Tripod Flight mode vs Cinematic Intelligent Flight Mode

[KLJ5]

Hi everyone. Could anybody please help me understand why one would use Tripod Flight mode vs Cinematic Intelligent Flight mode. They appear to me to be endeavouring to facilitate the same outcome. Thanx in advance.

 

[Felix le Chat]

Hi everyone. Could anybody please help me understand why one would use Tripod Flight mode vs Cinematic Intelligent Flight mode. They appear to me to be endeavouring to facilitate the same outcome. Thanx in advance.

If you're on about the 'master shots' automated flights, you're limited to sorting through a basic selection of set manoeuvres for the angles you might want to keep. Watch a dozen YouTube travelogue videos and you'll soon be naming them one by one during the video... Dronie.... Helix.... POI.... Rocket...

Tripod mode gives you freestyle control and butter smooth handling - you end up with customized and unique(ish) a/b-roll clips to assemble.

The master shots presets can also put your drone in harms way because they are pre-programmed set manoeuvres that don't take into account the topography or built/natural hazards. You have to make sure the drone has clearance in all 3 dimensions BEFORE you hit the 'GO' button... which is a lot harder to judge than you think.

The next "but" is going to be "....but what about obstacle avoidance? that's bound to save the drone when you use the automated routines..." - don't hold your breath. Even gen. 4 O/A isn't anywhere near intelligent or sensitive enough to be reliable 90% of the time.

Word to the wise? If you are going to film locations with these presets, make sure you have your thumb hovering over the 'pause' button on the controller and keep the controller and your unblinking gaze pointed directly at the drone.

 

[KLJ5]

If you're on about the 'master shots' automated flights, you're limited to sorting through a basic selection of set manoeuvres for the angles you might want to keep. Watch a dozen YouTube travelogue videos and you'll soon be naming them one by one during the video... Dronie.... Helix.... POI.... Rocket...

Tripod mode gives you freestyle control and butter smooth handling - you end up with customized and unique(ish) a/b-roll clips to assemble.

The master shots presets can also put your drone in harms way because they are pre-programmed set manoeuvres that don't take into account the topography or built/natural hazards. You have to make sure the drone has clearance in all 3 dimensions BEFORE you hit the 'GO' button... which is a lot harder to judge than you think.

The next "but" is going to be "....but what about obstacle avoidance? that's bound to save the drone when you use the automated routines..." - don't hold your breath. Even gen. 4 O/A isn't anywhere near intelligent or sensitive enough to be reliable 90% of the time.

Word to the wise? If you are going to film locations with these presets, make sure you have your thumb hovering over the 'pause' button on the controller and keep the controller and your unblinking gaze pointed directly at the drone.

Hi Felix. Thanx for your input. I agree with your comment about tripod mode. However, I don't believe that there are any "preset manoeuvers" in the 'cinematic' intelligent flight mode. It just seems to slow things down like the tripod mode. ...... or does it? :>)

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

Hi Felix. Thanx for your input. I agree with your comment about tripod mode. However, I don't believe that there are any "preset manoeuvers" in the 'cinematic' intelligent flight mode. It just seems to slow things down like the tripod mode. ...... or does it? :>)

I believe you're correct (no automation in cinematic), but it's been awhile for me (all comments come with that caveat -- I really need to charge up my batteries and fly).

My memory tells me that cinematic and tripod modes are similar, but with differences is dampening of parameters. If I'm remembering right, tripod mode is a simple smoothing of reaction from controls, while cinematic goes even farther by ramping down flight speeds on a scale.

What this means is that when you let go of the sticks, cinematic mode seems to glide a lot longer before stopping. I found that a little concerning, but only if I was somewhat near objects.

I believe cinematic mode would be smoother, but you shouldn't rely on it without practice, so that you are accustom to its longer ramping up and damping down of it's speeds.

Chris

 

[Felix le Chat]

I believe you're correct (no automation in cinematic), but it's been awhile for me (all comments come with that caveat -- I really need to charge up my batteries and fly).

My memory tells me that cinematic and tripod modes are similar, but with differences is dampening of parameters. If I'm remembering right, tripod mode is a simple smoothing of reaction from controls, while cinematic goes even farther by ramping down flight speeds on a scale.

What this means is that when you let go of the sticks, cinematic mode seems to glide a lot longer before stopping. I found that a little concerning, but only if I was somewhat near objects.

I believe cinematic mode would be smoother, but you shouldn't rely on it without practice, so that you are accustom to its longer ramping up and damping down of it's speeds.

Chris

In that case, I misunderstood the question, apologies.

With my Mavic 2's, I'm only aware of the video clip 'quickshots' that could be classified as "...cinematic intelligent flight mode(s)..." - which were beefed up with later drones to become 'mastershots' IFM.

I tried using these pre-programmed manoeuvres once and decided to give them a swerve, especially the 'dolly zoom' peculiar to the mav.2 zoom which nearly resulted in a foliage assisted stop 3/4 of the way up an enormous Douglas Fir.

Tripod mode with the Mav.1 and 2's is gorgeous, like having a flying Steadicam rig, I still use it frequently for close quarters approach architectural stills and there is no 'drifting' after stick input ceases - it is precise and immediate. On top of that, the mav.2 in tripod mode has all O/A cameras and sensors running on rocket fuel, about the only time I'll feel comfortable about taking them seriously.

Later drones got converted to 'cine' mode, which was and is a stinker by comparison until DJI finally gave in to pressure and allowed the stick and gimbal responses to be dialled-down to ALMOST tripod speed from the mini 3 onwards.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

In that case, I misunderstood the question, apologies.

With my Mavic 2's, I'm only aware of the video clip 'quickshots' that could be classified as "...cinematic intelligent flight mode(s)..." - which were beefed up with later drones to become 'mastershots' IFM.

Well, you're not entirely wrong as DJI classifies Cinematic mode as an Intelligent Flight mode, which is weird because there are no automations in the sense of the other intelligent flight modes (no course, waypoint, or hands free automation really).

You can see a brief description on pg. 32 of the Mavic 2 Pro owners manual, which I'll paste a screen cap of below. You can see by the last sentence that smoothing the acceleration and/or breaking, even with choppy stick inputs, goes a bit further that just slowing down responses of Tripod mode. I take it that the breaking has a more of a geometric curve to the slowing down of forward momentum than the probably more flat linear breaking of tripod mode.

 

[Felix le Chat]

Well, you're not entirely wrong as DJI classifies Cinematic mode as an Intelligent Flight mode, which is weird because there are no automations in the sense of the other intelligent flight modes (no course, waypoint, or hands free automation really).

You can see a brief description on pg. 32 of the Mavic 2 Pro owners manual, which I'll paste a screen cap of below. You can see by the last sentence that smoothing the acceleration and/or breaking, even with choppy stick inputs, goes a bit further that just slowing down responses of Tripod mode. I take it that the breaking has a more of a geometric curve to the slowing down of forward momentum than the probably more flat linear breaking of tripod mode.

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Like I said: my misunderstanding..... mea culpa . I mainly use my Zoom, which gives me a sweet little parallax effect in video and I'll bet that only the Pro has the "cinematic mode" in the same way that only the Zoom has dolly-zoom and super-resolution... I'll crank it up later and have a bit of an explore.

To be honest, after I discovered the "Hasselblad's" shortcomings as a video camera: I switched to using it for good quality stills.