DJI Waypoints Tutorial 2023 + 4 Methods to Use for Epic Drone Videos!

Waypoints is the ultimate intelligent flight mode on DJI drones. This tutorial demonstrates how to use waypoints in 2023 and provides the 4 best reasons to use this feature in your projects.
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[@stanleyleary]

Another follow-up video to this one would be the advantages of the longer battery life for use in timelapse. The part that would be cool is to use the waypoints for the daytime timelapse and blend it with a nighttime timelapse. By the way, I love all your posts. You have a great delivery and, most of all, concise but at a mellow rate for understanding. For a 15-second time-lapse video, you can use 360 frames at 24 frames per second. The interval between photos depends on how fast the clouds are moving. For example, you can use a 1-second interval for moving shadows and a 2-3-second interval for moving storm clouds. Here are some other time-lapse intervals: 1-3 seconds for sunsets, sunrises, and crowds 15-30 seconds for construction 1 second for moving traffic You can calculate the time-lapse duration by dividing the available images by the frames per second. For example, if you have 100 pictures and 20 frames per second, the time-lapse duration will be 5 seconds.

[@swilson317]

Agreed! I appreciate the pacing compared to some who seem like they have ingested just a little too much caffeine! :-)

[@vonheise]

I watch a lot of channels, some for the subject matter first, some for photograpy or editing quality. However for tutorials, i always check your channel first for all the above! You make it complete, but so simple a child, or old man can do it without sounding condescending Thank you.

[@east.suffolkdronephotography]

Thanks Russ, I especially liked your detail on waypoints being used when flying close to that railway bridge. It makes such huge sense! ✅

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

I hadn't considered the benefit you mentioned for #3, but it turns out this is probably the MOST compelling advantage to using waypoints for me, because I SO often find those little inadvertent finger slips/twitches that disrupt the 'cinematic' visual experience when I try to put the clip into project. So taking the time to define a route with waypoints will give me a much more usable clip and save me time during editing, trying to creatively work around those little gaps in smoothness. Great stuff! Thanks Russ!

[@sutv6754]

Russ funny you should say in the end about being inspired. Before you even said it I was indeed being inspired. I have been flying passionately for years now and can't wait to master waypoints. A whole new world. For what ever reason I was so busy with flying flying flying, I never delved in to it. Hallelujah. Thank you.

[@Dugar1]

Wowwww thats the hospital. Absolutely beautiful

[@chillimocha]

Very well explained, thank you for making this video

[@seaninnocentukomba9408]

Thank you, this was so helpful. I just got my first drone, mavick mini 4 pro and I definitely will be making use of this knowledge.

[@photos-fera7392]

This is the best video I have ever seen on waypoints. I have been wanting to do day/night transitions and did not know how to use waypoints. You clarified this with ease! Incredibly done man!!!!!

[@stevepaterson2]

Great video and thanks for sharing it. I spent some time working with the Waypoint POI function and found it to be different to the ‘normal’ POI implementation. At first I thought there was a bug because there is no option to draw a box around a Waypoint POI and for the software to then determine the POI’s GPS coordinates. Instead, the Waypoint POI is the GPS point of the drone at the time the POI is captured. So, if you want the GPS point of the target, you have to first fly over it and then manually set the target’s altitude relative to the take-off point. A bit clunky but hopefully DJI will provide the other ‘draw a box’ option in a future release.

[@OldManTomJulio]

Waypoints was the NUMBER ONE reason I went with an Air 3 over the Mini Pro. Great vid explaining this! Get the Air 3 in the mail this week!

[@icculusup1600]

Great video again. One thing I wanted to hear though that I have heard 1 or 2 people talk about in the past is how to get smoother waypoints especially in hyperlapse. Waypoints can be jerky too and it’s good to keep some principles in mind of direction, pitch, etc. so as to avoid.

[@markdjolly]

Appreciate your insights - and humility when explaining precise flight paths!

[@BelizeByDrone]

That is beyond cool. Just got my first drone and I am blown away at the technology advancement. I had no idea this was so much fun.

[@photos-fera7392]

Thanks!

Great video. Thank you.

[@kdkcphotos]

Thank you for a great video. This helped me see the value of Way points. I'm going to start incorporating them in to my clips.

[@axxonpl]

Excellent video, it's a shame DJI didn't make this feature available in the Air 2S. Anyway thanks for another great content.Take care 🖐

[@matthewhowell4065]

3rd party fly app.

[@pacificnwaerialviews]

It would be cool to get that AR layout for way points, like they did for RTH.

[@usadroneflyer]

Waypoint are really the way to go sometimes but I don't use them enough. Maybe I will someday... Thanks for sharing! 👍#620

[@BrandonAaskov]

Active track is cool but waypoints are infinitely smoother. For doing solo video production or vlog-style shots, waypoints allow you to move through the shot naturally. You’re an awesome presenter by the way, great video.

[@mobilehomer7582]

Russ, GREAT video. Easy to understand. Now, how about one for offline programming? And then another for mission editing. Thanks, Ken

[@MrView17]

After watching so many videos finally I came across your video that explains way point so clearly thank you very much :)

[@ramroddrone5449]

Hi Dave, Australia here I must’ve missed this video previously and just discovered it. Thanks very much for your detail and time to do this video.

[@kaibabbauza4265]

Love that you are reppin other content creators gear! Such an amazing community.

[@JennGroverPhotography]

I dont do this, enough. Tha ks for the reminder.

[@theeglobalcitizen]

Can we start a petition to have waypoint level precision in waypoint hyper-lapse mode on DJI drones so that hyperlapses are as repeatable as normal waypoint video flying please 🥲

[@IslandDigital]

Great job. Just an observation, I am from NY USA , so I’m always told “ Your from NY , I hear your accent”. Haha. Well listening to your voice , to me you sound exactly like Alex Lifeson from Rush . Same speaking voice . Pretty cool ! All the BEST , keep the videos coming. Love WAYPOINTS ! Glad we don’t have to use 3rd party for it anymore.

[@steveprice3096]

I really appreciate your thorough videos - they are VERY helpful! - How precise is the MAVIC 3 Pro while using Waypoints? If I construct a mission flying 6 feet above the ground on a path that is 6 feet wide through trees, can the drone repeat that path with confidence or could it be 1,2,3,4 feet off to the side or altitude of the last flight? Also, if I am constructing a lengthy mission (40+ waypoints?) can I create 5 or ten waypoints and then come back another day and add more waypoints to my saved mission? And if I did would I take off each day from the same spot as on day 1?

[@vortigern19]

Thanks you answered my question about moving to a different start point. Take of position is important.

[@Mowgi]

I've been trying to find the way points button on my Air 2s, even google doesn't seem to help, just recommendations of a separate app. Next time I pull my drone it I'll see if it's where yours is. Thanks for the information, mate.

[@tuna6691]

get litchi. its far superior to what dji has done.

[@johnnie10d]

Excellent instructional video! I don't comment much but I felt I had to on this one. Thank you!

[@williamcampbell7329]

Great video. DJI has done a great job of making waypoint flight simple. Return to Home after flight completion is a great feature. I film while on my motorcycle so its easy to launch and forget and ride through the waypoint scene and when the mission is complete, it auto lands. Very helpful.

[@turntechsolutions3061]

Thanks, Russ, for the great tips/reminders. Sorry about the smoke 😮‍💨

[@droningwesternaustralia]

Great video Russ I remember a number of years ago the dji said it wouldn't give waypoints to mini 1's and mini 2's because they don't have obstacle avoidance (and yet P3S had waypoints). At least there are 3rd party apps that offer waypoint and other features, DJI is now playing catch up

[@PeteCattell]

Hi Russ … great video as always. You say at the end that you will update the information on what drones support waypoints, so I guess you need to add the Mini 4 Pro now :)

[@bobster_883]

Loved the video dude. Definitely helped can’t wait to give it a go with my new Mini 4 Pro. Happy Flying!

[@Henry_Churches]

Awesome tutorial! Thank you!

[@RonaldBrown59]

Thanks for a great waypoints tutorial. I'm glad DJI is starting to take waypoints seriously on their consumer drones. Thanks for sharing Russ.

[@aloeisthestuff9622]

It's nice of Litchi to show them the way.

[@Harry-lmao]

One thing that needs to be improved is the possibility to modify the gimble hight later. Once it's set incorrectly the complete recording is a mess and the mission needs to be reconfigured and restarted again which consumes battery power and is annoying. Same for waypoints on hyperlapse. Great disadvantage

[@tuna6691]

get Litchi.

[@Harry-lmao]

​@@tuna6691that's a relatively new app. Let's see if it works perfectly on my phone and supports my drone. Thanks for the hint.

[@ryanchristiansen]

I feel embarrassed... how did I not know this. This is so good. I tried to fly my drone under a bridge in one of my videos and I just couldn't do it... so stressful. Now that I know about waypoints, I have to explore it. Thanks for the thorough video on this.

[@jaxskyGabbo]

Thanks for the video will practice those on my next fly!

[@philkidd]

Another great and informative video Russ!

[@dingoenruta]

Always a great source for drone related information, thanks 🙌🙌🙌

[@spowell793]

Thanks, doing waypoints today very informative.

[@BillRau2152]

Really great video. I learned a lot. Thank You Russ.

[@Accolades70]

Great Explanation of Waypoints. - Cheers

[@skycam509]

Hey Russ, thanks for the video I didn't think I needed. I've been flying as long as you, and have never used waypoints. Now that you explained some use case scenarios, I can't wait to try it out!

[@WiljanWiljan]

Would love to prepare the mission on my pc and transfer the files to the drone. Also for the mavic 3 pro we need mission to also use the 7x zoom

[@barrystrickland6527]

Outstanding video!

[@VincentMartinFree]

Very good Russ. I always learn something about my drones and how to use them. Even though I have all of the Mavic series drones, I don't fly much but when I do I truly enjoy it and I learn a lot 😊

[@deanjericevic8912]

Interesting & well-presented Russ! I would have thought that that metal bridge would cause havoc with your signal lock between the controller & the drone?

[@tonywahab3523]

Great tutorial. Thanks Russ!

[@shanantana1912]

Awesome! Great work I enjoy your videos

[@mustanghuey89]

Great video I haven't as if yet used the waypoint feature yet, but I intend to for sure try some crazy stuff!

[@morturn]

That’s a super helpful video, many thanks for sharing it.

[@aloeisthestuff9622]

I have been having Inaccuracies between the Drones GPS and the Maps used by DJI. Some times close, other times up to 50 yards of in any direction. Puzzled for sure. Most would never notice.

[@GertKlein]

Bisher gibt es wenige Artikel zu Wegpunkten, vor allem in Deutsch. Danke für die Erläuterungen.

[@mark35mi]

Terrific technology. Great video. Thanks!!! ps... the Mini 4 Pro has waypoints?!? Brilliant!!!

[@dgibbsfl]

DJI suggests doing dolly zooms and POI drifts using waypoints. I was hoping to see one or more examples of that.

[@patfish3291]

The mini 4 Pro gets waypoints ...and with apps like litchy you can use it also on older mini drones

[@SteveMartinUSA]

This is fantastic--I'm so EXCITED! Did the mission get stored "on the drone" or in DJI Fly? I'm guessing in DJI Fly (since the "RTH On Signal Lost" is an option). Does the remote have to be in range at all times? Can I use the same waypoint mission on another drone?

[@louiekiwi]

So I'm guessing the waypoint is directly under the drone ? Thanks for the video.

[@mdel.e9234]

thanks. so if you move sideway move to another waypoints, it will move the same sideway but in smooth way.

[@MrLentourloupe]

A lot of good ideas

[@ManleyArts]

Just when I was starting to get excited about my new mini 3 Pro...

[@johnnyyu68927]

Love the Waypoint function eventually installed into Air series drone, this is a very useful function for professional works or for creativities works~ very detailed explains how it works, thank you~

[@sarimento1]

Great stuff!! Thanks!!

[@kriegersdrone]

Yes Canadian fires 😅 the most one are man made we didn’t have a summer this year without smoke

[@frankie-gaming]

Do you think this functionality is gonna be permanetly gatekept from the Mini 3 Pro for the Mini 4? I've been finding the time it takes trying to use a hyperlapse waypoint really frustrating to deal with, especially with only 1 battery at the moment

[@Tom-iw8mc]

Great video

[@herbsearth]

Can you offer a similar workflow for using Litchi with a DJI 2S? That is while in flight vs a preplanned flight.

[@peterhofstaetter1239]

Mini 4 Pro now has waypoints

[@StephenProffitt]

Should I assume then, you need to be in sort of the same area to start a saved Waypoint... like how far away can you be from waypoint 1 etc.?

[@Gunner11763]

Can you draw it on the maps instead of the way you done it in this video??

[@covanfamilyadventures1890]

So did you use the Air 2S for this video or a different model?

[@canduenvironmental]

Hey, Russ. Great video! Is there any way to transfer a saved waypoint mission to another drone? For instance, take a 2 year old mission from an Air 2s and load it onto an Air 3?

[@51Drones]

I believe there is a way, I just do not know how to do it. I will do some research.

[@jeremyscloset]

Twas a good question

[@dhoser9296]

Very nice. Have one question. If you start a waypoint mission and the aircraft loses connectivity will it finish the mission or abort it and return home?

[@Mikeleeschultz]

Thanks!!

[@choochooboss]

Russ, two questions, I work with another drone pilot and we are setting waypoint in a location that we have a wavier from the FAA on a class D airport. First question, we have not been able to save the waypoints when we set them, and second, we were wondering if you can share from on Smart controller to another on, so that if one of us were to not be able to shoot the construction, then the other would be able to make the flight. Thanks.

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

Awesome 👍

[@peterlyonsphoto]

Best video on this subject I’ve ever seen. Brief, clear, super useful. Thank you!

[@dougjohnston2298]

Which drones does this work with? Air 2S? If so, do I need to update my firmware?

[@tikoy1955]

Great video! That looks easy and lots of fun. I’ll probably need a newer drone as I have original Mavic Pro.

[@kurkista]

Hi, thanks for putting this together. I tried to find out which drones or RCs offer waypoints, but couldn't find clear info on this. Would you know if waypoints need to be enabled somewhere in the settings or does the eg. DJI Mini 3 just NOT support this feature? in other words is this Pro only? Cheers!

[@dr_fite]

Thanx for this video. Does someone know how to change waypoints? Let's assume, I planned a mission with two waypoints and want to fly the exact route backwards. How can I make the first wp to become the last?

[@aredareigas36]

Thanks for a great video!!! Question: With the Mavic 3 E would it be possible to get the drone to take 360 panorama sequence at each waypoint?

[@davidpe76]

I was confused when you said that you need to launch the drone from the same spot if you want to use a saved waypoint on different days and capture the same results ?. I thought the whole point of setting the waypoints was that the drone flies to the 1st waypoint using the saved gps location, in which case where you launch it from should not matter ?, or am I missing something.

[@carolinaaerialvisuals]

I was thrown off by this statement as well. I've never heard this. Something for me to research.

[@dreamprints]

He’s talking about the altitude only, not the exact same location. You wouldn’t want to stand in the back of a truck to start a mission if you were standing on the ground when you first recorded it. Threw me off first too.

[@51Drones]

The altitude is dependent upon the launch point.

[@david_allen1]

I was too. And it's quite surprising and disappointing as it seems to imply that saving a waypoint only saves the latitude and longitude of a location, but not the altitude. And if you want to use the same flight path for a particular location over several seasons to show changes in the location with time, that means you'd effectively have to remember months back what altitude you started your flight at. I haven't used waypoints except just to try them out in my back yard, but if this is true, seems like it will make using them more tedious than I thought they were.

[@davidpe76]

@@51Drones But if you are making a waypoint(s) in an area where the terrain is relatively level is this still an issue ?. I can understand trying to launch the same Waypoint flight from an area with large deviations in height (mountains etc) . I plan on setting up a Waypoint flight for a new Icerink construction near me and would hate to have to keep notes of what elevation I launch from to start the waypoint recording over time

[@Dugar1]

Love it

[@marvinesguerra6834]

thanks. during flight mission, it will move smoothly where you save or position the camera, eventhough you fly forward to avoid some obstacle just like in late video to look for professional?

[@alexis1959]

Yes another great video - my Mini 3 Pro DOES have Waypoints and I use it regularly to monitor the progress of a friends' house being built. One point I wanted to ask is this. As you rightly suggest, I always repeat my saved route from the exact same point and height (sitting in my car parked at the exact same point every time) yet there seems to be variations in the route taken especially the HEIGHT. Do atmospheric variations (i.e. pressure) be the likely reason (say I saved the route on a sunny warm day and repeating the route on a cloudy cold day). Your advise would be appreciated.

[@takeoff1999]

Probably no influence, coz height is taken from GPSinformation which isn't based on atmospheric pressure.

[@aloeisthestuff9622]

I have been having Inaccuracies between the Drones GPS and the Maps used by DJI. Some times close, other times up to 50 yards of in any direction. Puzzled for sure. Most would never notice.

[@takeoff1999]

@@aloeisthestuff9622 Flying drones for 4 years, started with Spark, then Mini2, Mini3pro n now Mini4pro. NEVER experienced that kind of problems.

[@Laygtraveller]

Can we do perfect straight lines with waypoints? as opposed to curves

[@phoenixr6811]

Cool video and the hospital is done 😊but it looks so lonely by itself 😮

[@MusicFed]

not sure I understand the point you make at 7:06. so what happens if I program a waypoint trip when I am not even flying, and not at the location? I thought those were absolute coordinates including altitude, and they could be replicated no matter where I launched from. I am planning some real estate waypoint flights and I planned them on the remote drawing the pattern and all the parameters. are you saying the altitude parameters will be all off? thanks

[@zeebs101]

Stupid question, but can we have 1 wavepoint? We will be sending the drone up to record for a specific time,and will be bring it back down for some changes in the scene/props. Afterwards we need the drone to go back to that exact position where it was. We will be repeating this process for few times. Any advise will be helpful.

[@biglittlebirdie450]

Can you add the waypoints directly on the map ?

[@benaven1786]

Thanks for this vid .. I would also like to know if it will really continue the mission on signal lost

[@LetsG0BrandonFJB]

Can u set it up a waypoint mission before u launch

[@360PictureUK]

Great video, as always! Waypoints are fantastic, couple of questions, if you select a moving POI will it track the POI whilst carrying out the waypoints and can you record a route and then ask it to perform it backwards?

[@ecotonemurphy1197]

Is it possible to have a waypoint mission that will take a panorama sphere at each waypoint?