New firmware allows smart capture without controller or app?

[Mike4884]

Is this for Mavic Air only or Mavic Pro as well?

The mavic pro does not have smart capture features, sorry buddy

 

[HYRYSC]

Just got a chance to get out for a bit and try this mode out for myself. Took me a bit to figure out that you have to press the rear button twice pretty quickly, but after I figured that out, worked like a charm! I really like this mode a lot!! My youngest son (12) said he felt just like a jedi controlling it with just his "powers". I enjoy the automatic follow mode, the quick and very stable behavior from the drone.

One thing that I noticed is that, at least from my experience, it definitely has a ceiling that it will not go above which makes sense since it has to still be able to recognize your gestures.

All in all, this is probably one of my favorite features of the Air.

 

[gnuPilot]

I just tried using smart gestures without controller and the gimbal just kept looking up and down, never recognized my hand.

 

[HYRYSC]

We just got back from a brief outing and all of us in the group used the gesture control (hard to resist) and it worked flawlessly.

Gnupilot, you might want to try again because this is a great mode to use for a quick shot.

 

[gnuPilot]

I had an ND filter on when I tried so maybe that was issue.

 

[Air Beetle]

It works perfectly. I did a quick flight last night at dark. It complained about the low light but it was flawless. I was able to switch back to controller control after landing.

 

[robmacom]

Okay so the green status light in the back of the Drone actually doubles as a button. so what you are going to do is start the Drone up let it warm up and acquire satellite so give it about a minute or two ( this way it's stable in air ) ... now while it's on the ground press the button twice, that little green status light.... now you will see the camera look up once you are in your place where you would like to stand and there you can use your hand to lift off and yes this is without phone or tablet tried it today Works flawlessly

 

[robmacom]

Okay so the green status light in the back of the Drone actually doubles as a button. so what you are going to do is start the Drone up let it warm up and acquire satellite so give it about a minute or two ( this way it's stable in air ) ... now while it's on the ground press the button twice, that little green status light.... now you will see the camera look up once you are in your place where you would like to stand and there you can use your hand to lift off and yes this is without phone or tablet tried it today Works flawlessly

Mike thanks this is so cool will try it tomorrow

 

[robmacom]

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First video demo I've seen of using smart capture without controller or phone. Not clear how long he waited after turning the drone on.

Many thanks this is great and will try it out tomorrow

 

[JSKCKNIT]

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First video demo I've seen of using smart capture without controller or phone. Not clear how long he waited after turning the drone on.

Thanks for posting this video. Pretty neat!

P.S.
Are you on Oahu?

 

[Sal_recon26]

Thanks for posting this video. Pretty neat!

P.S.
Are you on Oahu?

Hahaha I wish I was in Oahu! I'm in lemoore CA

 

[Mike4884]

Gnupilot for reference i had a pp nd 16 filter on and had no problem with smart capture today....maybe try again?

 

[Hiflyer808]

Hey I just heard if you start smart capture without using phone or controller, the video is 1080p, even if you had it set on 4k the last time you used the app! Real bummer for me if true. Can anyone confirm or refute this?

 

[JSKCKNIT]

Hahaha I wish I was in Oahu! I'm in lemoore CA

Lol sorry for the confusion...I meant that for Hiflyer808

 

[Hiflyer808]

Lol sorry for the confusion...I meant that for Hiflyer808

Yes, I am on Oahu. Can anyone confirm video is 1080p when launching smart capture without phone and controller?

 

[sberfield]

I tried this the other day and it worked pretty well. I did get pretty nervous though since if it decides to ignore you, you have a flying meat chopper that you cannot control.

 

[Hiflyer808]

I tried this the other day and it worked pretty well. I did get pretty nervous though since if it decides to ignore you, you have a flying meat chopper that you cannot control.

Did it record 4k video?? (No one is answering this for me!)

 

[Travisimo]

Did it record 4k video?? (No one is answering this for me!)

The Air does NOT capture in 4k in Smart Capture mode, regardless of whether you initiate it with or without the controller and app. It only captures video in 1080p/30, so there must be a technical reason for this. Kind of strange since it CAN record in 4k when shooting in Active Tracking mode. Definitely a bit of a letdown, but honestly even the 1080p video looks pretty good and you aren't going to get any wide cinematic views in this mode anyway.

There are several things I found to be very important to remember when shooting in Smart Capture mode in this way:

1) Video recording is only in 1080p/30
2) Obstacle detection works, but you still need to pay attention and sometimes adjust its height
3) Sometimes the gestures for starting and stopping videos or photos take a couple of tries to be recognized
4) There is a learning curve knowing when the Air actually takes a photo (yes, the lights help a little)
5) The drone will land immediately when the battery is low, and I did not see anything ahead of time alerting me (though there could have been an indication with the lights that I just didn't notice)
6) The tracking works really well and I see myself using this mode quite a bit

Here is a test I did today with my Air walking in the park:

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[Hiflyer808]

The Air does NOT capture in 4k in Smart Capture mode, regardless of whether you initiate it with or without the controller and app. It only captures video in 1080p/30, so there must be a technical reason for this. Kind of strange since it CAN record in 4k when shooting in Active Tracking mode. Definitely a bit of a letdown, but honestly even the 1080p video looks pretty good and you aren't going to get any wide cinematic views in this mode anyway.

There are several things I found to be very important to remember when shooting in Smart Capture mode in this way:

1) Video recording is only in 1080p/30
2) Obstacle detection works, but you still need to pay attention and sometimes adjust its height
3) Sometimes the gestures for starting and stopping videos or photos take a couple of tries to be recognized
4) There is a learning curve knowing when the Air actually takes a photo (yes, the lights help a little)
5) The drone will land immediately when the battery is low, and I did not see anything ahead of time alerting me (though there could have been an indication with the lights that I just didn't notice)
6) The tracking works really well and I see myself using this mode quite a bit

Here is a test I did today with my Air walking in the park:

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Thanks for the info. No 4k at all in smart capture is a huge letdown for me. I wanted to get 4k video selfies as I walked along a mountain trail, WITHOUT having the controller in my hands. Drone selfies where you see the controller always reminds me that a drone is being used and detracts from my enjoyment. That's why I also wish the countdown on quick shots were a bit longer to make hiding the controller easier. If I use regular tracking mode on my hikes I'll have to either stage the hiking by hiding the controller, hiking a ways, and then coming back for the controller, or I'll have to hide the controller in my waist pack as I hike, with the danger of inadvertently moving the controller sticks with my body movements. Hmm, I wonder if I could activate active track and then unscrew the sticks. I guess if I get the Air I will use this mode only when I want some quick selfie photos.

Are you absolutely SURE that 4k is not available? Someone was talking about turning 4k back on in the app once you've activated smart capture, and in all the demos of smart capture up until now I've never heard anyone remark that 4k was disabled..

 

[sberfield]

Did it record 4k video?? (No one is answering this for me!)

1080 only as far as I could tell.