (maybe good for people with both Apple and Android devices). The ACCOUNT cost starts at $20 for recreational (and goes up based on use). No big deal. Getting started was a bigger deal. I watch about 30 minutes of various tutorials, and while I got the general gist of Dronelink's capabilities, it seems WAY more complicated, as there are drop-down menus everywhere and everything has to be sequenced just so. The word on this forum was that "the learning curve on Dronelink is steeper". What an understatement! After 30+ minutes of watching 5 or 6 tutorials I thought I'd try my hand at a basic "plan". The program has "repositories", which I guess are compliations of instructions, then a separate column for the "plan". What isn't widely known is that many of the features of Dronelink require a premium account subscription. In any event I was unsuccessful in creating my first mission. I don't think I'm ready to give up yet, but was definitely overwhelmed.

One thing that I really like with Litchi is that it shows you altitudes and gives you both options set height above current ground level, adjusting for elevation, or at static elevations over take off point. THAT is a premium feature in Dronelink. Additionally, Litchi displays the height on the screen at the waypoints. Dronelink's data is hidden in the dialog boxes.

Having said all that, one of Dronelink's strengths is that you can better control where the camera is pointed at any given point in the mission and can set auto start/stop of recording at various points. I think Litchi can do similar things, but I haven't explored that. I tried messing with Dronelink's camera settings, which seems to be done in multiple "component" menus, but wasn't really able to get the camera fully set. Perhaps I haven't watched enough videos?

I'm going to try to find 3rd party Dronelink videos to see if I can get it operational. I think Dronelink has some value and could be pretty powerful, probably overall more powerful than Litchi, but compared to Litchi, the learning curve isn't steep... but STEEP! JMO

I had the same outlook on dronelink. I could not make heads or tails out of it and got a refund. call me stupid if ya want....the learning curve is just too steep for this 66 year ole guy. I am able to work with litchi fairly easy. just my 2

 

[vindibona1]

I had the same outlook on dronelink. I could not make heads or tails out of it and got a refund. call me stupid if ya want....the learning curve is just too steep for this 66 year ole guy. I am able to work with litchi fairly easy. just my 2

I'm older than you but not ready to throw in the towel just yet. Unfortunately I've sold off my Mini for a Mini 2 which I don't believe has been incorporated into Dronelink yet (?). As I've used Litchi more extensively, I've found that while it is great for exploring an area, flying manually gives me more control of more nuanced movements and sponatanaeity that is lacking in automated flight. But I love the fact that I can plan a mission from home, test fly it and modify it as needed. The only thing that becomes difficult is knowing what the camera will capture compared to the simulation.

 

[parkgt]

I had the same outlook on dronelink. I could not make heads or tails out of it and got a refund. call me stupid if ya want....the learning curve is just too steep for this 66 year ole guy. I am able to work with litchi fairly easy. just my 2

Yes, at 68 it took a bit of study for it to click. But once it did I was amazed at how flexible DL is. Lithci is a very solid program and for many it does all they think they want to do. Those that get over the hump with Dronelink find it can do so much more if that is what they need or want.

 

[Tom25]

Just wondering if there are Dronelink missions saved somewhere that you can download, customize (if you want), then fly? As that is one of the best features at Litchi, where you can download, then edit as needed, saving you a lot of time. My preference is to stick with Litchi once it comes to the Mavic Air 2 app.

 

[Tufargon]

Just wondering if there are Dronelink missions saved somewhere that you can download, customize (if you want), then fly? As that is one of the best features at Litchi, where you can download, then edit as or if needed, saving you a lot of time. My preference is to stick with Litchi once it comes to the Mavic Air 2 app.

You can actually download the litchi missions that are online. I took one made in my area and uploaded it to DL the other day. From what I saw in one of the DL videos is that you can modify them once imported also.
I went and bought DL ($40 package) over Litchi because of all the video reviews I watched comparing the two.

 

[Tom25]

You can actually download the litchi missions that are online. I took one made in my area and uploaded it to DL the other day. From what I saw in one of the DL videos is that you can modify them once imported also.
I went and bought DL ($40 package) over Litchi because of all the video reviews I watched comparing the two.

Agreed.... I love the collection of online missions and hope to edit and fly a couple of them if Litchi ever comes to MA2. It also seems way easier to plan out and execute than Dronelink.

 

[zeusfl]

I personally like more Dronelink over Litchi simple because the PC online planning is more powerful. Dronelink has "facade" a very powerful option for take pictures of buildings or structures to convert the pictures in 3D modeling. Also you can plan orbits on the web something that Litchi Hub does not allow you. Only in the app.

I like to plan everything in my computer at home and just load the plans and go on the site.

 

[Tufargon]

Agreed.... I love the collection of online missions and hope to edit and fly a couple of them if Litchi ever comes to MA2. It also seems way easier to plan out and execute than Dronelink.

I like the fact that DL's tutorials are all free. I'll just watch one as I plan out my mission so I don't forget anything and after time it'll become much easier. DL also has online missions on their map but it's different in finding them. I wish DL would make the map more like litchi but importing them to DL is easy enough from what I can see.