Does the Mavic have headless mode?

Might be able to answer that one better if you explain what it is...

Not sure if this is what you mean, but it does have a feature where you steer it by it's physical orientation, independent of which way it is facing. So the camera could stay focussed on an object, and rotation would be automatic along with the camera tilt, yet left remains left, right remains right, etc, in relation to the direction the drone was facing at the time you enable the feature.

Is this what you mean by "headless mode"?

Yes, it does.  I just watched a video recently that demonstrated it, but it is called something different.  Sorry, I can't remember what it is called on the Mavic.

As for what Headless mode is:  Headless mode allows the drone to fly in the direction you move your joystick, regardless of which way it is actually pointing.  In other words, if you take off and fly forward and away from your location, turn the drone 90 degrees in either direction and then pull back on the joystick, the drone will begin to fly directly back to your location.  Regardless of which direction it is actually facing, pulling back on the joystick flies it back towards you, pushing the joystick left flies it to YOUR left (not the drone's), pushing to the right flies it to YOUR right, etc.  One last thing about headless mode:  typically, it only works (makes sense) if you continue to face the same direction.  If you turn 90 degrees either direction, things get all confusing.  There may be variants of headless mode that I'm not aware of, but that's my understanding of how it works.

If you mean the Headless feature you find in "Toy" drones in that the drones right stick moves it forward, backward, left or right relative to where the pilot/controller is regardless of the drones orientation, then I think your answer is no. The right stick will move the drone in relation to the front of the drone except when using smart features such as suggested above which is not what you are asking I don't think .

If you just stick your neck in the way of props when it's landing , your are now in headless mode, be sure to complete IMU and COMPASS calibration, it only works in P mode. Lol

Yes, HOME LOCK

From the manual:

Course Lock - Lock the current nose direction as the aircraft's forward direction.  The aircraft will move in the locked direction regardless of its orientation (yaw angle).

If that isn't close enough to headless, there is this:

Home Lock - Pull the stick backward to move the aircraft toward its recorded home point.

The Home Lock mode (according to a video I saw), works regardless or whether or not you fly around or just out in a single direction.  Pulling back always flies the drone back toward you (assuming you set your home location as your standing point).

...unless I'm missing something.

Gary Mac nails what I am asking.  Headless mode - in toy drones - is where the drone will move in the direction of the joystick - no matter what its front orientation is.

So, then I assume that "Home Lock" is Headless since if you pull back on the joystick, it comes back to you.  But - is that also true for left and right - or does the Mavic simply "turn around" to come home?

Yea I messed up.  The EXACT answer he's looking for is COURSE LOCK mode.  I apologize.  That's a common mode used for filming.

DRONE-flies-YOU Posted at 2016-11-5 03:32
Yea I messed up.  The EXACT answer he's looking for is COURSE LOCK mode.  I apologize.  That's a com ...

I think Course Lock mode although very similar is slightly different from headless modes in cheaper drones. With course lock, forwards is determined by the direction the drone is facing when the mode is enabled (probably using the compass) and then back left right are relative to this forward, whereas Headless mode is relative to the remote controller signal (no compass on toy drones) so back is towards where the pilot is standing and forward left right is relative to that. As far as I can tell, there is no true headless mode however you would not need it with the Mavic because the purpose of headless on toys is fundamentally so kids can fly them without needing to track the orientation of the drone.

Thanks - this is what I wanted to know.

sandgrownun Posted at 2016-11-5 07:39
I think Course Lock mode although very similar is slightly different from headless modes in cheaper drones. With course lock, forwards is determined by the direction the drone is facing when the mode is enabled (probably using the compass) and then back left right are relative to this forward, whereas Headless mode is relative to the remote controller signal (no compass on toy drones) so back is towards where the pilot is standing and forward left right is relative to that. As far as I can tell, there is no true headless mode however you would not need it with the Mavic because the purpose of headless on toys is fundamentally so kids can fly them without needing to track the orientation of the drone.

Kids????    Some of us Oldies too  

sandgrownun Posted at 2016-11-5 07:39
I think Course Lock mode although very similar is slightly different from headless modes in cheaper drones. With course lock, forwards is determined by the direction the drone is facing when the mode is enabled (probably using the compass) and then back left right are relative to this forward, whereas Headless mode is relative to the remote controller signal (no compass on toy drones) so back is towards where the pilot is standing and forward left right is relative to that. As far as I can tell, there is no true headless mode however you would not need it with the Mavic because the purpose of headless on toys is fundamentally so kids can fly them without needing to track the orientation of the drone.

Exactly, and this makes it even more flexible than headless mode.  You don't have to be directly behind the drone to determine the direction you want it to travel in.  Great mode.

sandgrownun Posted at 2016-11-5 07:39
I think Course Lock mode although very similar is slightly different from headless modes in cheaper drones. With course lock, forwards is determined by the direction the drone is facing when the mode is enabled (probably using the compass) and then back left right are relative to this forward, whereas Headless mode is relative to the remote controller signal (no compass on toy drones) so back is towards where the pilot is standing and forward left right is relative to that. As far as I can tell, there is no true headless mode however you would not need it with the Mavic because the purpose of headless on toys is fundamentally so kids can fly them without needing to track the orientation of the drone.

Then that sounds more like Home Lock.