Update to iOS Pilot app

[robinb]

New Pilot app version has also given the P3 owners the ability to draw Guides on the map to fly along, as enjoyed by the P2V+ owners! The iPhone 6+ version has all the iPad functionality, but can't display everything at the same time due to the smaller screen, and keeps the map in the lower left, which can be replaced by the Center Point reference in the Camera View. Cool stuff. Course lock and Waypoints can't be far off!

How do you get centre point reference to come on ?

 

[tvckz]

New Pilot app version has also given the P3 owners the ability to draw Guides on the map to fly along, as enjoyed by the P2V+ owners! The iPhone 6+ version has all the iPad functionality, but can't display everything at the same time due to the smaller screen, and keeps the map in the lower left, which can be replaced by the Center Point reference in the Camera View. Cool stuff. Course lock and Waypoints can't be far off!

I think we had guide lines in previous version. Does anyone try center point reference for pans?

 

[GadgetGuy]

I think we had guide lines in previous version. Does anyone try center point reference for pans?

I must have missed the ability to draw guidelines, if we did have them before. I don't think we did in iOS. I would have remembered the Hand icon. Center point reference can't actually pan the camera left and right independently of the aircraft, like it can on the Inspire, but should be the same as rotating the aircraft with the left stick, much like you can pan up and down by dragging up and down on the screen on the right or by using the left scroll button on the transmitter. Perhaps it can now do both with one single motion on the screen in any direction! I'll have to try it!

 

[robinb]

I must have missed the ability to draw guidelines, if we did have them before. I don't think we did in iOS. I would have remembered the Hand icon. Center point reference can't actually pan the camera left and right independently of the aircraft, like it can on the Inspire, but should be the same as rotating the aircraft with the left stick, much like you can pan up and down by dragging up and down on the screen on the right or by using the left scroll button on the transmitter. Perhaps it can now do both with one single motion on the screen in any direction! I'll have to try it!

But how do you get it to come up ?
I am talking about the yellow box and inner circle (not the blue one)

 

[GadgetGuy]

How do you get centre point reference to come on ?

I think you just press/tap on the center of the screen, and it appears, allowing you to drag in any direction, to control the camera view, or keep a subject in view as you fly by on a course lock.

 

[Chris P Duck]

Like this.

 

[robinb]

Like this.

Ok Chris that is interesting, what I see if I touch the screen to adjust exposure and then touch x to close exposure box is this.

The yellow box and circle fad after a couple of seconds.

 

[leekiya]

Can you still get rid of the maps on the right by pressing it so its not in view during flight.

 

[tom3holer]

My map is on the right side of the screen. How do you get it on the left?

 

[Deleted member 27337]

My map is on the right side of the screen. How do you get it on the left?

Its on the right side on iPad and left side on iPhone.

 

[tom3holer]

OK thanks I was getting confused looking at pics here.

 

[Chris P Duck]

Ok Chris that is interesting, what I see if I touch the screen to adjust exposure and then touch x to close exposure box is this.

The yellow box and circle fad after a couple of seconds.View attachment 23223

That looks more like point or spot metering for exposure (rather than using the whole picture to work out exposure) the "center point" I showed how to turn on in my pic is a composition guide. Like the grid lines.

 

[wordsmith]

Okay, so here's my two cents worth after playing with the new update. First off, everything was rock solid for me. Updating the app didn't change any of my previous settings, and no problems with the latest firmware, except for VPS, which I keep turned off anyway.
Not too much new from the last version - The blue dot you get by pressing on the screen and holding controls the gimbal panning up and down. It's been there from the start. It's useful if you're doing something similar to a crane shot where you're moving the camera up and you want a particular item to stay centered in the shot. Set your gimbal EXP low and you'll get a smoother shot.
The spot metering (yellow square with "x" in the corner)has also been there from the start and works only if you're in auto mode. Just select the area you want to set the exposure for, then use the AE lock so it doesn't change.
Center Point is new, and you can turn it on under the Guides setting - same place you find the grid lines. Not really sure how useful this is, as you can't turn it on in combination with any of the other guides. All it does is show the centre point of your framed shot. Better off to use the grids. You get more dynamic shots that way.
Not sure if I like the new position of the map. It's where I used to keep the histogram, so now I have to put that on the other side where the map used to be. (old dog...new tricks)
My only other concern is that when using manual camera settings, the screen slides off to the left. No problem...but the tab to swipe it back onto the screen is directly beside the RTH button. I'm using an IPad mini 2, so I don't know how it looks on anybody else's screen, but this could be a big problem if you're not paying attention.
Thanks for letting me ramble.

 

[robinb]

That looks more like point or spot metering for exposure (rather than using the whole picture to work out exposure) the "center point" I showed how to turn on in my pic is a composition guide. Like the grid lines.

Thanks Chris, think you are right.

 

[IceFireSoul]

I really hoped the new center point will be something like "point of interest". So it's just an animation of a dot.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Can you still get rid of the maps on the right by pressing it so its not in view during flight.

Yes, you can! You have to click the upper right corner of it, which reduces it to a tiny icon. You can also get rid of all the icons, and display only the video by dragging up on the screen, and then drag down to restore them (or vices versa---can't recall right now).

 

[GadgetGuy]

Unfortunately, dragging on the blue circle only works for gimbal elevation, just like sliding up and down on the screen on the far right, and just like using the left wheel. Dragging left and right on the blue circle does not rotate the aircraft to allow you to pan left or right with the camera. Too bad. Would have been cool!

Somehow, messing with the yellow exposure box also changed the focus during my live video recording, and the remainder of the video is now slightly out of focus, not good. Hopefully it was just a temporary glitch. It was getting dark, but that shouldn't affect focus at infinity.

Had a few video signal interruptions that quickly restored themselves. Might have been the non-Apple but Apple Certified 8" Lightning data cable, which I tried using again, as it looks better than the longer Apple cable all rolled up and hanging off.

 

[phantomnoobpilot]

first flight on the latest app version and I feel some discomfort already.

Took off from one of my usual spots in a suburban area and had to stare at a "no signal" screen for a good 20 seconds before the live feed popped up.

Wasn't like this on the older app version, which connected almost instantaneously.

Then the app told me that my RC signal is "poor" in red and warned me to be careful of long distance flights which i feel is absolutely rubbish.

Never had all this crap popping up before in the past.

I flew my usual route, turning in a circle and nope, no drops in connection and video feed was smooth as butter.

So now DJI updated their apps to feature false alarms?

 

[GadgetGuy]

I got the same messages you did, and then they went away, but the be careful of long distance flights and poor signal kept reappearing intermittently, replaced by a "good" signal. Flew anyway and took it out 1,600 feet and back with no issues. Could it be referring to solar flares?
One should always be careful of long distance flying anyway, but what is "long distance" when the official transmitter LOS range is up to 1.2 miles?

 

[BenDronePilot]

I got the same messages you did, and then they went away, but the be careful of long distance flights and poor signal kept reappearing intermittently, replaced by a "good" signal. Flew anyway and took it out 1,600 feet and back with no issues. Could it be referring to solar flares?
One should always be careful of long distance flying anyway, but what is "long distance" when the official transmitter LOS range is up to 1.2 miles?

Intermittent signal drops are likely caused by local interference from other RF sources you fly over. As well as possibly directional RF / WiFi signals. Usually pushing forward for a few seconds resolves that issue as you pass through it. Another cause is if you're flying too low and you don't have clean line of sight between your Phantom and your RC Transmitter. That momentary obstruction can cause a weak signal or outage as well. Don't forget to have your antennas on your controller oriented correctly too, which means both antennas facing up to the sky with the side of the antennas facing your Phantom 3.