Hi all, still testing my M3P for the total eclipse next month. I want to orbit slowly around my position and my concern is that POI will be lost when in a matter of seconds it will become dark during totality. I really can't test this in advance..
It will be enough dark to see planets and bright stars, so it WILL lose a visual target down in a dark field.
Noticing the POI mark on my screen (it looks a lot like a GPS position mark) I raised the doubt that the drone is somehow defining a GPS lock triangulating its position with the visual target: anyone knows if that is the case or if target will be lost when it will "disappear" with darkness? Thanks for your help!

I wouldn't risk an automated flight and just practice doing it manually ahead of time.

DAFlys Posted at 3-7 02:19
I wouldn't risk an automated flight and just practice doing it manually ahead of time.

not possible I am afraid.  I wil have 8 cameras running in sync, all with automation. It is mandatory to have it fly itself, I will be busy at my binocular. drone will take off 5min before totality and must fly 15mins by itself.
If POI is not GPS controlled my first alternative is to let it still in the air.
Second alternative is to mount micrometric rigs on the remote and "orbit manually" locking the controls in a precise orbit position.
But knowing if that icon on the screen means that POI is GPS controlled would ease a lot things for me
I just need to know if anyone in the forum knows the actual algorithm behind the POI orbit and I will adapt accordingly

You need to select the ground, then it will fly around the point using GPS

Drone.Hunter Posted at 3-7 04:02
You need to select the ground, then it will fly around the point using GPS

i wll sure test that! great tip!

Drone.Hunter Posted at 3-7 04:02
You need to select the ground, then it will fly around the point using GPS

Hi! I tested this, it still relies on tracking features on the ground, when dark comes or features disappear it  stops

Hi there. Thank you for reaching out. We will coordinate this to our relevant team for clarification. We will keep you posted.

FabioM3P Posted at 3-8 00:03
Hi! I tested this, it still relies on tracking features on the ground, when dark comes or features disappear it  stops

Have you tried to select land when it was still light or night?

Drone.Hunter Posted at 3-8 06:01
Have you tried to select land when it was still light or night?

I did, it actually alrady struggled with selecting ground without a specific pattern (i.e. a square of flat grass)
To be honest I also realized that I would not want a visual track at all because it tilts the camera towards the target while I need to orbit around a point while looking straight at the horizon
I wish M3P had this GPS POI feature

Only Waypoints for Mini 4 Pro, Air 3, Mavic 3

Hi there. Thank you for patiently waiting. In theory, if the environment's light condition is not good (total dark environment), the target will be lost, but we cannot promise its actual performance during usage. We still suggest to test it manually. We appreciate your understanding and support.

DJI Paladin Posted at 3-14 01:29
Hi there. Thank you for patiently waiting. In theory, if the environment's light condition is not good (total dark environment), the target will be lost, but we cannot promise its actual performance during usage. We still suggest to test it manually. We appreciate your understanding and support.

thanks! I will just operate it manually I guess!

FabioM3P Posted at 3-14 01:38
thanks! I will just operate it manually I guess!

You are most welcome. Please don't hesitate to reach us if you have other inquiries. Thank you for your valued support.

The only way to have POI be specified by GPS coordinates is by using a Waypoint mission. It's a bit tedious but you can use Waypoints to layout a circle around a POI. I set the POI by hovering directly over the POI. Then add 4 or 5 waypoints that are 1) equidistant from the POI and 2) evenly spaced around the POI. I then drag the waypoints on the map so that it looks right. Although not perfect it yields a pretty good circular path about the POI. An added benefit is that the mission can be saved for repeated use.

Did it! Glad I'm not the only one using the M3P to see eclipses!

Did it! Glad I'm not the only one using the M3P to see eclipses!

SurveyorDJI Posted at 4-8 18:49
Did it! Glad I'm not the only one using the M3P to see eclipses!

It seems to me that there is no point in this; any smartphone will do this better because it has a telephoto lens.

Serg SSA Posted at 4-9 02:34
It seems to me that there is no point in this; any smartphone will do this better because it has a telephoto lens.

Fun to try.