I have had a few dozen event-free flights with GPS lock, and have gradually increased distance, height, difficulty, and all with the intent to get betters stills and video. I decided it was time to kick off the training wheels and used the software to turn on NAZA and use S1 to switch GPS-ATTI-ATTI. Yesterday early evening it was nearly windless so I took it to a large field. I took off with GPS, let it hover while I checked satellites etc., and then switched to ATTI. It was just what I expected, but MORE FUN. And anytime I wanted I could switch back to GPS. Easy!
I used up all four of my batteries messing with it. By the last one I was getting more comfortable with intentionally letting it go a few miles per hour with the wind (gradually increased as time went on), and I was quickly enamored of the smooth video I could get by doing long sweeps using inertia or wind. I guess that went just about as I expected.
But it was a lot more fun than I expected! I can see how it will lead to setting up video sequences differently. There's something especially hypnotic about watching smooth movement in the video feed without pushing a stick, and you're freed to think about rotation or height changes during a smooth pan.
No going back for me! Next I'll try IOC. Here's a question for anyone who has read this far. Does the DiSTANCE number always read the distance from the spot marked as HOME? I found myself walking across a field after takeoff, and realized that it was reading ~400 feet distance when I was right under it. Of course it went to zero as I flew it back to takeoff. Is that how it works in EVERY mode, or is there a way to use the phone's GPS or something to have it know the distance relative to IT instead of the home spot?
I used up all four of my batteries messing with it. By the last one I was getting more comfortable with intentionally letting it go a few miles per hour with the wind (gradually increased as time went on), and I was quickly enamored of the smooth video I could get by doing long sweeps using inertia or wind. I guess that went just about as I expected.
But it was a lot more fun than I expected! I can see how it will lead to setting up video sequences differently. There's something especially hypnotic about watching smooth movement in the video feed without pushing a stick, and you're freed to think about rotation or height changes during a smooth pan.
No going back for me! Next I'll try IOC. Here's a question for anyone who has read this far. Does the DiSTANCE number always read the distance from the spot marked as HOME? I found myself walking across a field after takeoff, and realized that it was reading ~400 feet distance when I was right under it. Of course it went to zero as I flew it back to takeoff. Is that how it works in EVERY mode, or is there a way to use the phone's GPS or something to have it know the distance relative to IT instead of the home spot?