So heres the mission. I've tried it before manually and everytime I fly behind the water tower I lose signal and initiate RTH. I'll post the mission first and then my video discussing the mission and a split screen of 2 attempts with the Mavic Air and 2 with the MPP. MPP was far more stable and smooth.

Very nice and indeed the MPP was the better of the two. Thanks for sharing

very nice

Sky Carrier Posted at 12-3 15:24
Very nice and indeed the MPP was the better of the two. Thanks for sharing

Yes, I assumed the MPP would be better in the wind but it was an OBVIOUS choice for more stable footage. And the 1st mission with the MA with the gimbal pointed down was actually really awful. I'm surprised it was that unstable. I'll have to do some comparative tests between the Spark, MA, MPP and possibly the Phantom 3 Standard if I can get mine repaired. Using Litchi to fly the same exact mission is a great way to do this since it takes all pilot errors out of the equation.

This is a very good comparison.

Woe Posted at 12-3 19:06
This is a very good comparison.

Thanks Woe. Litchi seems like a great tool to do comparative videos. I hope to do more in the future in various conditions (wind, lighting, camera settings, speed) Thanks for watching and commenting.

Bing Err Posted at 12-3 19:20
Thanks Woe. Litchi seems like a great tool to do comparative videos. I hope to do more in the future in various conditions (wind, lighting, camera settings, speed) Thanks for watching and commenting.

No problem, love watching your movies.

I don't have litchi, but I'm starting to gain interest in it.

Indeed. This is a good comparison

I was intrigued by Litchi after watching this and I asked the o/p why no disconnects on the orbits and he told me that it was a Litchi mission.

It was a 100% Litchi mission with the chase craft loaded with the same data but with an offset for separation.

So basically a totally autonomous flight, glad that it all worked, it's a smooth video Litchi Flight at Night

Nicely done

Wow what is that white stuff(I am in Australia), thanks for sharing.

Keego63 Posted at 12-4 01:11
Wow what is that white stuff(I am in Australia), thanks for sharing.

We got 8 inches of snow that night. Not a bad total for Minnesota. I do enjoy flying in the snow because it adds an interesting element to the videos.

Very informative

with both cameras set the same I am surprised by the difference in warmness / while balance between the two.  which of the two comes closest to the actual lighting at the time.. I assume that the water tower is lit with sodium lamps or some other high voltage industrial flood lights?

second, while I think the PP did better in flight, seems the video motion especially in the faster segments is noticeably smoother especially upper right vs bottom right.. the air even though its should be recording at a higher bitrate.. seems smoother than the PP.. possibly the litchi mission straining the processor of the PP more or perhaps the camera board on the air is just a better all over processing chip than on the PP

also upper right captured more snow blowing around than the PP.. but that could have been jut the environmentals at the time

I think the PP had better overall contrast and or dynamic range.. I can see more details in the shadow portions of the video than on the air

nice comparison..

makes me happy that I picked up a mavic pro for 1/3 the cost of a mavic 2 and a coupe hundred less than an air!!

MPP In #3 looks the best flight, maybe wind a little strong for MavAir, but video in MPP is very cold or blue with lots of noise, MavAir is a much warmer looking video, you never mentioned settings, I would expect the bigger craft to do better in the wind, MavAir has a tendency to pitch lower in heavy winds to cope, we see this with obstacle sensors being dropped for stable flight.

Although I’m sure you were close, but if you were not then in a RTH into the wind the MavAir will seriously out preform the MPP, many Mavic Pro lost because of slow speed into wind on RTH .

Overall great video thanks for showing.

Hah!  If I had a big yellow ear of corn in my back-yard I would probably try to fly my drone around that thing to.   Cool shots!  Wonder if it might look just as good doing a Point of Interest (POI) shot from 'above' it (pointing downward), then speed-ramping the footage around it (in post editing).  If you get above the tower it might fix the interference issue as well.  Just a thought...thanks for sharing!  Good stuff...

RGMGFitness Posted at 12-4 09:29
Hah!  If I had a big yellow ear of corn in my back-yard I would probably try to fly my drone around that thing to.   Cool shots!  Wonder if it might look just as good doing a Point of Interest (POI) shot from 'above' it (pointing downward), then speed-ramping the footage around it (in post editing).  If you get above the tower it might fix the interference issue as well.  Just a thought...thanks for sharing!  Good stuff...

I will try that. Haven't used the POI in Litchi yet, but I will figure it out. I'll also compare it to active track with the DJI Go 4 app. Good Idea! Thanks

hallmark007 Posted at 12-4 07:58
MPP In #3 looks the best flight, maybe wind a little strong for MavAir, but video in MPP is very cold or blue with lots of noise, MavAir is a much warmer looking video, you never mentioned settings, I would expect the bigger craft to do better in the wind, MavAir has a tendency to pitch lower in heavy winds to cope, we see this with obstacle sensors being dropped for stable flight.

Although I’m sure you were close, but if you were not then in a RTH into the wind the MavAir will seriously out preform the MPP, many Mavic Pro lost because of slow speed into wind on RTH .

Good tip on the slow RTH with Mavic Pro. Thanks

DeuceDriv3r Posted at 12-4 04:52
with both cameras set the same I am surprised by the difference in warmness / while balance between the two.  which of the two comes closest to the actual lighting at the time.. I assume that the water tower is lit with sodium lamps or some other high voltage industrial flood lights?

second, while I think the PP did better in flight, seems the video motion especially in the faster segments is noticeably smoother especially upper right vs bottom right.. the air even though its should be recording at a higher bitrate.. seems smoother than the PP.. possibly the litchi mission straining the processor of the PP more or perhaps the camera board on the air is just a better all over processing chip than on the PP

Yes, I'm very happy I held off of the M2P and got the MPP instead. I'm having a blast with it. Also, I agree there is probably some wind and snow factors that are not quite the same in each video. I could do the same shots on a calm day and maybe throw in the Spark to get a nice comparison in daylight. I still think the MPP outperformed in stability in the wind.

Boffin Posted at 12-4 00:09
I was intrigued by Litchi after watching this and I asked the o/p why no disconnects on the orbits and he told me that it was a Litchi mission.

It was a 100% Litchi mission with the chase craft loaded with the same data but with an offset for separation.

That's an EPIC video and one of the reasons I bought Litchi. Also, the reason I bought the app on Android and iOS. Once I get more comfortable with Litchi I want to put 3 drones in the air at once and do some formations. Dirty Bird was the inspiration for all this, but it'll take a while to get to his level.

Interesting try. Thanks for sharing.

Great flight, nice video

Very informative! Thanks! I may have to get in to using Litchi for some projects I have in mind.

I was wondering if it was rain or snow I have heard of Litchi but not checked it out, maybe a good idea Great footage BTW.

Bing Err Posted at 12-4 03:23
We got 8 inches of snow that night. Not a bad total for Minnesota. I do enjoy flying in the snow because it adds an interesting element to the videos.

Yeah, but isn't the moisture bad for the drone?

Bluehook Posted at 12-10 15:47
Yeah, but isn't the moisture bad for the drone?

It gets VERY dry in Minnesota during the winter. So any small amount of moisture picked up during the flight would immediately evaporate when brought inside. I'm sure more moisture damage would be done long-term by just living in a more humid environment like the NW Coast or Southern sates like Florida or Louisiana. Third winter flying in the snow and no damage yet.

THANKS FOR WATCHING!

flying in the snow must be a amazing thing

AMZPOW Posted at 12-10 22:05
flying in the snow must be a amazing thing

Light snowfall looks really good on camera, and catches a lot of light and makes city lights glow. But heavy snow just reduces visibility too much to make it worth it. Here's a 360 pano I shot last winter with the Spark during light snowfall. Notice on the horizon it just fades to white since the visibility is reduced.

Bing Err Posted at 12-10 23:55
Light snowfall looks really good on camera, and catches a lot of light and makes city lights glow. But heavy snow just reduces visibility too much to make it worth it. Here's a 360 pano I shot last winter with the Spark during light snowfall. Notice on the horizon it just fades to white since the visibility is reduced.

thanks for the useful information . I love the photo you show to me, wonderful!