Inspire 2 Point of Interest

[Transpire]

Hello All,
I have a recurrent need to fly orbits around subject matter. With my old (not yet retired) Inspire 1, this was a simple matter of choosing POI and voila. Alas, as we all know, the Inspire 2 is conspicuously lacking this function. I am very disappointed in DJI for leaving us investors high and dry. It is a legitimate professional tool and to leave it out is downright sloppy and/or shortsighted on their part. "Coming soon". Umm, it's nearly a year since the i2's introduction, and it is DJI' most versatile and capable drone and no POI. What gives?

Feel free to share your insights, but that is actually not the reason for my post. I would like to know what other options are available for using a POI program specifically for FILMING.
I have been reading about Litchi and DJI's own Ground Station Pro (GSPro) but I am not sure about full compatibility with the I2. Also, I want to know whether GSPro specifically can be used to film, I see it can be used for 3D map capture, but what about filming with smooth motion?

Thanks in advance!

 

[NickU]

if you're orbiting an object that is clearly identifiable, then you could try and use Spotlight Pro - I've not seen much information or discussion about it on the web. (And there's nothing much in the instructions about it either).

Select the spotlight pro icon, then select the settings icon that appears above it and change the aircraft heading mode to follow instead of free. Then select your spotlight target as normal and use the right stick to control the aircraft position. If you use right stick to yaw the I2, then it will circle the spotlight target with the nose staying pointing at the target.

POI mode is definitely easier and more accurate to use though. When I've tried using spotlight as POI I've found I needed a very clearly identifiable target otherwise the tracking loses the target during the orbit, also the orbit isn't always as circular or constant distance as it could be!

 

[Transpire]

Thanks for the replies guys.

NickU,
I am aware of the spotlight pro functionality. In my case, I need to orbit buildings. There are two problems with spotlight pro in this situation..
1. You need to be farther away than desirable to have the building appear small enough in the frame to actually select it as a subject.
2. As you orbit the building, presumably starting at the front for this discussion, the sides and back look different and may cause a loss of subject.

I would still like to hear from people about GSPro and Litchi being used for this. I can create a circular orbit mission in GSPro. Will it work to FILM?

I am surprised there aren't more complaints about this lack of functionality in Go4 since an orbit is a pretty common business tool for drone filming.

Any more insights?

 

[samtheparrot]

*coming soon.....I wish I had it..

 

[NickU]

Thanks for the replies guys.

NickU,
I am aware of the spotlight pro functionality. In my case, I need to orbit buildings. There are two problems with spotlight pro in this situation..
1. You need to be farther away than desirable to have the building appear small enough in the frame to actually select it as a subject.
2. As you orbit the building, presumably starting at the front for this discussion, the sides and back look different and may cause a loss of subject

Give it a try. I've tracked a part of a building using spotlight pro... I started close in to the subject by selecting a large barn door in one corner of the building, then flying away and around the building. Spotlightpro tracked the selected point even when it was completely out of sight (i.e. Out of sight Behind the building). I'm not sure how it manages it, but it was able to track the visual changes along with tracking the geometry. It wasn't a clean circular orbit by far, but that wasn't what I was trying to do at the time (and I didn't know about switching to Follow Mode at the time).

 

[Cruncher]

Litchi POI video Inspire 2 = intuitive simple reliable

 

[Transpire]

Cruncher,
Do you have any examples to share? Is the set up process the same as on the previous Inspire via the DJI Go app?

 

[amorrison]

You might be surprised how well ground station pro can be set up for poi. You draw a rough circle where you need to fly, set curves at each point, then adjust camera angles for POI effect. You can set up before hand so you just fly it when you arrive. Not perfect of course but I was surprised how well the camera angle was smoothly changed between turn points. Just a thought.

 

[NickU]

Litchi will do it - checked with it yesterday & it works fine.

 

[Transpire]

I tried using a series of waypoints in a circle and selecting curved path between them. The flight was erratic and not suitable for filming. It it totally suitable for photos at those locations and worked well for that.

I am happy to hear that Litchi will work. Thanks Nick.
With my luck, as soon as I buy Litchi, DJI will issue new firmware that includes the long missing POI functionality.

 

[samtheparrot]

Anybody know if GS Pro can be used with Crystal Sky?

 

[Keule]

Anybody know if GS Pro can be used with Crystal Sky?

No, as GS Pro is for IPads only, Crystal Sky is Android based. In any case DJI does not allow 3rd party programs to be installed on CS.

 

[samtheparrot]

I wish POI was available on I2...instead of *coming soon.

 

[Mark Taylor]

No, as GS Pro is for IPads only, Crystal Sky is Android based. In any case DJI does not allow 3rd party programs to be installed on CS.

GS Pro isn't a 3rd party app, but as you say, it is iOS only so will not run on CS.

However, the plan is that much of the functionality of GS Pro will be in the new Pilot app that is already available in Beta form on CS.

Right now the mission planning functions are not implemented in the Beta so there is still a lot of work to be done, but it is at least in progress...

 

[Keule]

but it is at least in progress...

Yep, i am waiting also ...

 

[FlyaDrone]

Litchi is supporting the Inspire 2 and has these features described.....
- Focus mode: easily keep focus on a subject while flying your aircraft
- Orbit mode with advanced settings and real time controls
- Waypoint mode supports multiple Points of Interest - Automatic gimbal control (Focus POI and Interpolate)