Hi everyone

Curious if this shot is possible -

I would like the drone to rotate around a point of interest  (me with the controller on a boat) but while it's moving . It this possible ? And how could I do this ?


Help !!

Thanks
Chris

I'm thinking the Litchi  or Vertical Studio App would be what you are after. How fast will the boat be moving?

Autoflightlogic Autopilot will take care of that shot. It works with either the controller or a second iPhone/ipad as the POI. Best $30 you'll ever spend if you want to do complex autonomous flights.

Ive done some research on both Litchi and Autopilot. Both are praised with good reviews but which do you guys prefer? I don't want to buy both and I'm leaning towards the Litchi app. Thoughts?

Ditto on autopilot.... Not only orbit a moving, but you can orbit a moving object and focus camera on another moving subject.

Romi Posted at 2016-5-31 13:03
Ive done some research on both Litchi and Autopilot. Both are praised with good reviews but which do ...

Romi... I wish I could give you a direct comparison but I've only used Autopilot and I really don't remember the exact factors that led me to make that choice when I was doing my research. I can say Autopilot has been virtually flawless and allows you to control pretty much every aspect of your flight plan.

Here's a vid I was using to practice setting up their waypoints with. This is shot about a 1/4 mile from the takeoff point. The initial flight plan was done at home the night before. It took about 4 flights to get all framing the way I wanted it. I'm still not sure what's causing the stuttering in my videos. Any ideas on that  folks?

flighttime1 Posted at 2016-5-31 16:45
Romi... I wish I could give you a direct comparison but I've only used Autopilot and I really don' ...

Very cool flighttime1, love it

donnie

What is wrong with just flying the mission yourself?
Circling a moving poi isn't a beginner move, but after some time flying and building up a reasonable level of experience/skill you should be able to do this yourself pretty easily.

Farnk666 Posted at 2016-5-31 16:34
What is wrong with just flying the mission yourself?
Circling a moving poi isn't a beginner move, bu ...

He did mention the POI was a moving boat. I'd love to see someone fly that successfully by hand. They would certainly get my respect, even more so if they just happened to be on that boat at the time, which is the scenario the OP is looking to fly.

adam1 Posted at 2016-6-1 04:16
Ditto on autopilot.... Not only orbit a moving, but you can orbit a moving object and focus camera o ...

Done that too with Autoflight logic....Great app

flighttime1 Posted at 2016-6-1 07:57
He did mention the POI was a moving boat. I'd love to see someone fly that successfully by hand. T ...

As I posted - Circling a moving POI is not a task that a beginner would be able to accomplish. Someone with a reasonable level of piloting skill (starting with static POI and working from there) would be able to manage a reasonably circular orbit around a moving subject.

It is a matter of adjusting the turn and strafe inputs dynamically while keeping the subject centered and distance from subject consistent as you traverse from a sideways perspective through head on view (thrust backwards) to the opposite side and then tail view (thrust forwards) and complete the maneuver.

Effectively an elongated oval and spiral shape.

A matter of practice as this requires spatial thinking across two loci and multiple vectors, with the A/C both accelerating and decelerating with respect to the POI.

Slow moving River boats are a great practice subject for this.

unfortunately most of the waypoint flying functions/apps provide mediocre results, as far as having nice, smooth, and professional looking video. Not to say the tech isn't impressive, but it's just not there yet. Your optimal route would be to fly the path yourself like Farnk666 mentioned. Between honing your skills/touch and customizing your controls in app to better work with your touch, it is definitely doable. The 2nd option would be dual op mode, where your camera op could help compensate and help make the 'circular' movement look somewhat seamless. We do this with our octo and M10. Another option would be to fly it as cleanly as possible and then use a filter in post to help stabilize the shot. Never ideal, but it has come in handy for me, a few times.

flighttime1 Posted at 2016-5-31 17:45
Romi... I wish I could give you a direct comparison but I've only used Autopilot and I really don' ...

This shot could be way smoother if flown via atti or just gps and not relying on autonomous waypoint flight.

Between the GPS continuously interpreting and correcting your preset flight data via waypoint and what looks to be a high cranked shutter, this is probably the cause of the stuttering/sloppy "jello roll" video.

Romi Posted at 2016-5-31 13:03
Ive done some research on both Litchi and Autopilot. Both are praised with good reviews but which do ...

FlightLogic Autopilot!  I posted some videos and flight school on this thread


http://forum.dji.com/thread-53896-1-1.html


Rich

flighttime1 Posted at 2016-5-31 14:45
Romi... I wish I could give you a direct comparison but I've only used Autopilot and I really don' ...

Cool, looks a little fast on the pan... but nice job

on the focus point in the middle of the video, looks like the pool needs cleaning (green water)

Rich

Don't know about the subject moving. Doubt it. Maybe another App?

Dave A Posted at 2016-5-31 19:23
This shot could be way smoother if flown via atti or just gps and not relying on autonomous waypoin ...

Dave... Although I don't agree with any of what you've said, I did wish to thank you for reminding me that the stutter problem may be coming from the autopilot settings. In fact, I has the responsiveness set at 1 second for the gimbal and movement. Moving that up a bit might solve the problem.

Farnk666 Posted at 2016-5-31 18:54
As I posted - Circling a moving POI is not a task that a beginner would be able to accomplish. Som ...

Farnk666... I practice my piloting skills on a regular basis. It's an ingrained habit going back to when I used to fly RC pattern planes. Now it's certainly possible that your skills are so far advanced over the rest of us that you see this being done "pretty easily" but for us mere mortals, in particular, the OP who simply asked if and how, when you compound the moving boat along with any incidental winds, it would be a tough job to keep anything close to a circle pattern. That isn't even thinking about how to keep the subject anywhere close to center frame. Please... feel free to post your video of just such work. I will immediately shower you with high praise and adoration as my hero.

flighttime1 Posted at 2016-5-31 22:49
Dave... Although I don't agree with any of what you've said, I did wish to thank you for reminding ...

What fps and shutter was that shot at then? I can see by the way the cars are moving that you're not using the correct shutter speed or even in the right zip-code. Additionally, if you implement your waveform you'll probably be able to avoid blowing out information in your shots. I'm sure the client would appreciate seeing the property vs blown out buildings with no information left to save.

I'm also at a loss as to why use waypoints on such a simple flight path, flighttime1?? But I guess that's just my $.02 which you are more than free to enjoy, or not.

Dave A Posted at 2016-5-31 19:57
What fps and shutter was that shot at then? I can see by the way the cars are moving that you're n ...

Dave... It's shot at ISO 200, 1/50th sec shutter and 24.97 fps. What you are seeing, in that regard is the simple fact that the video is at 120% speed. Also, if you read my post, you'd not worry so much about my client since there was none and it's just an early test of a complex waypoint flight. I will repeat, as a solo pilot, you cannot take that type of video from 1/4 mile away and I actually measured it to be sure, it's a bit under 1/4 mile at 1015 feet. My goal was to inform and enlighten the OP any any others about Autopilot. WTF are you doing?

flighttime1 Posted at 2016-6-1 10:57
Farnk666... I practice my piloting skills on a regular basis. It's an ingrained habit going back t ...

The last thing I would want is to be your hero.

flighttime1 Posted at 2016-5-31 22:57
Farnk666... I practice my piloting skills on a regular basis. It's an ingrained habit going back t ...

You can easily help keep the subject in center frame by shooting in 4K and then reframing/recropping when you downscale to 1920x1080, assuming the final output will most likely be 1920x1080 Just frame with a crop factor in mind.  

Farnk666 Posted at 2016-5-31 20:04
The last thing I would want is to be your hero.

Farnk... I'm not that worried about it ever happening. lol

Dave A Posted at 2016-5-31 20:06
You can easily help keep the subject in center frame by shooting in 4K and then reframing/recroppi ...

Dave... Same offer... Please do post your video of a similar situation. I'd love to see it.

Don't forget guys... You're in the boat and you don't have a cameraman. Hopefully you don't fall out of the boat just trying to keep an eye on your bird.

Many of my flights are spent chasing boats. I could not imagine an automated programme would give good results as few boats follow a predictable path. Success will depend very much on the speed of the vessel. Manual flight would probably give you best results and you should pan around the bow first, not the stern as it's easier following the path of the vessel. If you try and pan around the stern, any faster moving vessel will soon be away from you. I have not tried a full 360 but 180's are quite possible. Keeping the drone stationary and practicing panning a faster moving vessel will help before you transition to moving with the vessel. Good luck.

flighttime1 Posted at 2016-5-31 23:04
Dave... It's shot at ISO 200, 1/50th sec shutter and 24.97 fps. What you are seeing, in that regard ...

I've suggested numerous workarounds to the OP! Do I need to go back and bold them for you? I've also gone out of my way to help suggest tips so your video work looks better. Correct me if I'm wrong but you did ask for feedback.

I'm not sure you have your settings right. None of my aerials look that shakey nor look that muddled together.

And what part of that isn't possible from 1/4 mile out? As long as your have VLOS and a clear space to fly that shot is doable all day long my man. I think more than a handful of pilots on here would agree.

Edward Posted at 2016-5-31 20:23
Many of my flights are spent chasing boats. I could not imagine an automated programme would give go ...

Edward... The reason I suggested Autopilot is because it's able to lock onto the controller or any iPad/iPhone and maintain POI focus plus distance and altitude while circling. I'm going to give all this a test in the coming weeks but from what I've seen on their site, it's quite capable of doing what the OP is looking for. It's even able to adjust altitude for climbing terrain such as following a car uphill so you don't run smack into the side of a mountain.

flighttime1 Posted at 2016-5-31 23:16
Dave... Same offer... Please do post your video of a similar situation. I'd love to see it.

I've yet to follow a moving boat, but have done circles around other moving objects. The closest thing I have with a boat is this (and it's old) ...this was from test shots of a bridge but towards the end of my flight I shot around the boat for fun. Which is why my image isn't great nor the move. I was probably a good 300-500M away (on 2nd clip) and literally tried to do the circle once. I know given a few more attempts I could have gotten a satisfactory circle. Again, the purpose of this wasn't to film the boat, these are throw-away shots. I just made one pass on it for fun. But since you asked...

Dave A Posted at 2016-5-31 21:09
I've yet to follow a moving boat, but have done circles around other moving objects. The closest th ...

Dave... No one has said flying around a static POI was that much of an issue. The OP requested how to do it with a moving boat when he's onboard. Exponentially harder, I'd say. I'm going up to Lancaster tomorrow where there are quite a few wide open spaces. I'm going to take the I1P just to give out the moving object, circle function a test on autopilot. If we find the time to do this, and I post the video, maybe you'll have a bit of respect for Autopilot. As I said, and I don't know how you can disagree, if you've actually used it, it's an amazing piece of software. The technology IS there already.

Not a perfect circle here, but an example to demonstrate that with manual flight ops you can circle a moving object and keep it in frame.
In this instance, I sought to descend through the turn to reveal more detail of the persons on the boat (and end up in a position closer to the far side) and end relatively stationary to let it head away downstream.

Could you do this with a 3rd party app? Of course you could and it would be neater and more consistent.
Was this a pre-planned and staged shot where I had time to set it up? No.

I simply opined earlier that it could also be done manually and asked the question why not attempt it.

Farnk666 Posted at 2016-6-1 05:32
Not a perfect circle here, but an example to demonstrate that with manual flight ops you can circle  ...

I don't think anyone is questioning weather it can be done, the reality is that it autopilot can do it perfectly, every time. The less you can screw up a shot the better.  Sometimes you just can't tell the boat or the subject to go back to the original pos and start over, and pull the sun back up.  My point is that a lot of the time, you can't afford to screw up the shot.  Why chance it?   Side note:  I'd like to see you circle a moving car (figure 8) while it is changing altitude, and you're in another moving vehicle, and the focus of the camera on a third target.  All one person controls.

adam1 Posted at 2016-6-1 19:57
I don't think anyone is questioning weather it can be done, the reality is that it autopilot can d ...

Yes, that was exactly the criticism that came my way. Our friend took me to task saying that such skills were beyond 'mere mortals' and made more of his habitual snidey comments.
All I did was dare to suggest that one way to get the shot was to fly it manually. I don't know, like a pilot rather than a tablet operator.

I never said or intimated that people shouldn't use apps, yet the venom from the autopilot fan club flows my way.

flighttime1 Posted at 2016-6-1 00:28
Dave... No one has said flying around a static POI was that much of an issue. The OP requested how ...

As you requested I posted something similar. And as I stated, that was as close to the scenario as I have.

But by all means, please showcase to us your smooth auto pilot flight. It'll look like your previous demo. The tech may be there as far as autonomously flying missions, but the micro-adjustments and constant ticks will yield anything but smooth video. I eagerly await your demo. And yes, I've tested out waypoint flying. With things bigger than little quadcopters. As I stated, once again, the tech is impressive but isn't up to par with attaining professional video, all the time. Enjoy.

Farnk666 Posted at 2016-6-1 08:17
Yes, that was exactly the criticism that came my way. Our friend took me to task saying that such  ...

seriously don't mind flighttime1. He has trolled numerous forums on here and more than a few users are sick of his uselessness and condescending lingo. You gave your $.02 as to how the OP could achieve his flight path if he didn't want to go the auto-pilot route.

Dave A Posted at 2016-6-1 14:32
seriously don't mind flighttime1. He has trolled numerous forums on here and more than a few users ...

Hi guys ,

any autopilot software for th S900 / A2 ?

Thank you

adam1 Posted at 2016-6-1 07:57
I don't think anyone is questioning weather it can be done, the reality is that it autopilot can d ...

Can you show any examples of auto pilot shooting a POI in a fluid circle? You can just show one shot. Shouldn't be too hard since auto pilot can do it "perfectly, everytime".

Dave A Posted at 2016-6-3 16:11
Can you show any examples of auto pilot shooting a POI in a fluid circle? You can just show one sho ...

Oh your a smart arse aren't you?  I'll rush right out and get you something to look at.  Or maybe I'll just continue to work and not concern myself with the likes of you.  Yep, that sounds good.

Didn't take that long for this thread to get screwed up - what a toxic place this forum gets sometimes.

Remember just over a year ago when we were actually here to discuss and help each other? Seems like ages ago.

flighttime1 Posted at 2016-5-31 11:54
Autoflightlogic Autopilot will take care of that shot. It works with either the controller or a seco ...

I like that  brother you da man thank you for that