The drone community has been wondering for a long time: will Mavic 3 consumer drones have waypoints as an option? Finally, on December 9th (an early Christmas present to all of us drone pilots), DJI released a firmware update in the DJI Fly App, which included waypoints.
What are Waypoints
Waypoints are points (or stops) on a route or line of travel that can be used to program a drone where to fly. Waypoint missions for drones also allow for setting altitude, speed, and gimble tilt among many other things. Using waypoints to plan where/how a drone will (and what you would like the drone to do) fly is like having an autopilot for your drone.
Why is it important to have waypoints on a drone?
Creating (and saving) waypoint missions allows a drone to repeat the same flight path without having to try to recreate the flight manually every time. This allows for replicating a shot for video purposes or taking photos from the same point in space (lat/long and altitude), say, for a construction project.
Waypoints have uses in a variety of tasks, ranging from aerial video production to drone mapping. Here are a few ways we have used them when providing drone services to our clients:
1. Re-creating the same video shot. Very useful if you use your drone for video production where you must do several takes that need to look exactly the same (usually a must for any type of commercial video work such as shooting a commercial, or on a TV or Film production set)
2. Creating a hyper lapse video that allows showcasing changes in the environment quickly, but in reality, these shots are taken during different times (seasons) of the year along the same path of flight and are later stitched together to quickly show changes of the site over time making it look seamless.
3. Capture photos of subjects and objects from the same vantage point repeatedly.
4. Program the flight path to create a map of a site or create a video of a pre-determined path.
Previously we have programmed our other DJI drones to fly on an automated path (Phantom 4 Pro or Mavic 2 Pro) using the Litchi app. We have created hyper lapses for our company's social media content and for construction progress monitoring videos and photos for our clients, as well as programmed automated flight paths for commercial video production shoots.
The fact that DJI released the waypoints with the firmware update for Mavic 3 makes this drone a lot more useful (previously you couldn’t even use Litchi to program the waypoints with the Mavic 3 because DJI has not yet released an SDK (Software Development Kit) allowing it to be used with third-party applications.
Which DJI Mavic 3 drones support waypoints?
All DJI Mavic 3 Drones now support waypoints through the DJI FLY app (DJI Mavic 3 Classic, Mavic 3, and Mavic 3 Cine).
How to use DJI Mavic 3 Waypoints: 2 ways with step-by-step tutorials
In order to use the new waypoints feature with the DJI Mavic 3 you must be on the latest firmware (aircraft, remote, and DJI Fly app) that was released on December 9, 2022.
There are a couple of methods that can be used in order to create a waypoint mission:
1) Create the waypoint mission as you fly your drone to where you want the waypoints to be – this requires the drone to be powered on and in flight.
2) Pre-planning a waypoint mission with the DJI Fly App – this can be done without even powering on the drone and before you even arrive at the site you intend to fly!
We have created a video detailing a step-by-step process for both workflows. Our waypoint video tutorial also includes an overview of waypoint settings and customizations and shows some examples of missions we have set up, and the drone flying them. We also cover how you can save your waypoint missions in order to use them again at a later date/time.
Watch this video to learn a couple of different ways to program your DJI Mavic 3 Drone waypoints, download the firmware update, and start practicing creating waypoint missions! Happy flying, and please subscribe to our channel if you find this useful and would like to get updated when new tutorials and other informative content coming out!
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V1DroneMedia is a drone services provider in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. We provide aerial photography, videography, photogrammetry (drone mapping, 3D modeling), and full video production services. V1DroneMedia Chief Drone Pilot, Jason Damman, is also an airline pilot with 20+ years of aviation experience and is a drone flight instructor at several educational institutions, besides running his own drone classes with groups and individuals. We service Ohio, and other Midwest states, and can travel to other areas as needed.
Contact V1DroneMedia for your drone services, drone training, or video production needs!