Like most recent DJI models, the Mini 5 Pro supports hyperlapse with four modes. But one of them is much more powerful and flexible than the others: Waypoint mode
It is the one I use most of the times. I recently made an article about hyperlapses with the Mini 5 Pro. Waypoint mode deserves a detailed one of its own
Other related articles you may find interesting:
Waypoint Missions
In Waypoint mode, we create missions based on two or more points to establish a precise path. For each point, the drone’s position, elevation, camera orientation, gimbal roll, gimbal tilt, and zoom level are stored in memory. The software will handle the smooth transition between points
A mission can be saved and executed at different times of day, under varying lighting conditions, or across different seasons
We rarely need many points; in most cases, I only use two or three. You can see examples of missions made with no more than four points in my article about hyperlapses with the Mini 5 Pro
Here I will show you a mission with more points, adding several variations to each point, including some new functionalities of the Mini 5 Pro
After selecting Hyperlapse in the Photo/Video menu, a secondary menu appears on the left with the four Hyperlapse modes. I choose the one at the bottom, Waypoints. A small window prompts us to Set Waypoint
To set the first point, I fly to the desired location, orient the camera to frame the target, and tap the first icon to the left
I want the move to start in a straight diagonal line to the right of this village, so I advance for about 50 meters, and set the second point
I move ahead an additional 50 meters in the same direction, and rotate the camera 45 degrees to the left. Then, I rotate the gimbal approximately 25 degrees left so the aircraft leans into the turn, similar to a real airplane. This is where I can place the third point
The aircraft will first fly straight from point one to point two, then initiate the turn
I advance by 50 more meters, set the gimbal roll to zero, rise in altitude by 10 meters, and tilt the gimbal down by 13 degrees. I set point four here
I keep moving forward, ascend by 10 more meters, tilt the gimbal down by another 5 degrees, orient the camera to the right by 28 degrees for a gentle curve, and rotate the gimbal to the right by 20 degrees. I set point five here
I advance by 50 meters and bring the gimbal rotation back to zero. I set point six here, where the curve will end
Finally, I advance by 100 meters, raise in altitude by 10 meters, and set the last point
Settings
After entering the points, I tap the three dots on the right side of the window to access the mission’s global settings
The first one to the left is Sequence, with two options:
- In Normal, the shooting starts from the first point
- In Reverse, it starts from the last point. This can save battery time in certain situations
Interval sets the time, in seconds, between photos. Assuming that we want a short movie of about 12 seconds, we can choose 2, 3, or 4 seconds. The interval affects the speed of the moving elements in the scene; the longer the interval, the faster the move
It also affects the time required to capture a set number of photos. For drones in general, I aim for 300 photos for a hyperlapse of about 12.5 seconds
At a 3-second interval, it will take 15 minutes to capture 300 shots. This is compatible with the Mini 5 Pro’s battery life. A 3-second interval works well when the moving elements in a scene are people walking, cars, or other vehicles
Unlike the other modes, Waypoint has no speed setting. In this mode, the aircraft speed is automatically adjusted based on the distance traveled and the length of the short movie. The longer the distance, the faster the aircraft will fly
Saving Missions
A very powerful functionality of Waypoint mode is the ability to store each mission in memory
By tapping the small icon in the top-left corner of the window, we can save and name the mission we just created
It is then possible to retrieve it and perform the same mission under different lighting conditions or in other seasons. It is also useful to experiment with different settings until we get the perfect result
Shutter Speed
The most important variable in hyperlapses is shutter speed, which controls the amount of motion blur. To simplify, we can consider 1” as the most suitable shutter speed value for drone hyperlapses. As you can see, at this speed, the motion is perfectly smooth
For such a long shutter speed, an ND filter set is required. I use: the Freewell all-day six-pack for Mini 5 Pro. It offers a wide range of ND values, from ND 16 to ND 1000, suitable for all light conditions for video, photo, and hyperlapses
With the Mini 5 Pro Fly More combo DJI offers a set of three ND filters, with values suitable for video; however, they are not strong enough for hyperlapses or photography
To show you the importance of shutter speed and motion blur, I have first performed this mission with auto exposure, with a shutter speed of about 1/50”. As you can see, the cars’ motion is very jumpy, quite painful to watch
This is why for hyperlapses, auto exposure should be avoided at all costs. We should rather use a shutter speed as close to 1” as possible, with the aid of ND filters
I waited for better lighting conditions and added an ND1000 filter. As you can see, the car’s motion is buttery smooth and much more pleasing to the eyes
Modifying a Mission
When using Waypoint mode for video, all the parameters for each point forming a mission can be modified. This makes it an extremely powerful and flexible tool
Sadly, this is not possible with Waypoint Hyperlapse, but we can improve a mission by creating a new one and using the previous one as a drawing board
In this case, there is a strong imbalance in brightness between the sky and the ground elements. To correct this, I will angle the gimbal downward so the sky occupies a smaller part of the frame. I would also opt for gentler curves, reduced gimbal rotation, and fewer points
I start a new mission. I frame the first point slightly to the right of the village, but closer than before, to reduce the turn. I tilt down the gimbal to include a smaller portion of the sky in the frame. I set the first point
I advance, orient the camera slightly left of the village for a gentle curve, rotate gently the gimbal to the left, increase the altitude, and tilt the gimbal down. I set the second point
I advance to the third point, rotate the camera slightly to the right, aiming at the center of the village, rotate the gimbal gently to the right, increase the altitude, and tilt the gimbal down. I set the third point
Finally, I advance and tilt down the gimbal to set the fourth and last point
Now the rotation starts immediately, the curves are less pronounced, and the motion is flawless. The transitions are smoother, as is often the case when using fewer points
The difference in luminosity is reduced, as the frame includes only a small part of the sky. It is now easier to achieve the correct exposure
The Mini 5 Pro has another new functionality: the Med Tele mode for improved quality when zooming in up to 2x. To show how it works, I repeat the same mission, and at the final point, I set a 1.5x zoom
I am happy with the result