Active Track is a very popular feature. It has been massively improved with the DJI Mini 4 Pro, adding the capability to draw a path the aircraft will follow while tracking
This feature, renamed Active Track 360, has also been implemented in the Air 3
Over the past year, firmware updates have modified Active Track 360 several times. Many users are confused as the tutorials available on the web refer to the first implementation, so I will show you how the current version of Active Track works
Other related articles you may find interesting:
- Spotlight mode
- Point of Interest mode
- Obstacle avoidance with the Mini 4 Pro and Air 3
If you prefer to watch this as a video, you will find my YouTube version at the end
You can check here the prices for the different configurations of the DJI Mini 4 Pro and the ones for the DJI Air 3. It is an affiliate link, so I get a small commission in case of purchase
Target selection
Let’s start with the new way of selecting Active Track, introduced by a very recent update
On the left part of the DJI Fly app, there is now a new icon above the one for take-off. By clicking on it we enter Focus Track mode, which includes the three intelligent Flight Modes:
- Active Track
- Spotlight
- Point of Interest
All possible targets on the screen will be identified and a plus sign will appear over each of them to select one. The software recognizes if a target is a person or a car and shows the corresponding icon below. The options available when tracking people are slightly different from the ones for cars, as we will see later
Before this firmware update, we had to enable the automatic recognition of targets by going to the Control tab of Settings and selecting Subject Scanning. This option is no longer present, as it has been made redundant by the new Focus Track icon
Like in previous versions, an alternative way to access the three modes of Focus Track is to draw a box around the subject on the screen
In my experience selecting a target using the plus sign gives more precise results, especially with subjects in motion
Tracking a person
When entering Focus Track an icon shows the three modes. The one enabled by default is Spotlight
To enter Active Track we must click on the icon on the left, or press the C1 button of the remote controller, another new addition
When entering Active Track, the interface differs from the first version of the Mini 4 Pro and Air 3, confusing many users
A second window appears with three modes: Auto, Manual, and Parallel. Let’s see how they work
Manual
Manual mode is selected by default and is the one used on most occasions. In this mode, the aircraft will try to maintain a constant position compared to the target
On the bottom left, there is a double dial with a white circle that can be moved to specify the aircraft position compared to the target. In the middle, there is an icon of a person. By default, the icon is positioned behind the target but we can move it by dragging with a finger
I don’t find that tracking from behind particularly interesting. In this case, I have set the icon to track me from the front right and when I walk in a different direction the aircraft tries to regain the same relative position as soon as possible
While tracking the drone maintains a constant distance and height but we can use the two sticks of the remote controller to get closer or further away from the target or modify the elevation
When the target is a person the icon on the left has a double dial, the inner circle for a closer distance and lower elevation and the outer one for tracking from further away and at higher elevation
We can drag the icon to a different position in the same dial to have dynamic tracking while maintaining the same altitude. The aircraft will rotate to reach the new position relative to the target
If we drag the icon to a different position on the other dial the aircraft will reposition itself relative to the target while moving further away and raising in elevation
Focus Track Settings
In the Control tab of the settings, we can access the FocusTrack settings to fine-tune several values. We can select them independently for Person or Vehicle
In the case of a person, we can specify the horizontal distance from the target for the inner and outer circles. Further down we can do the same for the height
We have two options for Camera Motion, I suggest using Normal. We can then enable Near-Ground Flight in which case the aircraft can descend below 2 meters for an interesting point of view, especially when vlogging, however, some extra care is needed in case of obstacles at ground level
Parallel
When selecting Parallel mode the double wheel for dynamic tracking is not available
The aircraft tracks the target maintaining the same direction, rather than adjusting its position relative to the target
For example, if we set the camera orientation to the North, the aircraft will maintain the same direction while tracking. This mode is useful when we want to keep a constant background or the same direction relative to the sun even when the target changes direction
In my opinion, the name Parallel is a bit misleading, it should be called something like Background Lock or Fixed Direction
As you can see in this example, the drone follows this distinguished gentleman maintaining the camera in the path of the road. When I change direction, it follows me from the back, the side, or the front, but the camera keeps facing the road
Auto
In Auto mode, the aircraft tracks the subject while performing different moves like Hold, Dronie, Helix, and Circle, according to the environment. The resulting footage is a bit random, as we cannot plan the moves, but it can produce at times interesting unexpected results
Active Track 360 in the Mini 4 Pro and Air 3 is a big step forward for tracking compared to previous DJI models when following persons. A further improvement would be the possibility of further tuning the speed of the rotation. I hope it will be added by firmware updates
Tracking a vehicle
In the Focus Track Settings, when selecting Vehicle instead of Person, there is no choice for the minimum and maximum values for distance and height. We are suggested to use the control stick if needed
The dial to the left has only one circle, so the dynamic moves are limited compared to Person mode
I suggest enabling Fast for Camera Motion when following cars, as Normal tends to lose the target even at a relatively low speed
The same three tracking modes are available, Normal, Auto, and Parallel
Sadly I found something annoying, at least for users in Europe
When trying to track passing cars, most of the time I receive a message stating that due to European regulations, the aircraft must remain within a 50-meter range from the target. This makes it hard to track moving vehicles
The only option is to select the target when is not moving, but even in this case, we can only track from close range and low speed
A good alternative is to use Spotlight mode, which offers excellent possibilities for dynamic tracking