Taking photos on a Litchi Mission

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@ Mavicam - I have just watched your Litchi Mission - 'I Cover the Waterfront' on the Spark forum. Was that shown at actual speed or speeded up as if actual that Spark can certainly get around ?! It sounds like you have got both a Spark and Mavic and I was wondering when are the times when you prefer the Spark ?

A final o/t question but where was the location in the video ? It looks like a boat owners paradise

 

[MaviCam]

@Storyline
The video speed is 150% of actual speed.

Yes, I have a Spark and a Mavic Pro. Last week I would have said I generally prefer the Spark because it is simple, easy and less monetary risk if something goes wrong. My bias has shifted more toward the Mavic since I got the Master Airscrew Stealth props. Now it is more of a whisper than a swarm of angry bees. I probably fly the Spark 4 times as often as the Mavic.

It is in Panama City, Florida. Boating is what brought me here. We lived aboard a sailboat for about a year, but now we are hard-core "dirt dwellers" and just have a kayak.

In post #18 on this thread I said, "I have NEVER had the real mission turn out like the one on Google Earth." This is me, eating my words.

Today I flew a mission, that, if anything, looked better than the Google Earth simulation. To steal a line from Mary Poppins, it was "practically perfect in every way." I believe the thing that made it work was that it had absolutely NO points of interest. I used Custom(WD) with heading and gimbal pitch specified at every way-point, and I used interpolate to transition between points. If I could, I wouldn't change a thing. I'm still a Litchi fan.

Since this thread is about taking pictures with Litchi, here is a frame from today's mission.

 

[parkgt]

@Storyline
I believe the thing that made it work was that it had absolutely NO points of interest. I used Custom(WD) with heading and gimbal pitch specified at every way-point, and I used interpolate to transition between points. If I could, I wouldn't change a thing. I'm still a Litchi fan.

How did you frame your shot without a POI?

 

[MaviCam]

I used Custom(WD) with heading and gimbal pitch specified at every way-point, and I used interpolate to transition between points. That kept the camera pointed at the things I was interested in. It was recording video the entire time it was in the air so I simply selected the frame(s) I liked best as still images, like the one above.

The mission was created in VLM. It was exported to Google Earth as a CSV. I previewed the mission in Google Earth, using the "Play Tour" function, so I could see what changes were needed to allow for capturing the views I wanted. Way-points, headings and gimbal pitch values were adjusted in VLM, as necessary, and the mission was, again, exported to Google Earth for previewing. The process was repeated until all of the lines of flight, headings and gimbal pitches gave me the views I wanted. Once that was done, I actually flew the mission.

 

[Storyline]

Interesting post MaviCam. I have those props somewhere between here and California as I type. I am looking forward to them arriving even more now !
One thing that has just occurred to me and that is maybe I should not have ordered the orange colour. I chose that as they should make the Mavic easier to see at long range. However as the props are so quiet there are times when you do not want to draw attention to the aircraft and then the white ones would be better. Damm, the freight would have been the same for two sets.

When you say you did not use any POI's do you mean you did not even set up a green POI icon at all or just not tick the POI box ? How do you calculate each angle ? Since reading your post I have had the idea of making a POI, then pressing Focus POI at which point it will calculate the angle required. Then, if it behaves as I expect that angle will stick when you then switch all to interpolate and delete the actual POI. I have just tried it and yes, that is what it does so it saves time calculating the angle.

 

[Storyline]

@Storyline
The video speed is 150% of actual speed.

Yes, I have a Spark and a Mavic Pro. Last week I would have said I generally prefer the Spark because it is simple, easy and less monetary risk if something goes wrong. My bias has shifted more toward the Mavic since I got the Master Airscrew Stealth props. Now it is more of a whisper than a swarm of angry bees. I probably fly the Spark 4 times as often as the Mavic.

It is in Panama City, Florida. Boating is what brought me here. We lived aboard a sailboat for about a year, but now we are hard-core "dirt dwellers" and just have a kayak.
.....

I really would like something smaller than the Mavic as there are times when it would be more suitable. I have spent some time today looking at the Spark and the Air and however hard I try to convince myself I still think I would prefer an Air but it is so much more expensive. Hard to justify having two at that price. Maybe I will wait until Airs appear in the second hand market at good prices.

You are lucky to live in such a great place for boating and having had the enjoyment of living on board for a good length of time. We have a boat and I have always wanted to live on her as I am attracted to having to have less stuff around and with everything in its place. As it is we have had a boat for the past 25+ years and during that time must have spent a few years on board but of course it is very different when it is 2 or 3 week chunks. This summer we have had 6 (3x2) weeks but always have to come back for work. Also your location looks very different with great facilities and I guess great weather to go with them. Our situation could not be more different as we are on a mooring in a very simple place. In addition the weather is frequently awful with unseasonable gales and sometimes day after day of rain. However both locations have their own attractions. Sometimes we can sail all day without seeing another boat and there are literally hundreds of islands so you can always find shelter to anchor. Also when the sun comes out you really appreciate it This summer we were lucky enough to have one cruise when it was wall to wall sunshine for 2 weeks. Usually though every time we go up the first thing the locals say in the pub is " you should have been here last month, it was fabulous weather". Ideally you need a boat in both places - or be rich enough to have a paid skipper move it around for you!

 

[ad4qs]

I have just flown my first Litchi Mission and it was great. As I predicted I flew far too high as I wanted to make sure I did not run into any of the large trees around my house.

However none of the photos I asked for were taken. At each waypoint - Stop video, Take Photo, Start video. I have done a search and have found some info about having to build in a wait period but no exact information. Does anyone know how long the wait period needs to be after stopping the video before taking the photo ? Is there any other reason my photos did not work ?

Many thanks

I have the same problem with my Mavic Pro. It does not "Stop video, Take Photo, Start Video. Otherwise it flies the mission perfectly and has no problems with multiple POI's. My Phantom 3 Professional flies the missions perfectly and will obey all the commands. Any ideas why the Phantom works on the waypoint commands and the Mavic Pro does not?

 

[Storyline]

I have the same problem with my Mavic Pro. It does not "Stop video, Take Photo, Start Video. Otherwise it flies the mission perfectly and has no problems with multiple POI's. My Phantom 3 Professional flies the missions perfectly and will obey all the commands. Any ideas why the Phantom works on the waypoint commands and the Mavic Pro does not?

Taking photos now works with my Mavic Pro as I discovered you have to build in a Wait period after stopping the video before taking the photo. I started with Stop Video, Wait 5 secs, Take photo, Wait 5 secs, Start video. This worked perfectly. Then reduced to 3 secs and this also worked. Have not yet tried slower. Also not yet tried taking out the second wait but that might not be needed.

If you try and have success would you mind posting here please ? So we can share our knowledge. Also if you or anyone works out the minimum wait period required that would be useful