IOC for video

[ghinson]

Been flying for awhile (P2nV) and am finally considering making the switch from Phantom mode to NAZA. (I know, I know. Just been scared, especially given DJI's notorious lack of intelligible manuals/support.)

I'm watching some YouTubes and think I have a pretty good idea about the purpose and function of HL and CL modes. But here's a question. If your quad is a ways off and you go in to HL and you hold down the control stick to fly back AND to either direction at the some time, will the quad pivot around you as it returns?

Does anyone have experience using the HL, CL (and even ATT) modes to get certain kinds of video footage that they find works much better than simply in GPS mode? That's what I want to know. Not if IOC will help me fly safer (because I'm a wimp and, even with FPV and IOSd, I don't fly out of LOS), but if it will help me in filming.

Thanks!

 

[FangsCPO]

You mean going from GPS mode to ATT mode.....right? As for video, you will get the best video capture quality in ATT mode because the NAZA isn't constantly correcting. Good luck.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[ghinson]

That makes a lot of sense. Should've realized that. I was asking more specifically about ways to use HL and CL for specific shots. But even just the switch to ATT would be useful. Doing it today.

 

[Visioneer]

If your quad is a ways off and you go in to HL and you hold down the control stick to fly back AND to either direction at the some time, will the quad pivot around you as it returns?

If you're in HL (must be in GPS mode) and hold down the right stick, the Phantom will return to you. If you push the LEFT stick left or right, the Phantom will pivot (yaw) as it is returning. If you push the RIGHT stick left or right, it will move to the left or right of its direct return path as it continues to come back towards the home point. I believe, based on the following (bit of a translation issue in their text), that when the Phantom gets within about 10m of the home position it will switch out of HL and into CL based on its forward direction at the time.

From http://wiki.dji.com/en/index.php/Phantom-Intelligent_Orientation_Control_(IOC)_Flight (DJI site: MC=MultiCopter?)

*Home lock flying requires that 6 or more GPS satellites are found and the aircraft is further than 10m away from the home point.
*Before you do the home lock flight, you have to fly the aircraft out of the 10m range around home point, and then flip the switch S2 to Home Lock position to fly in home lock when all the requirements are met. If you have already toggled the switch S2 to Home Lock position when the aircraft is still in 10m range around home point, and this is the first time you are going to fly in home lock during the current flight, then if all the requirements are met, MC will change into home lock automatically when quad-rotor flies out the 10m range around home point.
*When you are flying in home lock mode, if the aircraft is back into the 10m range around home point, or you switch into ATTI Mode, or the GPS signal becomes weak, MC will fly in course lock by the current forward direction automatically. But this forward direction is NOT the recorded forward direction. If you open the course lock now, MC will fly in course lock still by the earlier recorded forward direction.
*When quad-rotor is flying by home lock far away from you and the home point, please do not toggle the IOC switch many times quickly so as to avoid the change of home point without your attention.

Does anyone have experience using the HL, CL (and even ATT) modes to get certain kinds of video footage that they find works much better than simply in GPS mode? That's what I want to know.

Again, based on the above from DJI, if you're in HL and switch to ATTI, the Phantom will fly in CL based on the then current forward direction. When you switch to ATTI, you turn off GPS and the Phantom no longer knows where it is relative to the home point. Apparently CL works from the compass so it doesn't need GPS to function.

ATTI can help with your video stability (assuming it's calm or you're OK with some drift), but using it shuts off HL.

 

[ghinson]

I'm made the switch. Dying to get out there and experiment. Of course, we're having a mini-blizzard today, so it'll have to wait. But. I'm anxious to find a way to automate a pivot around a subject. It's hard to do in GPS mode alone, requiring steady, consistent pressure on both joysticks.

I suppose the downside of HL pivot/yaw is that the home point will be the center point (so I'll have to move).

 

[Visioneer]

I'm made the switch. Dying to get out there and experiment. Of course, we're having a mini-blizzard today, so it'll have to wait. But. I'm anxious to find a way to automate a pivot around a subject. It's hard to do in GPS mode alone, requiring steady, consistent pressure on both joysticks.

I suppose the downside of HL pivot/yaw is that the home point will be the center point (so I'll have to move).

Oh ... I may have misunderstood. I thought you wanted the Phantom to pivot on it's own vertical axis as it returns to home point. Sounds like you want it to fly a circle around some object, while keeping the object in view. That will require some skill ... it's not going to be automatic.

As posted above, if you want to use HL, you MUST be in GPS mode. Flying a circle around an object in ATTI mode will require even more skill -you'll be using the RIGHT stick to maintain both it's lateral motion (left or right) and it's distance from the object (forward input - otherwise it moves away from object on a tangent to the circle), and the LEFT stick to maintain the direction it's pointing (yaw).

As for flying in HL ...

First off, you're correct, the object will have to be at the home point (you can reset the home point while in flight with the S2 switch - see manual or http://www.phantompilots.com/viewtopic.php?t=6542 ... but be careful in choosing the home point in flight - remember, if you have to go RTH, that's where it's going to go).

Second, the Phantom will need to be at least 10m away from the object/home point.

Once you've flown the Phantom into position with the camera pointed at the object and are in HL, pushing the RIGHT stick right or left will cause the Phantom to fly in a circle around the object ... HOWEVER you will find that the Phantom will not stay pointed at the object. You will need to constantly be using the LEFT stick to yaw (pivot) the Phantom so that it stays pointed at the object. HL does not care or control which direction the Phantom is pointed. The only orientation it's concerned with is toward or away from the home point, and 90° left or right of the line from the home point to the craft.

Same is true with CL. It doesn't care which way the craft is pointed. It's only concerned with the directions established during its pre-flight, and flies in accordance with those directions. If it's pointed north in pre-flight, you can yaw it to face any direction you like, but pushing up on the RIGHT stick will always send it north.

There are other posts on the forum where folks have worked at doing what you're talking about - flying a 360 around an object while videoing it. It's certainly doable, but takes practice ... definitely not automatic. See http://www.phantompilots.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=6564&hilit=statue. There is one lone post therein which claims using HL will keep the Phantom pointed at the center of the circle. Others haven't had the same experience and the post seemed mostly ignored. I don't now why it would work as the basic premise of HL and CL is to ignore the craft's orientation.

I tried it once while standing at the home point and managed to keep myself in the camera's field of view, though not centered. But I was watching the Phantom, not my phone (hardly visible in the sun), so telling exactly where the camera was pointed was difficult. I imagine it would be much easier from an FPV perspective.