Using camera while RTH

[gogorokokoko]

with the latest update you can control the orientation of the drone while RTH is on
so you can use it to shoot a video easier
DJI MINI 2 UPDATE | THIS IS INSANE!!! SIMULATE 2 PILOT CONTROLS | INSPIRE 2 LIKE FOOTAGE - YouTube

 

[vindibona1]

I just saw that myself. Haven't tried it yet but it's something to test out. Wind looks good for tomorrow though still a little cold.

 

[jweaver]

I want to know how he changes the height... is it done with the left stick as normal? Or is he using the RTH Altitude slider to do it,

I hope you cant do it with the left stick or this could be a bit dangerous as i would hope the RTH altitude was locked.

 

[Yogi053]

I suppose the ideal solution is being able to change the altitude of the drone higher but not lower than that set in the safety parameters. These parameters are set by the users to take into account of the surrounding area that they are currently flying. Now we all know the dangers of changing altitude to low levels ie trees, bridges etc etc but there may be just the odd occasion when we don't wish to fly too high ie National grid electricity pylons and transmission lines. Anyway, just a thought to keep in mind. Stay safe!

 

[jweaver]

I suppose the ideal solution is being able to change the altitude of the drone higher but not lower than that set in the safety parameters. These parameters are set by the users to take into account of the surrounding area that they are currently flying. Now we all know the dangers of changing altitude to low levels ie trees, bridges etc etc but there may be just the odd occasion when we don't wish to fly too high ie National grid electricity pylons and transmission lines. Anyway, just a thought to keep in mind. Stay safe!

I agree.. I am not sure if i missed something in his video, but I don't think he actually explained how he controlled the height.

I would like to think the height is locked to the defined "RTH Altitude" and it will NOT go below that...

After all, If the left stick still controlls the altitude during RTH, how easy would it be to accidently bring the drone down lower than an obstruction.

So I hope its simply a case that he is using the left stick to control Yaw (which we know now works duiring RTH) and is changing the height using the RTH slider in the app...

When someone tests this, can they report back? I am still a bit too much a novice to feel comfortable trying this out myself, and even if I had a go, I am not going to get chance to fly for a while.

 

[Meta4]

I want to know how he changes the height... is it done with the left stick as normal? Or is he using the RTH Altitude slider to do it,

Using the joystick would be the simplest and safest way.

I hope you cant do it with the left stick or this could be a bit dangerous as i would hope the RTH altitude was locked.

It's not, joysticks aren't ever "locked".
It would be more dangerous if they were.

 

[jweaver]

Using the joystick would be the simplest and safest way.

It's not, joysticks aren't ever "locked".
It would be more dangerous if they were.

You have totally missed my point.. I don't mean the joystick are PHYSICALLY locked.. But the function.. Like the right stick is during RTH.. You can move it but it does nothing.. That what I mean by "locked"...

During RTH you need to be sure that the altitude is fixed.. Or atleast it can't go lower than you expect..

Imagine if your phone ran out of power and you couldn't see the screen, so you initiated an RTH from the button.. Then you accidentally pushed the left stuck down, bringing the Drone down.. That would be BAD.

So I would like to think that the only thing thats changed is that you can change the YAW during RTH and nothing else.

And my question is how does the guy in the video change the altitute... Is it using the left stick just like when its NOT in RTH mode.. Or is he using the RTH Altitude slider in the settings?


Or to put is simpler "can you adjust the altitude during RTH using the left stick"? And if the answer is yes "Is there a limit to how low it will go"?

 

[ICHOTT]

I tried it - yes you can control camera direction plus adjust hight Up and down, it’s an excellent improvement. PS its the stick that is used to adjust RTH height in flight, not the RTH default setting which is what is starts at.

jweaver - go try it and let us know what you find re how low!

RTH is simply an auto return feature not “the only way to get back”.
You should not use RTH and then blindly adjust camera or height on the way back without knowing what you’re doing?
So any path you are flying whether forwards or sideways the pilot should be aware of obstacles. I like this new feature and that you can go up ‘and‘ down. If your worried about flying sideways into an obstacle then do not use that feature!

What can be done is plan the flight for obstacles then use the RTH feature as a ‘straight line tracking component’, if you use the “reset home point” too you can effectively have a simple 2 waypoint tracking flight, eg to do a sideways flight along a bridge/viaduct/road or other. You just need to make sure you cancel RTH when it gets to that end of the flight etc ?

 

[Meta4]

You have totally missed my point..

I didn't miss anything.

During RTH you need to be sure that the altitude is fixed.. Or atleast it can't go lower than you expect..

Just because you imagine this, doesn't make it so.

Imagine if your phone ran out of power and you couldn't see the screen, so you initiated an RTH from the button.. Then you accidentally pushed the left stuck down, bringing the Drone down.. That would be BAD.

Simple ... don't do that.

And my question is how does the guy in the video change the altitute... Is it using the left stick just like when its NOT in RTH mode.. Or is he using the RTH Altitude slider in the settings?

Already answered above

Or to put is simpler "can you adjust the altitude during RTH using the left stick"? And if the answer is yes "Is there a limit to how low it will go"?

There would be no way to set a meaningful limit - the earth isn't flat and ground levels and obstacle heights vary a lot.
To find out more, go to an open area and do some testing.

 

[Yogi053]

I didn't miss anything.

Just because you imagine this, doesn't make it so.

Simple ... don't do that.

Already answered above

There would be no way to set a meaningful limit - the earth isn't flat and ground levels and obstacle heights vary a lot.
To find out more, go to an open area and do some testing.

If during RTH you can adjust altitude by using 'left stick', then I'd say your going low limit would be when you fly it into the ground/water whatever. However, I'm not prepared to test that scenario! lol.
Stay safe!

 

[Tomk_]

Is this really new?
I thought I could maneuver the drone while in RTH mode before the update.

 

[Yogi053]

I thought before recent updates you could only manoever the drone by cancelling RTH and thus allowing you to take control of your drone again.

 

[EyesWideShut]

Is this really new?
I thought I could maneuver the drone while in RTH mode before the update.

With the Mini you could always control the Altitude, Orientation and Speed with the sticks during RTH. The only thing that doesn't change is the direction. It's coming straight home... but you can play with it on the way.

EDIT: I am talking about the Mini - Mini1

 

[tlswift58]

I suppose the ideal solution is being able to change the altitude of the drone higher but not lower than that set in the safety parameters. These parameters are set by the users to take into account of the surrounding area that they are currently flying. Now we all know the dangers of changing altitude to low levels ie trees, bridges etc etc but there may be just the odd occasion when we don't wish to fly too high ie National grid electricity pylons and transmission lines. Anyway, just a thought to keep in mind. Stay safe!

My RTH is set to like 325 feet, so don't know of any power lines / pylons / trees that reach that high. Yes, it could be an issue if I'm in a valley and the ridgeline is 500+ feet above me, which is very typical of where I fly in Western North Carolina with Appalachian / Blue Ridge Mountains. I still "feel" more comfortable having a high RTH to clear most obstacles. BTW - I rarely use RTH and the couple of times I did - I was below some tree canopies and luckily the drone made it down and thru without incident (pure luck for sure).

In my world - being able to "rise" higher than my preset 325 feet would be best of all worlds should an RTH be initiated - to give me a decent flight line back to home.

 

[Tomk_]

With the Mini you could always control the Altitude, Orientation and Speed with the sticks during RTH. The only thing that doesn't change is the direction. It's coming straight home... but you can play with it on the way.

That is what I thought... so this is not a new "feature", but rather someone just recognizing an existing feature.

 

[ICHOTT]

That is what I thought... so this is not a new "feature", but rather someone just recognizing an existing feature.

When you say “mini” do you mean mini 1 or the 2 as per what this thread referring to, I have the mini 2 and don’t believe I could alter height or direction before this update, but I could be wrong?

 

[Yogi053]

My RTH is set to like 325 feet, so don't know of any power lines / pylons / trees that reach that high. Yes, it could be an issue if I'm in a valley and the ridgeline is 500+ feet above me, which is very typical of where I fly in Western North Carolina with Appalachian / Blue Ridge Mountains. I still "feel" more comfortable having a high RTH to clear most obstacles. BTW - I rarely use RTH and the couple of times I did - I was below some tree canopies and luckily the drone made it down and thru without incident (pure luck for sure).

In my world - being able to "rise" higher than my preset 325 feet would be best of all worlds should an RTH be initiated - to give me a decent flight line back to home.

When I mentioned electricity pylons and power lines in my post it was in response to others who were asking how low could they fly their machines whilst in RTH. As you say, you set your RTH height to cater for the surrounding area that you are flying in which is the right thing to do. If others want to start reducing their height to a lower level whilst in RTH mode then I suggest they might not have their machines very long.

 

[Yogi053]

When you say “mini” do you mean mini 1 or the 2 as per what this thread referring to, I have the mini 2 and don’t believe I could alter height or direction before this update, but I could be wrong?

That is exactly what I thought! Quite a number of people posting were complaining that the ability to control their drones (Mini 2) was missing when Dji introduced them. Whereas before it was a feature on the original Mini. The feature was reinstated to the Mini 2 only recently through updates.

 

[EyesWideShut]

That is exactly what I thought! Quite a number of people posting were complaining that the ability to control their drones (Mini 2) was missing when Dji introduced them. Whereas before it was a feature on the original Mini. The feature was reinstated to the Mini 2 only recently through updates.

I was talking about my experience with the Mini (Mini 1). I noticed it and mentioned it in the Mini Forum maybe a year ago... I assumed that the control of the RTH in the Fly App would also apply to both Mini and Mini2.

 

[Grazuncle]

I agree.. I am not sure if i missed something in his video, but I don't think he actually explained how he controlled the height.

I would like to think the height is locked to the defined "RTH Altitude" and it will NOT go below that...

After all, If the left stick still controlls the altitude during RTH, how easy would it be to accidently bring the drone down lower than an obstruction.

So I hope its simply a case that he is using the left stick to control Yaw (which we know now works duiring RTH) and is changing the height using the RTH slider in the app...

When someone tests this, can they report back? I am still a bit too much a novice to feel comfortable trying this out myself, and even if I had a go, I am not going to get chance to fly for a while.

I just looked at the video ad his review of things you need to watch out for when using the 'feature'. I think you can alter the altitude with the stick because at 8:47 you can see him mimicking the lowering of altitude with his forefinger.. i.e. the stick.

I know you said it could be dangerous to alter the height but it could also be useful in situation where a direct flight back at a specific height may not be appropriate.

If the weather improves before Dec 2021 I'll try it... LOL

IF it Yaw and height is adjustable, as it seems to be in the demo, there is something else you could do with it... You could manually set an RTH point on the map and send it in a straight line directly there whilst making adjustments to the scene/angle you want captured and on arrival, before the Mini 2 starts to descend, stop it, reset the home point to 'controller' or any other point on a map and send it there or back to you automatically too. As he says this is a big change.. Not welcome to all though I'm sure.