'Fixing' a location in the air to shoot time-lapse photos and vids

jrevanssr · Apr 17, 2020

I'm getting ready to build a new house here in Texas and I would like to use my H+ for time-lapse photos and videos of the construction. I plan to shoot 4 to 8 times per day (or more, depending on construction activity and/or weather) for about 10 to 12 months (it's a big house).

What mode, settings, or whatever, do I use to return to the same spot (elevation, latitude & longitude) every time I go airborne to shoot the photos and videos.

If this is a dumba$$ question, I apologize but I'm really a newbie and seriously technologically challenged at 78 years old.

Any help and/or advice will be sincerely appreciated.

Sureshot · Apr 17, 2020

I use the CCC function to fly to (or past) the desired position.
I record video, choose some landmarks, and get a frame grab at that point.
GPS location should vary by less than 10ft over the time of the project.
If you just want a quick photo, the H will just stop and hover at the last waypoint.
The first shots were done with an F450 (Old Shakey)
The Typhoon H shots start at 53 seconds in.

Sureshot · Apr 17, 2020

Here is a CCC mission setup:

Ty Pilot · Apr 17, 2020

A very low-tech but somewhat accurate way if you just doing photos would be to select locations around the property where you could puts stakes in the ground that would be left for the duration of the construction. At each marker you would have a specified height, so you would take-off, fly to altitude straight up and snap the pick. you could then just walk to the next location, fly to the new point at a low enough altitude to get over the next marker, rise to it's prescribed height and so on.

I found that over time, the height of the waypoints in CCC can vary quite a bit so if your doing it over months the accuracy for photos will be reduced. However for video like Sureshot shows CCC is quite good.

Sureshot · Apr 17, 2020

Another thing to note:
However you position the H, use land marks to frame the scene.
I have found that the compass yaw angle can drift over the duration of a project.

Sureshot · Apr 17, 2020

Just for fun.
12 hours of stills at 5 second intervals rendered at 24FPS.
Cheap action cam with a battery bank plugged in.

9 days of the above location rendered at 8x speed.

JD Flyer · Apr 29, 2020

The program UAV toolbox is what I'm using on my Typhoon H. It allows you to save edit and save a CCC route on your PC, so the drone can fly the exact route everytime.

I've used it a few times and really like it. If you search the term up on the forums there's some really strong and helpful information. I'd strongly advise looking into it or trying it.

DoomMeister · Apr 29, 2020

JD Flyer said:
The program UAV toolbox is what I'm using on my Typhoon H. It allows you to save edit and save a CCC route on your PC, so the drone can fly the exact route everytime.

I've used it a few times and really like it. If you search the term up on the forums there's some really strong and helpful information. I'd strongly advise looking into it or trying it.

There is a beta version of UAV Toolbox for the H+, but it does not have CCC capability as of yet. @Tuna had been working on it, but his H+ is presently out of commission and his day job is taking time away from working on it.

Simply put, UAV Toolbox is not an option for an H+/C23 system right now.

Tuna · May 7, 2020

I've just this week received a replacement H+, which means I should at least be able to complete testing on the H+ version of UAV Toolbox.

However, the design of the software for the H+ is not very helpful when it comes to editing CCC routes - it behaves differently from the H480. This means I cannot promise at this stage that UAV Toolbox will support CCC routes on the H+.

If you like the app for its other facilities (map reviews, replay, sharing to websites), please do buy it for that - but don't expect that CCC planning will be added right now.

aw. pier · Jul 21, 2020

@Tuna first i want to say thank you for all the great work you do!! Im not a tech guy but could it be that your'e looking at the wrong uas to base "uavtoolbox for hplus" upon? You base and compare it to the 2016 H, while i think the Hplus is a H520 dumbt down.. could it be that the secret to make the hplus work with a aftermarket app is to figure out how they made it work on the 520? You probs look at it or its not the problem but just wanted to share my thoughts on the matter

Tuna said:
I've just this week received a replacement H+, which means I should at least be able to complete testing on the H+ version of UAV Toolbox.

However, the design of the software for the H+ is not very helpful when it comes to editing CCC routes - it behaves differently from the H480. This means I cannot promise at this stage that UAV Toolbox will support CCC routes on the H+.

If you like the app for its other facilities (map reviews, replay, sharing to websites), please do buy it for that - but don't expect that CCC planning will be added right now.