Hi,
I want to capture some surfing footage of myself using the follow me mode if I buy the new Mavic Pro. Is this possible? Theoretically I will need to launch my Mavic Pro, set follow me mode, lock my controller on my car, zoom down the beach 40 m or so paddle out and catch a few waves..... Will my Mavic Pro return home automatically and land next to my car while I paddle back in..maybe all within 15-25 minutes. What if my battery goes flat? Would I have to return back to my car, and press a button on the controller as well or can I get my Mavic Pro to do this within a time frame or when battery life is low? I think I need at least 15 minutes to catch the waves....if I took longer can I trust the Mavic Pro to return home....I would like to follow my mavic pro back to shore when it started flying home... Is this POSSIBLE?????? Also why cant we get the Mavic Care Refresh in New Zealand??? I buy most of my RCs from Flying Hobby in Hong Kong and they looked after me when I had faulty kitsets!! Can I get this Care Refresh and return to Hong Kong?? The shipping is only a few dollars more...
Keen as on getting some footage of my surfer on my own!!!!!!
Dean from New Zealand.

In theory, yes. In practice, probably not.
There's quite a bit of a chance you'll loose lock at some point during this shoot.

The Mavic will return to home and land automatically once the battery is about to run dry.

But just forget about that nonsense plan. It's irresponsible. Instead, have a buddy learn how to use the drone and have him oversee the entire operation while you're surfing.
You can use the Follow Me mode and all that as you wanted, but just have someone at the controls ready in case something goes wrong!

And you wonder why the rules and regs are getting tougher and tougher.

Lepus Posted at 2016-10-24 05:42
And you wonder why the rules and regs are getting tougher and tougher.

Thank you for your opinions! I have flown RC helicopters and FPV looks so much easier on the drones. As with the helicopters they need utmost respect and caution then!! Obviously the skill and experience of the pilot is still a factor and control is important....

What about filming animals? Can I lock onto my dog?

I will be testing the same functionality as I am an avid kiteboarder. I plan on training my girlfriend how to fly, but ultimately the goal is to tell the drone to stay above 23m as this is how my kite is attached to my lines. As I tack out into the water, I want the drone to follow me. We'll see

Wind Junkie Posted at 2016-10-24 04:22
I will be testing the same functionality as I am an avid kiteboarder. I plan on training my girlfrie ...

23 meters? you are being very optimistic! I would add another 3 meters at least if you flying solo, more if you are flying at a busy spot.

Account for:

- Swell
- Jumps
- Line stretch
- Other kiters (average line length 25 meters)

justin@xtremesp Posted at 2016-10-24 15:33
23 meters? you are being very optimistic! I would add another 3 meters at least if you flying solo ...

I will definitely set the drone higher than the kite, but yes, Cabrinha standard lines are 22m - http://www.kitefinder.com/en/kites/1383/cabrinha-switchblade-2015

gfun10 Posted at 2016-10-24 10:40
Thank you for your opinions! I have flown RC helicopters and FPV looks so much easier on the drone ...

Seriously? How many rotors do you have on a helicopter? Most drones are at least double that number if not more, they're typically spinning much faster and they're sharper, I wouldn't suggest for a second that FPV is any easier or safer with a multi-rotor on the basis of a few YouTube videos. Rotor-riot do make it look effortless but the reality is far from it.

Threads like this just make me shake my head. Visions of flesh wounds, Mavic submarines, slashed kitesurfing lines and angry non-drone using surfers/kitesurfers dance through my head.

Why would anyone think that making sure the drone stays above the length of one's kite lines would be enough? Every kitesurfing location I've observed has multiple surfers catching air with the kite and lines going many feet higher than when they are on the water...I hope the poster is thinking about that?. And I'm not aware of any "hard deck" setting in the DJI go app although I could be wrong. Without that whoever is operating the drone and filming kitesurfers had better have a ton of skill and even more good judgement. I can't imagine other kitesurfers are going to welcome a drone buzzing around near them either.

As many have said before...these are the seeds of future added restrictive regulations being planted and watered right here...

I don't think this would be a good idea at all.
And this won't work in Follow Me, Follow Me follows the phone/tablet connected to the RC so you would need to have both with you. The only thing you can do is Active Track.
If you have your RTH settings correctly then it will go home when the battery gets low.
If it will hover and wait until you get in the frame again and eventually go home if it doesn't reacquire you.

The Care Plan doesn't cover anything outside of the country you bought it in. I would assume that includes where the accident happened, as they'll be able to see that with GPS records. The standard warranty will be upheld overseas, but you have to mail it back to the country you bought it in, not a local center. Or at least that's what I've been told. Shitty policies IMO.

I'm glad I found your post. I'm exactly in the same situation. Surfer/skier without anyone else willing to give up waves/powder to take time to shoot his buddies!!! So question really is about active track. What happens when you fall in the water? I guess the drone loses track of the subject and then hover until it returns home unless it recaptures the subject once back on the board. I can't see Mavic working properly for water sports. It's not been designed for that purpose unfortunately. I say unfortunately as the mavic looks really amazing but just not fit for our use. Unless DJI releases a waterproof gps tracker like Airdog or Staaker. Very unlikely I guess. Sad thing is that GoPro have also completely missed the boat with the Karma. No follow me, not waterproof... what were they thinking?!! I thought Mr Woodman was a surfer!!
One more question I have is when going downhill on a slope while skiing/snowboarding, does Mavic alter automatically its altitude in active/terrain mode? There is a video on YouTube about phantom 4 tracking a skier that is a complete failure. Anyone has any views on this? This would reiterate the fact that mavic active tracking is just a selfie toy and is simply not made for action sports.

I guess our best bet will be Airdog or Staaker

TonUK Posted at 2016-10-24 22:58
I'm glad I found your post. I'm exactly in the same situation. Surfer/skier without anyone else will ...

I do believe the Mavic is supposed to be able to follow terrain. It's a new feature.

Also I meant to add that I completely agree with the comments above regarding security and tranquility of others. Intent is to use in wild spots where I'm completely on my own with no other surfers (except couple of friends - security always). So no need to shake your head, action sports enthusiasts can also be responsible and sensible.

I'd say use an iPhone 7 or other water resistant phone so you still have some control and reset the subject/focus/what have you..

TonUK Posted at 2016-10-25 04:58
I'm glad I found your post. I'm exactly in the same situation. Surfer/skier without anyone else will ...

Honestly, Active Track for surfing is really not a good idea.
Plus, there needs to be someone at the controls at all times in case something happens.

Unfortunately it feels that way. Although having an iPhone 7 is actually a good idea. What about skiing then? Does terrain mode works downhill ?

Dont even order itmate. This looks to be a smokes and mirrors device, they are still building it and they dint even know when will it be available

TonUK Posted at 2016-10-25 05:40
Unfortunately it feels that way. Although having an iPhone 7 is actually a good idea. What about ski ...

Not currently. Terrain mode only works in uphill for now. Some suspect downhill support will come with a firmware update in the future.

AusAir Posted at 2016-10-25 03:34
Seriously? How many rotors do you have on a helicopter? Most drones are at least double that numbe ...

I flew ALIGN Trexs mate, a top extreme pilot in the USA scalped his own head doing stunts with them and was sadly killed. They are over 3.2kg and over a 1.3 meters long and the rotors are 1.58 Meters in diameter so the dimensions make them a lot more dangerous, They have been clocked at over 120mph. The Mavic pro is around 743gms and 335 cm in diameter and flies at a top speed of just 40MPH. It is a LOT LESS DANGEROUS!!!!!! A kitten compared to a LION!! But I agree they can be dangerous and please respect them, noone wants to loose an eye or cut themselves or worse when we are trying to HAVE FUN!!!

TonUK Posted at 2016-10-25 09:58
I'm glad I found your post. I'm exactly in the same situation. Surfer/skier without anyone else will ...

Thanks TonUK!!!! Intelligent comments, I hoped to learn something here and maybe this forum with lots of input could be the way!!!

I bet someone out there will do this, use active track to successful capture their action sport on their own!!! Lets hope they're going to give us some input here!!!!{:4_173:}

Also an avid kite boarder. I go out on the water when the wind gets to about 20kts and up to 35kts. Flight envelope for MAVIC specifies  max wind of 10ms (19 Kts). So NO. Also - if you are in P-Mode so MAVIC will avoid things and fly somewhat autonomously and safely, speed is restricted to 22mph which coincidentally also = 19 kts and 10ms.    So whilst I have no intent to use mine to film kite boarding, it would be totally impractical, if I did.  The aircraft would literally be flat out staying stationary, with not room to maneuver apart from downwind. Silly idea.  Also have a Kite foil board that will sail in the wind of maybe 12KTs. Could in theory use that - but there are already lots of kite boarding filming solutions and they do not require a drone. Macic is totally unsuited to this task IMO.

Gotta say I'm with SR-71Habu and DJI-Ken @djiteam
Sounds like a really bad idea.
Not only are you risking losing or damaging your drone, more importantly you would be placing your safety and the safety of others nearby, completely in the random chance that the computer gets it right. Incredibly dangerous for anyone nearby, and places undue risk on the entire UAV "community".
All it would take is one serious injury from a stunt like that to ban drones from all of our favorite places.

I agree...only just bought my Mavic and it all seems too risky, I am very impressed with the intelligence of my mavic!!! An experienced operator with the Tx and these days a licensed pilot may be the ONLY LEGAL WAY???

Flyfun10 Posted at 2017-4-8 21:23
I agree...only just bought my Mavic and it all seems too risky, I am very impressed with the intelligence of my mavic!!! An experienced operator with the Tx and these days a licensed pilot may be the ONLY LEGAL WAY???

I tried the follow-me + Surfing solo thing yesterday and as soon as I catch the board on the floor the Mavic loose track. I believe the contrast between myself and the background was making it confuse.

Another thing is it will definitely loose track of you when you duck dive.

TonUK Posted at 2016-10-24 12:58
I'm glad I found your post. I'm exactly in the same situation. Surfer/skier without anyone else willing to give up waves/powder to take time to shoot his buddies!!! So question really is about active track. What happens when you fall in the water? I guess the drone loses track of the subject and then hover until it returns home unless it recaptures the subject once back on the board. I can't see Mavic working properly for water sports. It's not been designed for that purpose unfortunately. I say unfortunately as the mavic looks really amazing but just not fit for our use. Unless DJI releases a waterproof gps tracker like Airdog or Staaker. Very unlikely I guess. Sad thing is that GoPro have also completely missed the boat with the Karma. No follow me, not waterproof... what were they thinking?!! I thought Mr Woodman was a surfer!!
One more question I have is when going downhill on a slope while skiing/snowboarding, does Mavic alter automatically its altitude in active/terrain mode? There is a video on YouTube about phantom 4 tracking a skier that is a complete failure. Anyone has any views on this? This would reiterate the fact that mavic active tracking is just a selfie toy and is simply not made for action sports.

There is an option if you are prepaired to try. you can just use your cell phone in a waterproof bag on a armband and Mavic in WiFi mode. Use Follow me mode which tracks the phone. By use a good phone with a strong WiFi you get a range of close 80 meters but will be reduced greatly by waterproof bag and armband but 30-40 meters should surfice. have low battery set to RTH and and make sure you set Home point by your car at start then Mavic will RTH when Battery level hits low level or signal to phone is lost.