How to make a perfect circle around a building with Spark (like Point of interest mode in mavic)

[MannyCAM2001]

Well went out today to try the "Active Track" 360.
Just a clip of my flight, no music. It shows that it does work. The wind was blowing pretty hard but she handled it pretty good.
https://youtu.be/X6hGqE6yhQc

 

[Transplant]

Caught the bird landing!

 

[MannyCAM2001]

Lol, yes made him a star..lol

 

[Hotwire]

Seams to me, the lack of a 3D gimbal is the reason Spark doesn't have this feature. DJI couldn't take out the jittery yaw motion, entirely. All DJI drones have very high I-gain, which was always the reason for 3D gimbals. High I-gain yaw, improves straight line video but degrades yaw effects.When a quad copter yaws it increases the speed of diagonal props, when the copter compensates for wind it must correct induced yaw by checking with the compass, any variations will be seen on a 2D gimbal . 3D gimbals operate independently on the Z axis and softens the affects but the yaw correction is unavoidable on quadcopter. Hex and octocopters have less of this effect because the aircraft doesn't require pitch and role correction to anywhere near the same degree when yawing.
DIY builders often get to this point with 2D gimbals and realize it isn't going to work for some tasks. DJI will sell you a hexacopter setup that will do this circling effect but it wont fit in a backpack. On the other hand, Spark can do many things a 800mm hexacopter can't.


Cheers

 

[MannyCAM2001]

You’re quite right, “Hotwire”. And thank you for the breakdown. Great knowledge of these complex systems. Kudos, But quite honestly, I’m very satisfied with the results. And I have done it manually obviously knowing her limitations. I find it a challenge to fool others into thinking it’s not a 3 axis gimbal. And I’m more impressed in seeing video and flight results from a 500.00 drone than a 1,500.00 One. Thats why I love the Spark so much. It’s more seat of your pants flying, where mastering a complex maneuver is more in one’s finesse and less on expensive gadgetry. But it’s nice to be able to push a button too.

Cheers

 

[Rafa7]

I captured a couple of videos of me setting up active track. Note that the videos below are raw footage with no sound (I really don't have any experience, I'm new to drones and to videos).

DJI Spark Active Track Demo - manual left yaw (no sound)

DJI Spark Active Track Demo - auto right yaw plus up/down (no sound)

 

[MannyCAM2001]

That’s pretty good, for being a newbie. Thx for sharing. Yep, it’s now just a matter of fine-tuning

 

[lasorey]

Well went out today to try the "Active Track" 360.
Just a clip of my flight, no music. It shows that it does work. The wind was blowing pretty hard but she handled it pretty good.
https://youtu.be/X6hGqE6yhQc

Nice. I didnt try it myself yet buy it seems you did this at 100% speed. Correct?

 

[MannyCAM2001]

Yes, it was at 100%. Impressive. With zero wind, or at least a lot less. It would have been perfect given it’s limitations. So you were right. Automated, it appears to be the best option to date.

Cheers

 

[n16dun]

There’s a really simple way to remember how to do this manually: (assuming you’re flying mode 2)
Left stick (yaw) left - right stick right (Aileron)
i.e. opposites
Reverse if you want to circle the other way!
The more you push both sticks out (or in) the faster the circle around the object - start slow and as you get the idea push the sticks more, it’s so easy to control once you’ve tried it a couple of times.

 

[n16dun]

That said there are ways to use the Spark to do the same thing:
Circle and Helix options in Quickshot mode will work and you can also push the type of quickshot again to set how much distance is used from 10m - 120m
Activetrack has the function to rotate around the selected object: once you’ve drawn you green box and pressed go, use the slider at the lower edge of the screen to either go clockwise or ccw, the more you slide it the faster the rotate. Press the middle to stop circling.
And as with all modes the cancel button is on the left IF you need it because you should always be prepared to manual take control back.