Dear all,

I have found parts of the below questions across the web, but unfortunately comprehensive or definite answers are still missing. Knowing many people out there are dealing with similar questions on the matter I hope people out here are willing and capable of sharing their experiences.

We are currently in the market for a new aircraft comprising of DJI's M600 Pro, the Ronin MX gimbal and Sony's A7R (or A7R ii) camera. We may include the D-RTK GNSS module later on if we believe this will add to the setup. The M600 Pro platform appears to be a comparatively affordable, flexible and near to ideal platform for the mapping/ surveying (photogrammetry) endeavours we envision. Considering that precision and accuracy is of imperative importance, we are currently exploring what (mobile and/or desktop) Mission Planning applications out there will work with the above setup. We are particularly interested in if (and how!) this rig is compatible with DJI's Ground Station Pro (hereafter called GSP).

From what I have read on the web in past weeks it seems everyone has had different experiences, ranging from rather succesful to problematic, to say the least. Considering the speed of technology and soft- and firmware updates such bad experiences may well be outdated, hence a headsup on the current situation is much appreciated!

In short:

Is the Sony A7R (or A7R ii) compatible with GSP?

Is the Sony A7R (or A7R ii) compatible with GSP?
Does DJI GS Pro support different lenses fort he Sony A7R? Or, can we adjust parameters as focal length in the GSP application if we chose to use a different lens for different projectsIs GSP capable of automatically triggering the camera in-flight?
Is the Remote Start/ Stop module required to trigger the camera using GSP, or does it also work without that module?What is the maximum supported trigger speed of the Remote Start/ Stop module? Or, how many photos can it take per second?If the RTK module is installed, would it be possible to extract these RTK-GPS flight logs from the aircraft or FC in any way?
Has anyone been succesful in getting the above setup to work with applications other than GSP? It seems remote/ automatic camera triggering is the most problematic in this respect as DJI’s SDK does not support this (yet)? Nonetheless ideas on workarounds (i.e. Time Lapsing, use of intervalometers) is welcome so one has a secondary backup application in case GSP is not working for some reason.

Nevermind, no matter what I try the forum disallows me to post my text due to some 'fills' being filled incorrectly.

Please delete this post as it is of no use in its current shape. Will give it another shot later on!

I am interested in the exact same questions. Hopefully someone can provide some insight?

BvdM Posted at 2017-6-6 04:47
Is the Sony A7R (or A7R ii) compatible with GSP?
Does DJI GS Pro support different lenses fort he Sony A7R? Or, can we adjust parameters as focal length in the GSP application if we chose to use a different lens for different projectsIs GSP capable of automatically triggering the camera in-flight?
Is the Remote Start/ Stop module required to trigger the camera using GSP, or does it also work without that module?What is the maximum supported trigger speed of the Remote Start/ Stop module? Or, how many photos can it take per second?If the RTK module is installed, would it be possible to extract these RTK-GPS flight logs from the aircraft or FC in any way?

Is the Sony A7R (or A7R ii) compatible with GSP?
R: YES.

Does DJI GS Pro support different lenses fort he Sony A7R?
R: YES.

Is the Remote Start/ Stop module required to trigger the camera using GSP
R: YES, without that module you can not trigger the camera.

If the RTK module is installed, would it be possible to extract these RTK-GPS flight logs from the aircraft or FC in any way?
R: Yes, you can, but you will not get the accuracy of the RTK this because DJI "RTK" does not have that purpose.

fansc9783840 Posted at 2017-6-7 11:40
Is the Sony A7R (or A7R ii) compatible with GSP?
R: YES.

Thanks for some clarifications on the matter, fansc9783840!

Regarding the Remote Start/ Stop module you mention it is required to trigger the camera, obviously. In mapping, I of course do not purposefully trigger the camera as the controller/RC should do this automatically based on the designed flight plan. But am I correct then to state that the RSS allows the controller/RC to effectively trigger the camera automatically during a mapping flight?

Do you have personal experience using the above described setup or did you come about the answer in a different way?

BvdM Posted at 2017-6-7 21:52
Thanks for some clarifications on the matter, fansc9783840!

Regarding the Remote Start/ Stop module you mention it is required to trigger the camera, obviously. In mapping, I of course do not purposefully trigger the camera as the controller/RC should do this automatically based on the designed flight plan. But am I correct then to state that the RSS allows the controller/RC to effectively trigger the camera automatically during a mapping flight?

But am I correct then to state that the RSS allows the controller/RC to effectively trigger the camera automatically during a mapping flight?
R: YES

Do you have personal experience using the above described setup or did you come about the answer in a different way?
R: I have friends that have that setup.

I'm working on the same setup and it doesn't trigger automatically as expected - a big issue for mapping with 3rd party sensors. Is it an issue on my integration or a systems limitation?

Follow up question:  Is image geotagging supported with out any additional components?  If no, are there any viable solutions?

I have this setup and have flown GS Pro but even with a Phantom 3A, GS Pro doesn't trigger consistently.  I prefer using Time Lapse for Sony Cameras to take the pics...and geotag in post work, so yeah everything you need is possible (I don't have RTK yet but that just increases GPS accuracy so no adverse affect to any part of the workflow).

BvdM Posted at 2017-6-7 21:52
Thanks for some clarifications on the matter, fansc9783840!

Regarding the Remote Start/ Stop module you mention it is required to trigger the camera, obviously. In mapping, I of course do not purposefully trigger the camera as the controller/RC should do this automatically based on the designed flight plan. But am I correct then to state that the RSS allows the controller/RC to effectively trigger the camera automatically during a mapping flight?

I have some issues regarding integration of Matrice 600 with Sony Alpha 7R III. The camera view is transfered to GS Pro, however even after setting up the camera in mission settings GS Pro shows that there is no camera (attached figure). Is it normal and after starting the mission will it capture images? I use Remote Start/Stop module with IR diode to trigger the shutter.

GS Pro window:


Setup: