I have seen a few apps that seem to be designed for mapping.  Litchi is one, Pix4Dmapper is another, and here is a link to rcforums with a longer list.  I am still researching this and from what I can tell I am not really interested in doing hard core mapping, just want to stitch together several images for what I will call maps with routes for boats with anchorages in places like the Bahamas.

Seems like when Google maps was sold/transfered to ESRI maps DJI limited some of features previously available, so some of the reviews I have seen may be out of date.

Any advice on how to get up to speed on this welcome.

Myself also. Enquiring minds......
Z

trowland,

Check out Drone Deploy
https://www.dronedeploy.com/

I've heard pix4d works pretty good with DJI products , didn't try it myself yet

Aloha,
Pix4D is the software I've been using, and it works well with images from an Inspire.  You don't need to use the Pix4D Capture App, but it might help if youre not familiar with setting up flights to capture proper images. ESRI  is also working on a app called Drone2Map, that should be available in the next couple of months and should be pretty good.  Drone Deploy software works, but I'd rather do the processing myself and not have it done on the cloud by someone else.  The Key to getting a good output/result is getting a High degree of image overlap (75-80+ %  Side and End overlap).  I've recently started to experiment with adding additional images from the OSMO handheld to supplement the Aerial images, it seems to improve the final dense point clouds but doesn't improve the orthorectified geotifs.
Feel free to drop me an email if you have specific questions, and I'll do my best to offer additional tips/guidance
pinpointmapping@gmail.com

Litchi is great but it does not map But for waypoints and follow me without the remote is fabulous

DJI-Tim Posted at 2016-1-22 04:03
I've heard pix4d works pretty good with DJI products , didn't try it myself yet

I have been working on the Pix4D Beta for Mac and have had whole raft of issues, including the computer shutting down when rendering, the software not recognising GPS coordinates in Eastings and Northings, decimal coordinates etc when trying to input temporary ground control points.  

The Pix4D answer was they had also been experiencing issues too with the Mac version and I should just simply wait to the full version comes out.

When it did actually render something in the initial trials I done I was very impressed with the quality of the 3D models it created, but even just recording still images manually in the Inspire it was able to stitch together to create a map showing contours and bumps in the ground etc .

Not sure I would want to spend £200 or £300 just for a months use though especially when it hasn't delivered the sort of quality I was hoping for even in Beta format.

Maps Made Easy

GB44 Posted at 2016-1-23 03:59
I have been working on the Pix4D Beta for Mac and have had whole raft of issues, including the comp ...

oh... the water is deeper then i expected...  If the issues you described are only exist in the beta version it's ok, but if one of those problems appears in the official version.... I also would think twice  before spending 400-500 usd

X2 on MapsMadeEasy.  Shot another 50+ acres today with my Inspire X3 using FW 1.6 and MME's new 1.3 App (released Jan 5.).
I use a mini I-pad and the MME app.  Just follow the directions and remember to set your RTH height to clear the trees.  Auto takeoff works great and it will return automatically at the end of the mission or if a battery change is needed.  Switch to P or Atti for landing.
Don't forget to take one pic while still on the ground for elevation reference. I like the pricing as well.

I have tested mapping with an Inspire.
I currently use an Aibotix to do surveying and I have a Phantom 4 as well. (For fun )
Due to the heavy price of the Aibotix, I was interested to see if a cheaper alternative was availiable for high risk jobs.
I got a friend to fly the same mission as I did with the Aibotix, equipped with a Nikon Coolpix A with APS CMOS sensor at 18 megapixel.
I measured in my GCP (Ground Controll Points) with a Leica MS 60 totalstation, and CS10 RTK gps to establish the local grid.
I also scanned in the area with the MS60 (It has a Laser scanning function)
I used Agisoft to generate the point clouds acuired from both the Inspire as well as the Aibotix.
The MS 60 created it's own point cloud internally.
As it is difficult (impossible) to compare point clouds with each other, I created a mesh in SBG Geo from each respective point cloud. (Inspire/Aibotix/MS 60)
My flight heigt on both the copters was 40 meters above ground, the speed was 3 meters per second and the shutter interval was at 2 seconds.
I had the same ISO, shutter speed and F-stop settings on both copters.
My findings were:
On the X-and Y-axis the Aibotix data was within 2mm of the MS 60 data and on the Z-axis (Height) wich is THE MOST CRITICAL for my type of work, the data was within 3mm on flat surface, and 4mm on undulating surface.
The Inspire with the Zenmuse X5, the data was on X-and Y-axis within 5mm, but on the Z-axis it had differences of up to 150mm!
I think I can get the Inspire to get better data, but I will have to play around with camera settings, and flight heigt/speed etc.
I am also keen to do this test with my P4.
What results are you guys getting?
What can I do to get better results with the Inspire/P4? They are both really sweet copters to fly, and a hell of a lot cheaper!
Or is it a case of you get what you pay for?

Maps Made Easy with a P3Pro. Did some pile mappings for a mine 2 days ago. Great results. After mapping I exported from MMM to other software for further data analysis.

I'm just getting my feet wet with mapping I've got a few maps done using Drone Deploy which I'm happy enough with but it's definitely an area that will require some research. I'd love to hear more from those in the know about cloud versus Mac and/or PC. I've got to pick one in the near future and hate to make mistakes that cost money.

Again.. This is all new to me. Is anyone else using AutoflightLogic Autopilot Waypoints to create their maps? The 'Grid' function is the best I've seen so far. I'm doing 3 separate grids to get all the info. One with the lens at  90° and then basically the same grid with the lens at 45° and one final grid, 90° offset from the previous with the lens, again at 45°. I did try the Drone Deploy app but the interface was limited and way too convoluted. Any others I should give a shot?

cedthered Posted at 2016-5-27 19:24
I have tested mapping with an Inspire.
I currently use an Aibotix to do surveying and I have a Phant ...

Im interested in how you set the Inspire to take shots every two seconds !!!

cedthered Posted at 2016-5-28 04:24
I have tested mapping with an Inspire.
I currently use an Aibotix to do surveying and I have a Phant ...

Cedthered,

I have only used maps made easy and definitely cannot complain at the results or the simplicity of use of the system. Have had no issues at all with it. IMHO, for the price and ease of use, I would be surprised to find anything better out there.

pinpointmapping Posted at 2016-1-22 10:05
Aloha,
Pix4D is the software I've been using, and it works well with images from an Inspire.  You do ...

What have you been using for flight planning and flight control/image capture?  I'm seriously weighing the Inspire vs a couple others to be used primarily as an aerial mapping tool.  Thanks.

I use drone deploy with the both inspire and phantom 3 pro.   Super easy program and great service from them.

GB44 Posted at 2016-5-28 09:36
Im interested in how you set the Inspire to take shots every two seconds !!!

GB44... at every 2 seconds, you can only do jpgs. I'm using Autoflightlogic's Autopilot and it's just one of the settings but I'm pretty sure you can just set photo to interval in the Go app and do the exact same thing.

aaron@realtimer Posted at 2016-6-15 12:02
What have you been using for flight planning and flight control/image capture?  I'm seriously weig ...

Pix4D Capture Ap works, you can also use Maps Made Easy, or Drone Deploy, or even just DJIGO.  The key thing is to capture images with ~75%+ overlap (front & Side).  Then I process the pictures with Pix4D Mapper Pro.  I've tried DroneDeploy and Maps Made Easy online cloud processing, but think I get better results when I process the data myself.
Aaron.

The thing to remember is unless you have expensive ground equipment you results are only as accurate as your GPS which is around 3-10 meters. With expensive kit you can get it down to 2cm.
There's loads of apps you can even just shoot using the dji app with a 75% overlap and upload to dronedeploy.com
Very cool tech.

Which  DJI Zenmuse X5 lens(es) are people using for mapping applications?