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Possible to get SmartDronies locked on object vs. person?

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So trying to get some orbit shots of a really beautiful lighthouse that sits on a very thin peninsula that stretches out into the lake...get drone positioned above lighthouse in perfect position, turn on the SmartDronies mode and draw the green rectangle around the lighthouse, the drone camera shifts immediately to last known position of the pilot (me) and dreaded SUBJECT LOST appears on the screen...how can i get this thing to lock on an object for orbits versus always trying to find a person in the shot to lock onto?
 
The SmartDronies are functions of the Follow Me mode.
If you want to circle around a lighthouse, you could do this manually by using the Cameraman mode.
Or you could create a flight plan.
 
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The best way to do what you want is not smart dronies. It also is not CamerMan (even though that’s what it’s designed for).

By far the best way to orbit the lighthouse is to use TouchFly: POI. It will give you the smoothest possible camera movements. (CameraMan has some sort of issue where the camera tends to “nod” up and down.)

TouchFly has two modes. One of those modes simply flies your drone to whatever spot you touch on the map. You do NOT want that. You want the POI mode. The “POI” in “TouchFly: POI”stands for Point Of Interest... in your case a lighthouse.

  1. Open up TouchFly and choose the POI option.
  2. Touch the lighthouse on the map that appears. The Anafi will immediately lock onto that spot.
  3. Use the slider on the right to adjust the height. If you want the Anafi to point at the base of the lighthouse, leave this at 0. But if you want the top of the lighthouse in frame, then slide the slider up to whatever height looks good.
At any point you can touch the “video” window to minimize the map and bring back you camera view.

Now you can freely fly the Anafi all around the lighthouse. If you want a perfect circle orbit, just hold left or right on the right stick. If you want to start in close and do a spiral orbit away, just push the right stick to one side while also pulling back.

You can do all sorts of complex maneuvers. You can change your altitude (left stick) and the gimbal will smoothly tilt up and down to keep the top of the lighthouse centered. You can even fly directly over the lighthouse, and the Anafi will tilt the camera down, and as you pass spin around and start tilting the camera back up, all in a very smooth motion. (This same method works for flying under bridges.)

Parallax effects: Unlike CameraMan, TouchFly: POI will keep the target in the center of the frame even when the camera can’t see it. When you fly behind a tree or building, CameraMan will loose tracking. It may pick it back up again if the original target comes back into view very quickly, but your footage will have herky jerky camera movements. TouchFly: POI stays rock solid and smooth no matter what, allowing you to easily get great parallax effects as trees or building move across the frame.

This is just the beginning. There are all sorts of cool shots you can get with minimal practice and minimal skill flying. For example, boomerang shots are easy to pull off. There is more flexibility too. The smart dronies limit you to a set number of meters. With TouchFly POI you can get the same effects over smaller or BIGGER distances.

Anafi users don’t use TouchFly POI enough. It’s obvious from all the “nodding” Cameraman footage that they don’t even realize it exists.
 
Last edited:
Yes, I also tested TouchFly: POI.
Works very good.
But Cameraman is quite smooth as well.
The difference between these two options is the method of fixing the target:
TouchFly: POI -> GPS
Cameraman: optical follow
So dmbrody is right:
- not moving object: TouchFly: POI
- slowly moving object (ship or so): Cameraman
 
Thanks dmBrody, very helpful. I am now inspired to practice and play around with TouchPoint flying mode.
Just be careful with the TouchFly Waypoint. That’s a great way to crash your drone by accident. It will just immediately start flying toward wherever you click on the map. I don’t even use that at all. TouchFly POI won’t make the drone fly anywhere. It will yaw and tilt toward the target, but it won’t move until YOU start flying it with the controller.
 
The best way to do what you want is not smart dronies. It also is not CamerMan (even though that’s what it’s designed for).

By far the best way to orbit the lighthouse is to use TouchFly: POI. It will give you the smoothest possible camera movements. (CameraMan has some sort of issue where the camera tends to “nod” up and down.)

TouchFly has two modes. One of those modes simply flies your drone to whatever spot you touch on the map. You do NOT want that. You want the POI mode. The “POI” in “TouchFly: POI”stands for Point Of Interest... in your case a lighthouse.

  1. Open up TouchFly and choose the POI option.
  2. Touch the lighthouse on the map that appears. The Anafi will immediately lock onto that spot.
  3. Use the slider on the right to adjust the height. If you want the Anafi to point at the base of the lighthouse, leave this at 0. But if you want the top of the lighthouse in frame, then slide the slider up to whatever height looks good.
At any point you can touch the “video” window to minimize the map and bring back you camera view.

Now you can freely fly the Anafi all around the lighthouse. If you want a perfect circle orbit, just hold left or right on the right stick. If you want to start in close and do a spiral orbit away, just push the right stick to one side while also pulling back.

You can do all sorts of complex maneuvers. You can change your altitude (left stick) and the gimbal will smoothly tilt up and down to keep the top of the lighthouse centered. You can even fly directly over the lighthouse, and the Anafi will tilt the camera down, and as you pass spin around and start tilting the camera back up, all in a very smooth motion. (This same method works for flying under bridges.)

Parallax effects: Unlike CameraMan, TouchFly: POI will keep the target in the center of the frame even when the camera can’t see it. When you fly behind a tree or building, CameraMan will loose tracking. It may pick it back up again if the original target comes back into view very quickly, but your footage will have herky jerky camera movements. TouchFly: POI stays rock solid and smooth no matter what, allowing you to easily get great parallax effects as trees or building move across the frame.

This is just the beginning. There are all sorts of cool shots you can get with minimal practice and minimal skill flying. For example, boomerang shots are easy to pull off. There is more flexibility too. The smart dronies limit you to a set number of meters. With TouchFly POI you can get the same effects over smaller or BIGGER distances.

Anafi users don’t use TouchFly POI enough. It’s obvious from all the “nodding” Cameraman footage that they don’t even realize it exists.

Just wanted to come back to this thread after a couple of months and say a big thanks for the information about TouchFly: POI. This feature is so easy to overlook but thanks to your helpful post I gave it a try!

I've used it loads of times recently and I think it's fair to say it is one of the best features for the Anafi.

Cheers - Joe
 
The best way to do what you want is not smart dronies. It also is not CamerMan (even though that’s what it’s designed for).

By far the best way to orbit the lighthouse is to use TouchFly: POI. It will give you the smoothest possible camera movements. (CameraMan has some sort of issue where the camera tends to “nod” up and down.)

TouchFly has two modes. One of those modes simply flies your drone to whatever spot you touch on the map. You do NOT want that. You want the POI mode. The “POI” in “TouchFly: POI”stands for Point Of Interest... in your case a lighthouse.

  1. Open up TouchFly and choose the POI option.
  2. Touch the lighthouse on the map that appears. The Anafi will immediately lock onto that spot.
  3. Use the slider on the right to adjust the height. If you want the Anafi to point at the base of the lighthouse, leave this at 0. But if you want the top of the lighthouse in frame, then slide the slider up to whatever height looks good.
At any point you can touch the “video” window to minimize the map and bring back you camera view.

Now you can freely fly the Anafi all around the lighthouse. If you want a perfect circle orbit, just hold left or right on the right stick. If you want to start in close and do a spiral orbit away, just push the right stick to one side while also pulling back.

You can do all sorts of complex maneuvers. You can change your altitude (left stick) and the gimbal will smoothly tilt up and down to keep the top of the lighthouse centered. You can even fly directly over the lighthouse, and the Anafi will tilt the camera down, and as you pass spin around and start tilting the camera back up, all in a very smooth motion. (This same method works for flying under bridges.)

Parallax effects: Unlike CameraMan, TouchFly: POI will keep the target in the center of the frame even when the camera can’t see it. When you fly behind a tree or building, CameraMan will loose tracking. It may pick it back up again if the original target comes back into view very quickly, but your footage will have herky jerky camera movements. TouchFly: POI stays rock solid and smooth no matter what, allowing you to easily get great parallax effects as trees or building move across the frame.

This is just the beginning. There are all sorts of cool shots you can get with minimal practice and minimal skill flying. For example, boomerang shots are easy to pull off. There is more flexibility too. The smart dronies limit you to a set number of meters. With TouchFly POI you can get the same effects over smaller or BIGGER distances.

Anafi users don’t use TouchFly POI enough. It’s obvious from all the “nodding” Cameraman footage that they don’t even realize it exists.
Today I've used the TouchFly with POI option again. What a smooth camerashots! In one word a fantastic tool and indeed, Anafi users don’t use TouchFly POI enough.
 
Today I've used the TouchFly with POI option again. What a smooth camerashots! In one word a fantastic tool and indeed, Anafi users don’t use TouchFly POI enough.
DJI copied this feature in its new drones (air2, mini, mini2)
There, it works so that when the operator clicks on people or vehicles, it uses visual tracking, if it only frames a remote point, it converts it into a GPS point (POI) and keeps that point in the middle. The advantage of this solution is that the POI can be entered quickly. Dropping a map often assigns an inaccurate POI, and if you specify it by flying over it, it takes time, slow.
 
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DJI copied this feature in its new drones (air2, mini, mini2)
There, it works so that when the operator clicks on people or vehicles, it uses visual tracking, if it only frames a remote point, it converts it into a GPS point (POI) and keeps that point in the middle. The advantage of this solution is that the POI can be entered quickly. Dropping a map often assigns an inaccurate POI, and if you specify it by flying over it, it takes time, slow.
Oh! DJI is the "copy-cat" expert XDDD.
 
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The Wi-Fi module may be damaged. You need to take it to the workshop so that everything fixed.
 
DJI copied this feature in its new drones (air2, mini, mini2)
There, it works so that when the operator clicks on people or vehicles, it uses visual tracking, if it only frames a remote point, it converts it into a GPS point (POI) and keeps that point in the middle. The advantage of this solution is that the POI can be entered quickly. Dropping a map often assigns an inaccurate POI, and if you specify it by flying over it, it takes time, slow.
Indeed, thank you!
 

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