Waypoint flights, some questions.

[Droning on and on...]

Okay, I think I get what @jephoto is getting at. Check out this mockup... Is this the idea? the green translucent arc shows what will be in frame (not exact, 90° rather than 81 'cause the drawing app wanted to snap to common angles) for a level, 0° tilt gimbal.

This could easily be dynamic, narrowing the angle if zoom is employed (useful for video, not so much stills).

Another feature that actually would be pretty simple to add. Maybe we should suggest to DJI?

 

[jephoto]

Sorry, I didn’t see this right after you posted. But yes, this is exactly what I was asking about. A simple visual representation of the cameras angle of view from a given waypoint.
And again, the answer to my original question was,” No, it doesn’t do that- “yet. But it would be helpful…

 

[KLJ5]

Prompted by a recent thread, I haven't flown a waypoint flight nor have I tried to program one, I don't even know if my drones are capable of them. I don't think I ever will fly one but the thread made me wonder about some aspects of them.
Qu 1, speed, can the drone's speed be changed for each leg? I.e. could it be 5m/s between points 1 & 2, 10m/s between points 2 & 3, 7m/s between 3 & 4 .........?
Qu 2, are flight-mode speed limitations applicable? Meaning, is the flight flown in one of the three flight-modes, cine, normal, sports or in a 'waypoint' flight mode.
Qu 3, where do changes in height take place?
Qu 4, where do turns take place and are they smooth turns?

Great question. I have the Mavic 2 Pro and use waypoints.
1. In normal mode, you'll access the Waypoints Intelligent Flight mode by tapping the 'flight controller' icon on the left side of the screen, which will bring up a menu to select your preferred Intelligent Flight mode -in this case, Waypoints. Once there, you will have the ability to create waypoints. Once the waypoints have been created, you have the ability to specify a crossing speed for each waypoint.
2. normal
3. prior to reaching the waypoint. The drone will cross the waypoint at the pre-programmed crossing altitude.
4. You have 2 choices for how the drone will turn when approaching or reaching the waypoint. One choice is 'arc', which will allow the drone to take a 'shortcut' at the waypoint in a nice smooth arc. Otherwise, without 'arc' set, the drone will turn abruptly at the waypoint to head for the next waypoint.
You can flight plan and store your route at home if you wish and call it up upon arrival at the flight location.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Great post, @KLJ5!

I'd add that the Mavic 2 has fully exposed autonomy in the SDK, so Litchi is another – better in the opinion of many – option for waypoint operations, with the same uploaded flight plan executed autonomously by the Mavic 2.

 

[Felix le Chat]

Ahhhh. This is the use case where the Mavic 2 Pro with Litchi beats the pants off anything DJI is selling today. The Mavic 2 Pro is a workhorse and has yet to be equalled in this arena.

AMEN to that.... I honestly think that the mav 2's were the last completely rounded and 'fully loaded' drones DJI released. There would have to be catastrophic failures before I'd even think once about replacing them.

 

[KLJ5]

AMEN to that.... I honestly think that the mav 2's were the last completely rounded and 'fully loaded' drones DJI released. There would have to be catastrophic failures before I'd even think once about replacing them.

I sure agree with that, but at the risk of going off topic, what about the aging Mavic 2 batteries?