Example of a Litchi mission for those on the fence...

Brockrock · Oct 18, 2016

Here is a video that I shot yesterday afternoon using Litchi. I have since tweaked some of the waypoints to not 'clip' the shoreline, and I slowed down the mission speed from 20 to 16 MPH. Now I just have to wait for another calm and clear afternoon at just before sunset to send the copter up again with these new settings. Maybe tomorrow.

This is an example of one of the benefits of Litchi. I could never have manually flown this mission as smoothly while at the same time panning and tracking the camera in this way. This is my first YouTube video.

Cobs · Oct 18, 2016

Nice vid and mission

Brockrock · Oct 18, 2016

Cobs said:
Nice vid and mission

Thank you. These things are so fun. It looks like tomorrow's weather will be perfect for flying this mission with new parameters. I was not happy with how close the copter came to the shoreline and actually clipped it a couple of times. I pulled the southbound (initial) leg west a bit and changed some of the POI's and altitudes on the northbound leg. I will do a couple test flights on this mission prior to the final, near sunset mission, so hopefully, it will be better. Will post a link here as soon as it's up. Litchi is awesome!

SteveyB · Oct 18, 2016

That's an excellent vid and great demonstration. Looks a great place too.

Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

Brockrock · Oct 18, 2016

Cobs said:
Nice vid and mission

And, I just subscribed to your YouTube channel. A lot of very nice videos there. Well done!

Brockrock · Oct 18, 2016

SteveyB said:
That's an excellent vid and great demonstration. Looks a great place too.

Thank you. I had some good fun doing it. Hopefully I will have an even better version up tomorrow. I was not happy with a couple of points.

BigAl07 · Oct 18, 2016

Great video, subject matter, and mission. (insert jealous smiley here)

My one question . . . why is the horizon not more flat? I found myself turning my head to compensate LOL.

That's not criticism because it's a great video. Just curious.

BriRi · Oct 18, 2016

Excellent video.... I always launch and get enough height to adjust the horizon.... and then load the mission.... Good luck

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

Sky Pirate · Oct 19, 2016

Nice! you say you shot it in the afternoon, it must be a lovely quiet place (most of the time), not many people about is there? Looks lovely, well done.

QuadBart · Oct 19, 2016

Very timely. I've been on the fence about trying Litchi but your video pretty much convinced me to give it a go!

Excellent Video!

Brockrock · Oct 19, 2016

BigAl07 said:
Great video, subject matter, and mission. (insert jealous smiley here)

My one question . . . why is the horizon not more flat? I found myself turning my head to compensate LOL.

That's not criticism because it's a great video. Just curious.[/QUOTE
I have considered this, and prior to this flight, I did an IMU calibration and gimble

Hi Al. I appreciate the observation and comment. The horizon thing with these devices seems to be a constant issue and a frustrating one to say the least. Prior to this flight I had calibrated the IMU's and the gimbal, and everything seemed pretty well lined on the level bench.

Then, I think my mistake was doing a compass calibration prior to the flight - especially since it was telling me it was needed. I have noticed that while doing the vertical roll with the camera facing the ground, it sort of flops all around trying to figure out what the heck is going on. When the calibration was completed and with the copter set back down, I could see that the camera was slightly askew. I then rebooted it and the camera, and all seemed well. I'm going to keep working on this mission until I nail it!! And yes, I am very fortunate to live in an area that it not overly populated and very picturesque. Owning a DJI Phantom in southern New England is like being a 'kid in a candy store'...

Brockrock · Oct 19, 2016

BriRi said:
Excellent video.... I always launch and get enough height to adjust the horizon.... and then load the mission.... Good luck

Thanks for reply and advice! I am going to try this mission again and again until I nail it, and I will make that adjustment next time. I do always manually take off and get the unit to an altitude and location that is close to waypoint #1, so it would add very little time to adjust the gimbal. Cheers!!

ifsteve · Oct 19, 2016

Really sweet mission/video. What altitude are you using for this in general?

Brockrock · Oct 19, 2016

This was at 130' at a speed of 20 MPH. I have since tweaked the mission a bit via the Litchi Mission Hub in several ways: 1) I have adjusted the mission speed down to 15 MPH. 2) I have dragged the initial (southbound) leg's waypoints to the west a bit to avoid clipping the shoreline. 3) On the return (northbound) leg, I have set the copter to climb to an altitude of 180' as it approaches that main point area of the Seaport and then continues to pan around and draw away to the north.

For safety reasons, this entire mission is accomplished with the copter remaining over the water. I recently got my commercial Part 107 UAV pilot rating, and speaking for myself - as well as what I feel is in the best interest of the future of this industry - I choose to be legit and legal... I have great faith in my P4, but the idea - and possibility - of it falling out of the sky makes me very cautious regarding flying over people and places where it could cause injury and/or damage. Again, speaking for myself only. I in no way judge what I see others do, as I don't know all of the circumstances regarding their permissions and prior approvals...

Sky Pirate · Oct 19, 2016

Hi Brockrock, as I've said above nice place.

You live in New England, I live in Old England. Watching the pantomime on the news recently with Trump & Clinton (no offence to the US intended there) and reading your comments on legal & legit ANY CHANCE OF YOU RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT?

Brockrock · Oct 19, 2016

Yes, it is a very chaotic election season here. Probably the most chaotic that I have ever witnessed. Just another reason to get my mind off it and go fly my P4. It is a wonderful distraction!

Oh, and since I would not be able to fly my P4 at and around the White House, I have decided to place my presidential bid on hold for now...

...

andy869 · Oct 19, 2016

Litchi is the best out there that I have found. The only software that can smoothly and easily set waypoints and operate the camera professionally.

Great vid, but you really need to adjust your gimbal your horizon is like 3 degrees off!

John Locke · Oct 19, 2016

Brock, have you tried holding the C2 button and turning the photo wheel (top right wheel) to adjust the horizon tilt during the Litchi flight?

Brockrock · Oct 20, 2016

John Locke said:
Brock, have you tried holding the C2 button and turning the photo wheel (top right wheel) to adjust the horizon tilt during the Litchi flight?

So, I did a second take yesterday afternoon with some changes to the mission's speed, waypoint locations, and return leg altitude - all mentioned in a post above. Everything came out perfect except for this horizon issue. I did all the calibrations ahead of time including a gimbal cal just prior to sending it up. I also checked the horizon first after a manual takeoff while positioned and hovering near my first waypoint. It was spot on. This tilt issue only seems to be be an issue when the copter is filming AND moving sideways. Anyway, here is the link to the updated version of this mission. No more clipping of the shoreline at certain points, the rotation of the copter as it returns northbound is now to the east rather than to the west into the setting sun, and the natural lighting was at that near perfect moment... Incidentally, I do have a full set of Polar Pro filters, but this was filmed with the stock DJI lens cover only. (manual settings: 1080p/60, ISO 100, 1/120)

Hi John. I have not tried that, nor did I know that was a feature. Is this a combination that I will need to preset in the software, or is this already native? I will try this out. It could be the answer to all of my problems...