Just watching a few YT videos on Litchi with the MM.

I guess the official version is out now and I wonder what people think about it? Is it worth spending 15 quid?
(Thanks Henrik)

Anyone else here using Litchi with their MM? All replies really apreciated, thanks guys

I've been using it for a couple years now. Had it for my Phantom 4 Pro, Mavic Platinum, and now Mavic 2 Pro. I think its worth the money and its a great app.

One word of caution. Make sure you buy it for the OS that you will always be using. If you buy the iOS version you can't download it for Android without paying for it again. So make sure which OS platform you will be using  for drone flying.

Good luck.

Thanks for that, I'm really tempted to use it for my MM1

Is DJI Care Refresh still valid if you crash whilst using Litchi or other 3rd party apps? Or only covered if you're using the official DJI app?

Hello there Ingo Sundowner. Thank you for reaching out and for these information you have posted. I hope that you will get the best recommendation from our fellow DJI Co pilots who are using the Litchi application when flying there DJI Mavic Mini. Just a reminder to please use the recommended DJI application ( DJI Fly application ) when flying your DJI Mavic Mini to ensure stability and comparability during flight and 3rd party applications like Litchi can void the warranty of your DJI Mavic Mini. Thank you and safe flying always.

I have been using it for about 2 years now, very stable and reliable

D-Jon-I Posted at 11-30 16:17
Is DJI Care Refresh still valid if you crash whilst using Litchi or other 3rd party apps? Or only covered if you're using the official DJI app?

I don't care as i haven't got it

Suren Posted at 11-30 22:10
I have been using it for about 2 years now, very stable and reliable

Looking better and better, thanks

I got the official version and I can say I like it BUT read carefully on their site the specs and ask them if they are still active (the specs you really need /want)
For example the "waypoints" (It clear said that still not supported for mini) but in the "User Guide"section in their site, said that "...the aircraft will fly from waypoint to waypoint and complete the mission even if the signal is lost"
This was the main reason I got the app (waiting for the update that will support mini), but a user here in this forum told me that it is something that the new DJI drones does not support it any more, but Litch still have it in their User Guide of the app

I just say that if you want a specific feature of the app, ask them first if it still works for your drone as described.

https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=229712&page=1#pid2349868 Post #13

  

Debugger Posted at 12-1 01:10
I got the official version and I can say I like it BUT read carefully on their site the specs and ask them if they are still active (the specs you really need /want)
For example the "waypoints" (It clear said that still not supported for mini) but in the "User Guide"section in their site, said that "...the aircraft will fly from waypoint to waypoint and complete the mission even if the signal is lost"
This was the main reason I got the app (waiting for the update that will support mini), but a user here in this forum told me that it is something that the new DJI drones does not support it any more, but Litch still have it in their User Guide of the app

Thanks for that mate, AT abd Follow Me will do nicely. Just wondering if it will follow when i have the controller in my motorhome?

In general I can say that Litci app worth it's money for sure.

Using Litchi with Phantom 4 Pro, Mavic Air and Mavic Mini. One app for different drones - very useful

I was on the fence but now that it's officially supported and it was on sale I bought it. But... we currently have high winds and snow so it will be a while before I can play.

Having bought the Mini on March and flew it (properly) very few times due to pandemic, I felt a bit 'jealous' when the Mini 2 came out. I cannot blame DJI though, as some other people do, because it is not its fault and it is good to give to people improved products as soon as you can. After all it is a company which make profit and not some kind of drone society.

Now for £15 I thought it would be nice to buy the Litchi and give a bit of 'new' life to my old Mini. I have tried the basic functions (very carefully in the local park) and it is an interesting mix of bag. You can certainly take some nice footage in 'semi-auto' mode quite easily and this is great and itself make the purchase worthy. From the other hand the plethora of parameters and the lack of tutorials make the whole try hit and miss. I assume people who use the app with other drones don't have this problem, but for a newbie like me it is a bit of an issue.  I know that you can 'buy' proper tutorials for the app, but this will increase the cost and I am not sure it is worth to do it.
Finally because lots of people underestimate the DJI Fly app, I would say that it is certainly more user friendly than the Litchi (with the exception of White Balance selection).
Neverthless I am sure that if I use the Litchi more and more and get used to interface (and the various parameters) then I will be more positive for it :-)

Debugger Posted at 12-1 01:10
I got the official version and I can say I like it BUT read carefully on their site the specs and ask them if they are still active (the specs you really need /want)
For example the "waypoints" (It clear said that still not supported for mini) but in the "User Guide"section in their site, said that "...the aircraft will fly from waypoint to waypoint and complete the mission even if the signal is lost"
This was the main reason I got the app (waiting for the update that will support mini), but a user here in this forum told me that it is something that the new DJI drones does not support it any more, but Litch still have it in their User Guide of the app

Litchi's Guide would still be accurate in it's feature descriptions if DJI didn't change things on them, with the development of Virtual Stick way-points Litchi has to update it's help page for the new system.

The spark, mavic air, mavic pro/zoom, phantom all had the support for on board way-points, DJI's App might not of provided 1st party support but the hardware was there and Litchi was able to use it and give the ability that wasn't standard.

For whatever reason starting with the Mavic Mini DJI has pulled support for on-board way-points, no disclosure as to why has been given, be it FAA regulation, EU laws, or some other reason.
A lot of people speculated at first because of the lack of OA sensors that Way-points would never come to the mini, but everyone was eagerly waiting on the Mavic Air 2 because it made sense(Previous Air had support, has OA sensors, shares Mavic name... Well after the mini's let down Eager customers Asked DJI's SDK developers about the MA2 only to be let down again because the AIR 2 as well won't have way-point support in it's FW.

We keep getting the same answer from the SDK developers (It's limited to support via FW and DJI has no plans to update the FW for support.)

Current speculation is that way-points are only intended for DJI's pro/high end series of drones, the Mavic 3 will be a good example of this. If the Mavic 3 doesn't have Legacy WP support I think that's the nail in the coffin of way-points being a thing anymore.

ThalisBl Posted at 12-1 06:02
Having bought the Mini on March and flew it (properly) very few times due to pandemic, I felt a bit 'jealous' when the Mini 2 came out. I cannot blame DJI though, as some other people do, because it is not its fault and it is good to give to people improved products as soon as you can. After all it is a company which make profit and not some kind of drone society.

Now for £15 I thought it would be nice to buy the Litchi and give a bit of 'new' life to my old Mini. I have tried the basic functions (very carefully in the local park) and it is an interesting mix of bag. You can certainly take some nice footage in 'semi-auto' mode quite easily and this is great and itself make the purchase worthy. From the other hand the plethora of parameters and the lack of tutorials make the whole try hit and miss. I assume people who use the app with other drones don't have this problem, but for a newbie like me it is a bit of an issue.  I know that you can 'buy' proper tutorials for the app, but this will increase the cost and I am not sure it is worth to do it.

Litchi's help guide.

There are hundreds of how to/tutorial videos on youtube, Litchi even has a simulator mode that let's you perform w/e you would like to test before an actual flight.



If you want video instructions per feature I'll be happy to link what videos I used to help learn, I've even made a video myself because I couldn't find how to use AEB at first.

While litchi is a bit intimidating to use on first launch especially if you haven't read or watched any videos prior you can at least get an idea if you just fumble through the menu's and get familiar with where things are. I tried another Litchi like app and had one of the worst experiences in a while, No documentation, very few videos, was flying blind and decided I would stick with Litchi, over 20+ flights since I last used the DJI Fly app.

Still shows as £21.99 for me.

Seems only reduced on android.  

My comment ... the tracking is very imprecise and rarely keeps the object in the center. The orbit mode is unsatisfactory, either the target is often lost or if it does work, the trajectory is so choppy and irregular that you think a drunk pilot has tried to fly a circle. Not to be compared with the perfect Circle Quickshot of the Flyapp. Follow mode is a bit better, here not the object itself is being tracked but the remote controller. But here, too, the object to be tracked is often not in the middle but at the edge. The compass calibration worked at the beginning, but not anymore (for me). It is not possible to start, so I had to go into the Flyapp, calibrate and then back to Litchi, very stupid. The battery warning can be adjusted, but it is reset to 20% (not supported by the Mini). Would be the most important feature for me ! :-) IMU calibration ? Where ? The photo settings are much more user-friendly in the flyapp by "swiping" the desired values ​​and not with the super small + and minus buttons on the litchi app. Because of the waypoint missions ... that is clear in the description, the Mini is not (yet) supported. The description only refers to the models that are supported by it.

The defects are certainly also due to the fact that the Mini has only recently been supported. There is still a lot of work for the programmer to do. I bought the app to play around with, but otherwise only use the Flyapp. So for 15€ and to play with it's ok, but I hope the app gets some updates and becomes better.

I bought it today, went out and flew it on Litchi. Basic manoeuvres were fine. Trying out follow me.... let's just say I was in deep water and nearly lost once in a tree and the second time in a forest 4-500 yards away. But litchi wasn't to blame,no Sir,  just the idiot at the RC, YES, YOURS TRULY. Got to learn all about the parameter settings and all the rest  
But, so far so good. Please let me have any links to settings and all the rest too. Thanks guys

Ingo Sundowner Posted at 12-1 00:29
Looking better and better, thanks

jonny007 Posted at 12-1 08:32
My comment ... the tracking is very imprecise and rarely keeps the object in the center. The orbit mode is unsatisfactory, either the target is often lost or if it does work, the trajectory is so choppy and irregular that you think a drunk pilot has tried to fly a circle. Not to be compared with the perfect Circle Quickshot of the Flyapp. Follow mode is a bit better, here not the object itself is being tracked but the remote controller. But here, too, the object to be tracked is often not in the middle but at the edge. The compass calibration worked at the beginning, but not anymore (for me). It is not possible to start, so I had to go into the Flyapp, calibrate and then back to Litchi, very stupid. The battery warning can be adjusted, but it is reset to 20% (not supported by the Mini). Would be the most important feature for me ! :-) IMU calibration ? Where ? The photo settings are much more user-friendly in the flyapp by "swiping" the desired values ​​and not with the super small + and minus buttons on the litchi app. Because of the waypoint missions ... that is clear in the description, the Mini is not (yet) supported. The description only refers to the models that are supported by it.

The defects are certainly also due to the fact that the Mini has only recently been supported. There is still a lot of work for the programmer to do. I bought the app to play around with, but otherwise only use the Flyapp. So for 15€ and to play with it's ok, but I hope the app gets some updates and becomes better.

What device do you fly with? The tracking is only as good as the device that's used to fly with, I've seen apple devices perform a lot better then I have the android version.

I have issues still but I've learned a lot on how to get it to track and keep the track, but I agree the movements could be smoother and less tick tick movement like.

D-Jon-I Posted at 11-30 16:17
Is DJI Care Refresh still valid if you crash whilst using Litchi or other 3rd party apps? Or only covered if you're using the official DJI app?

This will void warranty.

ABeardedItalian Posted at 12-1 09:54
What device do you fly with? The tracking is only as good as the device that's used to fly with, I've seen apple devices perform a lot better then I have the android version.

I have issues still but I've learned a lot on how to get it to track and keep the track, but I agree the movements could be smoother and less tick tick movement like.

I've got an old Galaxy S6, seems to work fine. Need to find parameter settings tutorials, especially something on all the follow me settings

ABeardedItalian Posted at 12-1 06:36
Litchi's help guide.

There are hundreds of how to/tutorial videos on youtube, Litchi even has a simulator mode that let's you perform w/e you would like to test before an actual flight.

I'd be very interested, thank yiu

ABeardedItalian Posted at 12-1 09:54
What device do you fly with? The tracking is only as good as the device that's used to fly with, I've seen apple devices perform a lot better then I have the android version.

I have issues still but I've learned a lot on how to get it to track and keep the track, but I agree the movements could be smoother and less tick tick movement like.

You're right, tracking needs high performance of the smartphone...Litchi says "Because Litchi decodes the video, runs the algorithms to track the object and renders the video, all of this in real-time, a high performance mobile device is required. Be sure to close all background applications and screen recorders before using Track. Video lag will kill tracking."
I own a Galaxy S7 and have noticed that it sometimes lags, so it's actually too slow. When I switch from track to orbit and set the speed to only 2m/s (very slow) it works, but looses sometimes target (even when there are no other objects nearby or the sun dazzles) and as I say the trajectory is very bad. I don't want to show off, but I manually fly a circle much softer and more evenly.

But I will continue to play around with it because I generally like to try out new apps and maybe it will get better with the next updates.

AAM Photography Posted at 12-1 10:04
This will void warranty.

I can't imagine ... that would be the same as if you buy a Windows PC, uninstall Windows, install Linux, at some point the PC has a hardware error but your seller says: sorry, because of the installed linux the warranty has been voided.

jonny007 Posted at 12-1 12:03
I can't imagine ... that would be the same as if you buy a Windows PC, uninstall Windows, install Linux, at some point the PC has a hardware error but your seller says: sorry, because of the installed linux the warranty has been voided.

I don't think that's a good analogy.  Linux won't toss your computer into a lake if it has bugs.

I'm not saying Litchi will crash your drone but from a manufacture's standpoint why would they replace your drone if you used third party software and that software failed?

I think I might of cracked the code so to speak on Litchi's tracking, I've had issues here and there and thought it was various thing but tonight after a lot of testing I've figured out what's going on.

It has a lot to do with the lighting in your environment, without making to broad of a statement overcast conditions are some of the best to film in with Litchi and it's because everything is evenly lit without shadows. Litchi's tracking/detection is based on contrast and on bright sunny day's it struggles to keep focus when the surrounding area is of equal contrast.

I'm making a video demonstrating what I'm talking about, I was able to keep a perfect track as long as I avoided any high contrast area's. As soon as I walked into a bright spot it would lose track and stay stuck on the bright spot. On day's when the yard has no bright area's and is all the same lighting I can go anywhere without it losing track, so early in the morning / evening lighting seems to be the best to use with litchi's tracking.

D-Jon-I Posted at 11-30 16:17
Is DJI Care Refresh still valid if you crash whilst using Litchi or other 3rd party apps? Or only covered if you're using the official DJI app?

Using a third-part App to fly your drone invalidates your warranty or Care refresh from DJI. I've used Litchi extensively on several drones over the years and never had a problem with it.  Not yet for the MM though.

Blériot53 Posted at 12-1 14:02
Using a third-part App to fly your drone invalidates your warranty or Care refresh from DJI. I've used Litchi extensively on several drones over the years and never had a problem with it.  Not yet for the MM though.

Thank you for letting me know.

D-Jon-I Posted at 12-1 15:13
Thank you for letting me know.

No problem. Fly safe!

Ingo Sundowner Posted at 12-1 10:08
I've got an old Galaxy S6, seems to work fine. Need to find parameter settings tutorials, especially something on all the follow me settings

The S6 works on all my drones so that is a good inexpensive choice.

ABeardedItalian Posted at 12-1 13:51
I think I might of cracked the code so to speak on Litchi's tracking, I've had issues here and there and thought it was various thing but tonight after a lot of testing I've figured out what's going on.

It has a lot to do with the lighting in your environment, without making to broad of a statement overcast conditions are some of the best to film in with Litchi and it's because everything is evenly lit without shadows. Litchi's tracking/detection is based on contrast and on bright sunny day's it struggles to keep focus when the surrounding area is of equal contrast.

Litchi's tracking/detection is based on contrast and on bright sunny day's it struggles to keep focus when the surrounding area is of equal contrast.

That's right, but that's generally the case, also with the quickshots of the Flyapp. I have seen many videos where Track/Orbit was tried, but it failed because the contrast was bad or got bad or the camera was panned into the sun or when another object covered the selected one during orbit. If you plan to film yourself in motion, follow mode is a much better choice. This also works when the object (me) is covered, e.g. under trees.

jonny007 Posted at 12-2 01:04
Litchi's tracking/detection is based on contrast and on bright sunny day's it struggles to keep focus when the surrounding area is of equal contrast.

That's right, but that's generally the case, also with the quickshots of the Flyapp. I have seen many videos where Track/Orbit was tried, but it failed because the contrast was bad or got bad or the camera was panned into the sun or when another object covered the selected one during orbit. If you plan to film yourself in motion, follow mode is a much better choice. This also works when the object (me) is covered, e.g. under trees.

Tracking / Orbit in Litchi are based on different algorithms.
Tracking based on contrast of the object, Orbit - on objects coordinates.

I found it to be a reliable app

Dmitry Vishnevskiy Posted at 12-2 01:51
Tracking / Orbit in Litchi are based on different algorithms.
Tracking based on contrast of the object, Orbit - on objects coordinates.

Really ?  I've meant if you select an object in track mode and change to orbit it is'nt based on coordinates, but the selected object...correcr me if i'm wrong. I think you mean orbit with a marker on the map as a poi. THATs coordinate based, right, and much better... like follow mode based on the coordinates from the remote control.

jonny007 Posted at 12-2 03:49
Really ?  I've meant if you select an object in track mode and change to orbit it is'nt based on coordinates, but the selected object...correcr me if i'm wrong. I think you mean orbit with a marker on the map as a poi. THATs coordinate based, right, and much better... like follow mode based on the coordinates from the remote control.

In Orbit mode, you do not select an object, but indicate a point on the map and set its height (to position the gimbal) or manually control the gimbal. The orbit works even when the object is not visible.

Dmitry Vishnevskiy Posted at 12-2 04:16
In Orbit mode, you do not select an object, but indicate a point on the map and set its height (to position the gimbal) or manually control the gimbal. The orbit works even when the object is not visible.

Under the Track mode you have the option to enable Follow me and Orbit, these are separate from the Orbit mode/Follow flight mode as those use params to function. Orbit under Track (Could) be doing both but after you select the subject to track you can manually fly an Orbit around something or start the auto orbit which will try to Orbit what's highlighted.


I made a comment about this before that if you are use to using follow me under track mode and switch to using the follow me flight mode it behaves differently then the sub category one.


Videos almost done, will be rendering soon.

ABeardedItalian Posted at 12-2 05:38
Under the Track mode you have the option to enable Follow me and Orbit, these are separate from the Orbit mode/Follow flight mode as those use params to function. Orbit under Track (Could) be doing both but after you select the subject to track you can manually fly an Orbit around something or start the auto orbit which will try to Orbit what's highlighted.

Orbit in tracking mode and Follow me in tracking mode are somewhat confusing as there are standalone modes with the same names ...