What are the P3's 'Dual Operator' features?

[maximusa]

I saw on the DJI site that the Phantom 3 had dual Operator functions. However somewhere else on the site it contradicted it that only the 'Inspire 1' had this feature. Which one is it?

I can problem live without Dual Operators, but I really wanted it to have the feature where I can fly the Quadcopter with FPV while the Photogrpaher can manipulate the gimbal and take images from the Ground via iPad. Is this feature supported or not? I couldn't get a straight answer from DJI support.

 

[Settel]

No, the P3 has no dual Operator functions only the DJI Inspire has this feature.

 

[Meta4]

I saw on the DJI site that the Phantom 3 had dual Operator functions.

You better look at the website again.

What do you think your camera operator is going to do?
There is no 360º camera movement on the P3.
All he would be able to do is camera tilt and how often do you want that during filming anyway?.
The controller has camera tilt and shutter buttons on it where the pilot can work them without taking hands off the controller.
Second operator is for complex camera movements only achievable with a 360º camera.
Really there's no need for a second operator on the P3.

 

[garrock]

DJI should seriously implement this in the P3 ...

For those who flew an AR Drone in Absolute Mode and got used to it...

DJI went to school on Parrots AR Drone and now they use a down-facing camera and ultrasonics.

DJI should ALSO go to school on how the AR Drone uses two flight modes: Normal and Absolute.

In Absolute Mode, the drone has no front or back from a pilots perspective. Since the compass heading is known in both drone and ground controller, the drone is flown and does not care how much it spins (yaw).

SO... hand over drone yaw (as camera pan) and camera tilt to a second camera operator. Then the camera operator has infinite camera pan and not limited to even 360 degree pan.

The pilot could toggle to Absolute Mode when the camera operator starts a run. Then the pilot can toggle back to Normal Mode when done if he wishes.

 

[Mike]

In Absolute Mode, the drone has no front or back from a pilots perspective. Since the compass heading is known in both drone and ground controller, the drone is flown and does not care how much it spins (yaw).

This sounds very much like Course Lock. What is the difference between AR's Absolute Mode and DJI's Course Lock?

 

[N017RW]

This sounds very much like Course Lock. What is the difference between AR's Absolute Mode and DJI's Course Lock?

+1

Just looked at AR's site, seems it is the same to me too.

 

[garrock]

"If" this is the same... then it is very simple for DJI to hand over drone yaw (used as camera pan) to the camera operator. Assuming DJI makes public the dual operator feature of the P3.

 

[TonG]

"If" this is the same... then it is very simple for DJI to hand over drone yaw (used as camera pan) to the camera operator. Assuming DJI makes public the dual operator feature of the P3.

Sure they can but it is a matter of market policy I suppose. After all they have to sell there Inspires. Nothing wrong with that.

Ton

 

[foobarbecue]

Dual operator on P3 would be great. Just having two people watching the camera can be extremely helpful. I was filming tree climbers in a forest recently and found that I needed a second person to operate gimbal tilt (both had our hands on the same controller, close quarters) so that I could avoid tree branches while descending and ascending. You can't yaw much obviously because the landing gear gets in the way. Has anyone tried to bind an Inspire controller with a P3?

 

[Decator]

Yes I saw that Drone Nerds was selling a package deal P3P with an Inspire RC

 

[RyanK]

Won't be possible with p3. It would be a nice feature, but that's why they have a model up from the p3.

 

[BigAl07]

Ok let me ask this....

Since you can indeed bind an Inspire1 Tx to the P3P could you then also bind a 2nd I1 Tx to the 1st Tx in order to again have dual operators (1 aircraft and 1 camera)? If nothing else using the I1 Tx gives you HDMI output so it's easy to connect to larger monitors and goggles etc. The added dual control would be sweet.

I was reading about the I1 dual control setup and the primary Tx is bound to the aircraft and the secondary is bound to the primary. The camera controls from the secondary are "pushed" to the aircraft through the primary Tx. If that's the case then it might be possible to configure a similar (although no Pan control possible) set up for the P3P to pass camera functions off to a 2nd person to take some of the work load off of the pilot.

Granted the above setup would not be cheap but I think it would still come out to be cost effective for the majority of projects I'd use the P3P for to begin with. I just really like handing the camera functions over to my photographer and then solely work on the flying. This gives me a much safer flight environment but it adds more to my overhead.

 

[sergekouper]

2 operators on the same camera is not a good idea, the pilot needs the camera as well to see what he's doing. If the photographer or remote cameraman is yawing or facing down, and your P3 in the distance, you will not be able to evaluate the environment. You might hit anything on your way before realizing. This would be possible only within a very short range, say 30 to 50 meters max, not mentioning parallax evaluation problems, even at that distance.
Best is to have each his cam...

 

[Man.Of.Kent]

I recently saw an Inspire mod that dealt with this problem. A second camera was installed in the body looking forward for the pilot. The camera man could then play with the main camera to his heart's content.

With the P3s 'fixed' camera a second operator would have limited control which would lessen the advantage.

 

[BigAl07]

I understand the points above but what I'm looking for is the advantage of the 2nd operator simply hitting the "shutter" button or "record" button when things are lined up. Being able to tilt the camera would be a plus but what I'm looking for is the ability for the photographer to be able to take the shots whenever she sees fit leaving me with just the flying duties. When flying in tight areas (near trees for instance) I need to devote my attention to flying only and let her handle the shutter/record functions.

I'm not talking about flying out 100's of meters as most of my shots are in the 200' - 400' range. Also if the camera operator has controls over the camera I wouldn't need/want any camera control while flying the aircraft as it's all Line-Of-Site work at least for me and the way I do this.

If I can't do it using a dual Tx setup I'll get a longer cable to connect the Tx to the Ipad and let her stand beside me taking the shots with the tablet.

 

[Man.Of.Kent]

For your needs I would use a long lightning cable for her to hold the iPhone and use a second HDMI monitor on the remote so that you are not flying blind.

 

[Mal_PV2_Ireland]

If you need a 2nd person to help you fly a phantom it means you need to practice A LOT more.

 

[Man.Of.Kent]

If you need a 2nd person to help you fly a phantom it means you need to practice A LOT more.

Does that make all Inspire pilots incompetent then?

 

[rickeyfitts]

...and found that I needed a second person to operate gimbal tilt (both had our hands on the same controller, close quarters) so that I could avoid tree branches while descending and ascending....

To just snap-shutter or start-record at the right time, two-people-one-controller sounds like a cozy, low-tech solution to me (...with the right second-person that-is ;o)

 

[Mal_PV2_Ireland]

Does that make all Inspire pilots incompetent then?

Did I say anything about an inspire???