Mavic Air 2 - 48 Mpix Photogrammetry
Hi,
thiere's any news about the possibility to make 48Mpix photogrammetry mission?
I know this is not in your priority road map, but I'm very curious to know if there's any news about that.
Thanks a lot for your work.
Best regards
Denis
Comments
43 comments
We have an experimental function that can do it via a function + Inspection Component (growth plan required).
That's really interesting Jim. I'd love to test that function but it is not in my Premium plan. That´s the sad part of being an underpaid researcher in a neverending financial crisis-dominated country like Argentina! Haha! At the moment I'm using the "finger" function, consisting of setting the map capture mode to "none" and manually taking the pictures set in high resolution during the mission (yes, that's absolutely boring!).
There's any chance for the Premium user to have the possibility to use the MA2 with 48Mpix Mapping in a short time???
The Growth plan is a little bit expensive for my use at this time.
Thanks
Not likely.
Hi! Can I use this high resolution script "capture-media-.js" on the "Elite" plane?
No
The "Mavic Air 2 48MP" camera selection should be removed from the camera dropdown, since this feature does not exist.
maybe this can be done using the MA2 "8k hyperlapse" capturing feature....
Unfortunately it isn't that simple from a code standpoint. The same code for this drop-down is used in several other places where the selection is totally valid. I will look into it but it may be a while.
Just wonder, whether it's possible to first add a Camera Command setting camera to 48 mpix mode and then execute the mapping mission?
Is this some kind of API restriction that actually results in an experimental function rather than production?
DJI does not allow the intervalometer with 48mp.
The mission "map" doesn't work well with the 48 Mp mode. Very low confidence of orthophoto
What?
Hello,
I've been reading on the MA2 mapping functions relating to the 48mp requirements.
From what I read, there are two possible ways to get high resolution (48MP) mapping with Dronelink: a) function code (https://app.dronelink.com/dronelink/examples/function/1mXSLPoi3pWIBN4uVxns ). This requires a Enterprise/Growth subscription plan. b) triggered capture ability within maps. This is being voted in whether to be developed or not.
I don't fully understand what the triggered capture ability means. Does this mean that the user can manually take the photos while the drone is flying the mapping mission?
Is there a way to set the camera settings to 48MP instead of just single, regardless whether you are mapping or not?
Lastly, I noticed there are multiple "DJI Mavic Air 2" camera types to choose from in selecting the camera component. Is it safe to assume either one will work, only the GSD will be different, but the outputs of both will be the same (non-48MP)?
Thanks
Triggered capture means Dronelink is sending individual start capture commands every x seconds or y meters, as opposed to interval capture which is what the Map component currently uses.
Yes:
But again, you can't do this when the camera is in interval photos mode (DJI does not allow the combination which is the whole point of this thread).
Correct, but again, selecting this in the map component doesn't get you much right now because you can't use the map component to get 48mp photos. The camera type drop-down shows the option because it is a re-used piece of code that shows up in many other places (besides just maps).
Hi,
Thanks for your reply and answers, it is clear to me now.
I'm going to try to do what another user mentioned, by setting an "achieved approach" component of the Camera Photo Type to High Resolution and have the map capture mode set to none. I figured if I can fly slow enough, clicking the camera capture button over and over for 15min is not terribly hard to do, and it is better to overkill the # of photos and overlap than not having enough.
Certainly it would be great to have the triggered capture.
Thanks again.
...but at this point, if is possible to fly a mapping mission with a manual trigger for 48Mpix, I think is possible to byapass the problem simulating a timed manual single pressure (eg 3 sec) from the Dronelink or not?
....programmer reasoning :-)
Correct, it is possible, we just haven't worked on it (beyond the previously mentioned experimental function).
perfect!!! Is it possible for you to insert this function in the short term ???
As always, thanks for your work !!!! :-)
It is not prioritized right now, and you should be aware that if/when we do add it, it will probably be in the business plans only (starter and up).
Hello. Just checking in to see if there has been any movement on this topic. I would upgrade to the business level if it meant increasing the resolution from the 12 mp of the timed capture to the 48 mp photo. Thank you!
Darn, I wish I would have seen this 3 days ago. Because the 48Mp option shows in the application, I thought that it could actually be used for mapping. As a result, I bought a Mavic 2 Air for an affordable solution to get better resolution maps. Now I'm stuck with the Mavic Air 2, and 12Mp photos like I could already do with my Phantom 4 (Standard). If I would have know this, I would have purchased a Mavic 2 Pro, but didn't really want to since production is ending, and It's really more than I could fir in my budget.
Dronelink really needs to remove this from the Map Camera options!! I doubt I'm the only person with a limited budget to make this mistake (yes, I know it's not true 48Mp quality, but for what I've seen it does gove better models than the 12Mp). In addition to the cost of the Fly More bundle and DJI care refresh, I also have 4 more batteries on order through a grant obtained by a research partner that I can't cancel now! This is all volunteer/hobby "work" for mapping archaeological sites (large scale landscape mapping). Now I have an investment total of $1,650 dollars for a drone I can't use as expected because of an unusable option in Dronelink camera menu. I really didn't think Dronelink would put an unusable option in their menu!!!!
The only upside here is least know I know why on the project I flew yesterday the photos were all 12Mp instead of 48. I guess after the batteries arrive, I'll try to sell everything and recover as much of my investment I can, and maybe get a M2P (or just more batteries for my Phantom 4 Standard, and save the rest for a less expensive option in the future), Unless someone has a realistic work around for large mapping projects (the simple project I tried yesterday was over 1,000 photos).
Like Sebastian Sabate noted, being an underpaid researcher (or in my case unpaid) makes doing so many things with technology "difficult". :(
Re-read the thread, and it looks like the method that Sebastian Sabate uses may work (thanks for describing it Sebastian), though it might wear out the camera button, or maybe cause RMD with my finger (I've already suffered from "mouse finger" from manual photogrammetry point creation/clicking). Will give it a try on the 40 min. project that I learned about this issue from, and run a metronome on my phone the make sure I get good timing for a photo every 2 seconds. Will make days where I fly close to 4 hours really long, but that's probably a better option than spending 4-8 hours drive time and an hour or two hiking to the site twice to break up the button pushing over 2 days (or flying at lower altitudes to get greater resolution, but needing two days to complete the project).
I still think Dronelink needs to either implement an automated way to do this (soon), or completely remove the 48Mp option from the mapping menu so no one else makes the same stupid mistake I made.
Quick update - tested the camera in 48mp mode, and you can't take a photo every 2 seconds. Using a metronome to time your camera trigger, it needs to be set at 5 seconds (12 beats per minute). This means that the flying speed has to be reduced dramatically, which approximately doubles the time it takes to collect the data and makes the 48mp mode no faster than flying the project at 12mp at a height that gives the same GSD.
At this point, the only advantage to even attempting to use the 48mp mode would be for projects where you need the increased resolution and can't fly lower due to restrictions or obstacles. Now I really wish I could sell the Air 2, but after checking eBay prices, I'd lose about $350. Hopefully this thread will help others from making the same mistake!!
Just a quick update and an odd thank you. I decided to keep the Mavic Air 2 and have used it for several projects. I'm actually quite happy with the image quality (12Mp), and the lower cost batteries means I can fly longer/lower and get about the same resolution as a Mavic 2 Pro. A huge plus is that the battery drain on the iPad isn't nearly as fast as the M2P, which is also a huge plus. I have been able to use the 48Mp mode for manual photogrammetry where I would have been hesitant to fly the M2P.
So thank you to everyone at DroneLink!! If I had known the 48Mp mode didn't work automatically with with Dronelink, I wouldn't have gotten the MA2. As a result, I ended up getting the Air 2 and am quite happy with it, and definitely prefer using it compared to a M2P!! The longer battery life (I fly at 5,200 to around 7,000 feet above sea level) and the lower cost for batteries is a huge plus (especially in the heat we have had lately)!!!
Thanks again for a great product!
Hi Jim. I have noticed that when I set the camera photo type to "High Resolution", the shutter button on the screen is not working. Actually, even the slider on the top of that button shifts to "video" mode when in "high resolution" photo mode. Since I am experiencing some problems with the physical shutter button on my remote control, I was wondering if there´s a way to activate the on screen shutter button. Thanks
P.S.: I´m glad to hear that RAF found a way to keep his MA2. It´s a great tool for those of us with limited budget.
What version / OS are you using? Can you post a screenshot? It would probably be better to post this as a new thread since it isn't really related to maps.
We released an update today that allows you to convert any mission plan that takes photos (maps included of course) into an inspection component:
Once you have it as an inspection component, you can then select High Resolution:
Forgot to mention, this process can also be useful if you are looking for triggered capture in maps (i.e. stopping to take each photo to minimize motion blur / rolling shutter issues).
That's great news Jim! Tomorrow I'll give it a try! Thanks so much!
Sadly I won't be able to try this feature since I don't have a Growth account. It'd be great to know if anyone was able to obtain 48mpix using this update for MA2 using Android phone. Thanks!
Please sign in to leave a comment.