NOVICE photographer

[Flyn2024]

As a Person who has not done much Downloading and saving.
What simple instructions can be learned to download, save and assemble pictures in time stamp order ?
Example (a construction projects Daily progress)
I'm thinking that I should get a separate storage device once I learn the technique

 

[MS Coast]

As a Person who has not done much Downloading and saving.
What simple instructions can be learned to download, save and assemble pictures in time stamp order ?
Example (a construction projects Daily progress)
I'm thinking that I should get a separate storage device once I learn the technique

The simplest thing is to download the files to your computer and view them with the native file manager, Explorer for Windows. Choose a thumbnail view of the file directory. By default, the file list will be displayed by name, but you can sort by date if you choose. (If you keep the DJI file names, the date and time are embodied in the file names, so sorting by file name or date will show the same result.)

You can create subdirectories to organize your files by project.

If you need a good basic photo editor, try Irfranview, free from www.irfanview.com

 

[Flyn2024]

The simplest thing is to download the files to your computer and view them with the native file manager, Explorer for Windows. Choose a thumbnail view of the file directory. By default, the file list will be displayed by name, but you can sort by date if you choose. (If you keep the DJI file names, the date and time are embodied in the file names, so sorting by file name or date will show the same result.)

You can create subdirectories to organize your files by project.

If you need a good basic photo editor, try Irfranview, free from www.irfanview.com

Im currently running a apple computer and not enjoying the way D J I interacts

 

[tstr14]

Similar to MS Coast said, I save mine in folder with the name of the location and date in the title. For example: Squire Park 08-03-2024. If I am shooting stills and video, I will put them in sub folders named Stills and Video. On top of that, I put them under the drone used, so a file tree looks like this:
C:\Drones\Mavic 3 Pro\Squire Park 08-03-2024\Stills
or
C:\Drones\Mavic 3 Pro\Squire Park 08-03-2024\Video

It may seem like a lot of work, but I have used it going back to my film days (over 40 years). Even though I have over 300GB of files, I can usually find what I looking for in short order.

While we are on the topic of storage, one VERY important word: BACKUP!!!
Back up all your work, preferably to an external source like the cloud, and on a daily basis with an automatically run program. That way, should a catastrophe strike like a hard drive failure or fire, you won't lose all your work.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

(If you keep the DJI file names, the date and time are embodied in the file names, so sorting by file name or date will show the same result.)

If you use the "details" view in explorer you can right-click on "view" and select "choose details" option.
Once there scroll down the list and tick the " date modified" box and perhaps the "date created" box then click perhaps "OK".
You can then sort by either of those columns.

For me, I recollect that date-created tends to be the date on which the file was created on the computer ( this relates primarily to logs ) but the date-modified entries seem to correspond to the date/time that the file was crested on the original device.
Once sorted by date-x the sorting seem to hold if I choose a different view mode.

 

[Flyn2024]

please provide hardware suggestions to use for this purpose
as i will consider a upgrade

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

please provide hardware suggestions to use for this purpose
as i will consider a upgrade

To whom are you replying?
Usually one uses the reply button on the far right beneath a post's window

 

[Flyn2024]

If you use the "details" view in explorer you can right-click on "view" and select "choose details" option.
Once there scroll down the list and tick the " date modified" box and perhaps the "date created" box then click perhaps "OK".
You can then sort by either of those columns.

For me, I recollect that date-created tends to be the date on which the file was created on the computer ( this relates primarily to logs ) but the date-modified entries seem to correspond to the date/time that the file was crested on the original device.
Once sorted by date-x the sorting seem to hold if I choose a different view mode.

as a example I have set up waypoints to photograph the North ,South ,East and West Views of a NEW HOME BUILD so I would need to separate each Directional View

 

[Flyn2024]

Similar to MS Coast said, I save mine in folder with the name of the location and date in the title. For example: Squire Park 08-03-2024. If I am shooting stills and video, I will put them in sub folders named Stills and Video. On top of that, I put them under the drone used, so a file tree looks like this:
C:\Drones\Mavic 3 Pro\Squire Park 08-03-2024\Stills
or
C:\Drones\Mavic 3 Pro\Squire Park 08-03-2024\Video

It may seem like a lot of work, but I have used it going back to my film days (over 40 years). Even though I have over 300GB of files, I can usually find what I looking for in short order.

While we are on the topic of storage, one VERY important word: BACKUP!!!
Back up all your work, preferably to an external source like the cloud, and on a daily basis with an automatically run program. That way, should a catastrophe strike like a hard drive failure or fire, you won't lose all your work.

Very helpful information I assume I need to get better Hardware (my 14 Year Old Mac won't Do)

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

as a example I have set up waypoints to photograph the North ,South ,East and West Views of a NEW HOME BUILD so I would need to separate each Directional View

OK,
If you can not tell N,S,E,W from the actual photos of a given flight e.g. shadow directions combined with time stamps there are several possible approaches to this.

1) Which should, I think, work. Obtain the phantomhelp or flight reader CSV of the .txt flight log and check for "true" entries in the column "CAMERA.isPhoto".
IF you find any ( there is a bit of debate whether or not the log faithfully records EVERY photo taking and I have not checked this ) then check the columns "GIMBAL.yaw" and or "GIMBAL.yaw [360]", those will give you the direction of the gimbal at that time.

NOTE I suspect that the columm records when the shutter is PARTIALLY depressed AS WELL as fully depressed so no every group of trues may represent the taking of a photo, but generally I suspect actual photos will have longer groups of true that partial shutter presses.

2) Again, in windows explorer, select "choose details" and scroll slowly through the list and see if you can see anything that might be direction related. If so tick etc. that column and see what it contains.

3) install an EXIF reader and use that to check all the META data for a direction. I use "Picture Information Extractor". I think, NOTE think, I have seen direction data somewhere in there but I am not certain.

 

[LeeB]

I wonder if you may be over thinking this. It seems like your end result is to show the progress of the construction.

Instead of taking 4 individual photographs (N, S, E, W) change your waypoints to start the video at the first point and end at the last one. Set a Point Of Interest (POI) to the center of the house and align each waypoint with the POI.

Create a folder to hold your videos for the project and put each video there. Choose a descriptive name (i.e. HouseProgress) and use a sequential number for each video (HouseProgress1.mp4, HouseProgress2.mp4 ...). This way they will be in chronological order when you go to edit them.

If you stay with photographs use a similar naming technique but incorporate the direction, which will always be in the same order (HouseProgressYYYMMDDN1.DNG, HouseProgressYYYMMDDS1.DNG ...). YYYMMDD is the date of the shoot to keep them in chronological order. However, they will not be in direction order (NWSE) so you may want to devise a numbering scheme for this.

 

[Flyn2024]

I wonder if you may be over thinking this. It seems like your end result is to show the progress of the construction.

Instead of taking 4 individual photographs (N, S, E, W) change your waypoints to start the video at the first point and end at the last one. Set a Point Of Interest (POI) to the center of the house and align each waypoint with the POI.

Create a folder to hold your videos for the project and put each video there. Choose a descriptive name (i.e. HouseProgress) and use a sequential number for each video (HouseProgress1.mp4, HouseProgress2.mp4 ...). This way they will be in chronological order when you go to edit them.

If you stay with photographs use a similar naming technique but incorporate the direction, which will always be in the same order (HouseProgressYYYMMDDN1.DNG, HouseProgressYYYMMDDS1.DNG ...). YYYMMDD is the date of the shoot to keep them in chronological order. However, they will not be in direction order (NWSE) so you may want to devise a numbering scheme for this.

EXCELLENT ADVISE THANKS

 

[Flyn2024]

I wonder if you may be over thinking this. It seems like your end result is to show the progress of the construction.

Instead of taking 4 individual photographs (N, S, E, W) change your waypoints to start the video at the first point and end at the last one. Set a Point Of Interest (POI) to the center of the house and align each waypoint with the POI.

Create a folder to hold your videos for the project and put each video there. Choose a descriptive name (i.e. HouseProgress) and use a sequential number for each video (HouseProgress1.mp4, HouseProgress2.mp4 ...). This way they will be in chronological order when you go to edit them.

If you stay with photographs use a similar naming technique but incorporate the direction, which will always be in the same order (HouseProgressYYYMMDDN1.DNG, HouseProgressYYYMMDDS1.DNG ...). YYYMMDD is the date of the shoot to keep them in chronological order. However, they will not be in direction order (NWSE) so you may want to devise a numbering scheme for this.

Your assumption was correct I was over thinking it.
Now that I have been able to download 3 videos as a test .
Questions arrise
#1 do I need to download the SRT and LRF files?
#2 when Sharing these videos ( considering size) which Method works well ? TEXT?E-Mail? Face Book?etc

 

[LeeB]

Your assumption was correct I was over thinking it.
Now that I have been able to download 3 videos as a test .
Questions arrise
#1 do I need to download the SRT and LRF files?
#2 when Sharing these videos ( considering size) which Method works well ? TEXT?E-Mail? Face Book?etc

I haven't downloaded those files, but that may be short sighted on my part.

There are so many sharing options but it probably depends on the audience you want to reach. For clients I post on a google drive and restrict access to them. I may want to add the video to my web page. Alternatively, I will post on FaceBook, LinkedIn and InstaGram.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

With regards to 1) I can only speak about SRT files and in my experience they are only needed if you want telemetry overlaid on the video.

 

[Flyn2024]

I haven't downloaded those files, but that may be short sighted on my part.

There are so many sharing options but it probably depends on the audience you want to reach. For clients I post on a google drive and restrict access to them. I may want to add the video to my web page. Alternatively, I will post on FaceBook, LinkedIn and InstaGram.

My son is suggesting Google Drive .
How do you use it ? again I am NOVICE
He did say the other files weren't important unless needed

 

[LeeB]

My son is suggesting Google Drive .
How do you use it ? again I am NOVICE
He did say the other files weren't important unless needed

You need to sign up for a google account (drive.google.com) and you get 15gb of storage for free.
You then create a shared drive that you upload your files to and manage members for access to the files in that shared drive. As you add members to the shared drive, you create an email that is sent to them.

 

[Flyn2024]

You need to sign up for a google account (drive.google.com) and you get 15gb of storage for free.
You then create a shared drive that you upload your files to and manage members for access to the files in that shared drive. As you add members to the shared drive, you create an email that is sent to them.

I will Thanks for the great adcive

 

[hedbonker]

I will Thanks for the great adcive

If you then also use google docs and google sheets (Same as Pages and Numbers on the mac but web based) and files created with those applications will not count against your 15GB limit in drive.

 

[Flyn2024]

I will Thanks for the great adcive

Any Advise on tutorials for learning video editing? old timer here having a hard time