I'm new to drone flying but one of the things that drew me to it was the cool angles and perspectives you can shoot with a drone. Like those shots that are looking straight down or scrolling sideways along a cliff or fence or something. I love the Avata and the motion controller is really easy to use, but, how do I take shots like those? Is there a way to fly sideways or backwards with the motion controller? Thanks for any advice or tips!

With the motion controller you can't go sideways or backwards. Sorry

SgtRay Posted at 10-10 11:23
With the motion controller you can't go sideways or backwards. Sorry

Thanks for the reply. I'm disappointed to hear that, especially since the Controller 2 appears to be out of stock everywhere. Thanks again!

There is one way to accomplish this: enable head tracking in DJI Goggles 2.  Then the course of the drone is set by the Motion Controller, but the view of the camera is controlled by the position of your head.

any time you are flying forward, you can fly backwards in post production and unless there are obvious signs (like people walking backwards or cars going in reverse), no one will ever know.

JiminMorris Posted at 10-10 11:49
There is one way to accomplish this: enable head tracking in DJI Goggles 2.  Then the course of the drone is set by the Motion Controller, but the view of the camera is controlled by the position of your head.

Thanks for the feedback. I've tried that technique a couple of times but I have found it to be really disorienting. Maybe with practice.

It will come with practice. With head tracking you can go sideways like JiminMorris said, but you cannot go backwards. Wish you could.

Hi there. Thank you for reaching out. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused. DJI Avata has a built-in propeller guard that may increase flight resistance especially when flying sideways though it can improve the product performance and flight safety. Thus, in a strong wind environment, if the drone flies around or brakes, the drone may have abnormal position. Thank you for your understanding.

If you have head tracking you can. Line up your shot with the motion controller, then look behind you (or beside you for sideways). It takes a bit of getting used to, but totally doable. Works great for object tracking too, just keep yours eyes on the subject and the camera follows. I would suggest trying it out at low speeds until you get used to it, normal mode, 1/2 throttle.

deeve Posted at 10-10 18:36
It will come with practice. With head tracking you can go sideways like JiminMorris said, but you cannot go backwards. Wish you could.

Flying backwards is easy, if not too smart.  Turn on head tracking while standing and turn around.  It is very convenient that turning with the Motion Controller involves moving in the Roll axis, while turning the camera with the Goggles 2 requires movement in the Yaw axis. So they are independent of each other.

Of course, flying backwards isn't very safe unless you know what is behind you...  If you are following FAA rules outdoors there will be a visual observer to help with that.

As for becoming disoriented it really helps that the circle remains on the screen to identify where the drone is going while the crosshairs show where the camera is looking.  When going backwards, the circle is at the bottom of the screen with a downwards arrow to remind you which way the drone is going.

New2Mini2 Posted at 10-11 06:14
If you have head tracking you can. Line up your shot with the motion controller, then look behind you (or beside you for sideways). It takes a bit of getting used to, but totally doable. Works great for object tracking too, just keep yours eyes on the subject and the camera follows. I would suggest trying it out at low speeds until you get used to it, normal mode, 1/2 throttle.

Thank you! I got a little practice in today and I see what you mean. It definitely will take a little bit to get used to but I see the potential. Thanks so much for your help!

JiminMorris Posted at 10-11 06:21
Flying backwards is easy, if not too smart.  Turn on head tracking while standing and turn around.  It is very convenient that turning with the Motion Controller involves moving in the Roll axis, while turning the camera with the Goggles 2 requires movement in the Yaw axis. So they are independent of each other.

Of course, flying backwards isn't very safe unless you know what is behind you...  If you are following FAA rules outdoors there will be a visual observer to help with that.

Thank you again! This is a great community!

JiminMorris Posted at 10-10 11:49
There is one way to accomplish this: enable head tracking in DJI Goggles 2.  Then the course of the drone is set by the Motion Controller, but the view of the camera is controlled by the position of your head.

Hello, is it possible to fly the avata sideways with the controller 2?

New2Mini2 Posted at 10-11 06:14
If you have head tracking you can. Line up your shot with the motion controller, then look behind you (or beside you for sideways). It takes a bit of getting used to, but totally doable. Works great for object tracking too, just keep yours eyes on the subject and the camera follows. I would suggest trying it out at low speeds until you get used to it, normal mode, 1/2 throttle.

Hello, is it possible to fly the avata sideways with the controller 2?

gotees Posted at 11-30 08:15
Hello, is it possible to fly the avata sideways with the controller 2?

Yes it is.

DJI Paladin Posted at 10-10 19:52
Hi there. Thank you for reaching out. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused. DJI Avata has a built-in propeller guard that may increase flight resistance especially when flying sideways though it can improve the product performance and flight safety. Thus, in a strong wind environment, if the drone flies around or brakes, the drone may have abnormal position. Thank you for your understanding.

But it's possible with the remote controller 2 right? So I don't get the point here...

As others have said, with head tracking you can, but it does take some practice to get the coordination down.   I use it all the time, it’s quite fun using head tracking.