Is Shutter Delay Configurable in Pix4D Capture?

PIX4Dcapture PIX4Dcapture Questions/Troubleshooting
1

The two parameters involved in controlling frontlap are the UAV speed and the delay between when the photos are taken.  How fast that you can take photos can be variable depending on the drone model you are flying and the speed of the memory card.  Is there a setting in Pix4D capture that allows you to adjust the delay or is that minimum delay fixed based on the drone model you select? (I’m talking “fast trigger mode” of course.)  If it’s fixed does anyone know what the minimum delay is for the Phantom 4 Pro?  1 second? 2 seconds? 2.5 seconds?

 

2

Hi Jeff,

There is no setting that would allow users to directly adjust the (minimum) delay in the app.

The app automatically computes the maximum speed the drone can have for a given overlap and flight altitude. The Fast speed corresponds to 100% of the maximum speed. 

To clarify, on iOS, the images are not taken based on the timelapse but rather on the predefined locations. This means that the app sends a signal to the drone once it reaches the location where the images should be taken. 

Best, 

3

Blaz,

There are four parameters that are interrelated in the mission:

Frontlap

Drone Speed

Delay between each shutter actuation

Altitude Above Ground (ABG)

For example, if you increase frontlap, you have to either reduce drone speed or decrease delay between shutter actuation.  If you increase altitude, you can increase speed (all other parameters unchanged) due to the slower movement of the ground in the frame of the photo. Etc, etc etc.

In your reply you state “The app automatically computes the maximum speed the drone can have for a given overlap and flight altitude.”  It would be good to know more detail as to what you are referring to, HOW the max speed is computed.

I would guess the formula Pix4D uses to determine “max speed” is based on how quickly the camera can take photos.  This can be affected by things such as memory card speed.  So of the parameters above, I would guess your formula uses a constant value for delay between shutter actuation.  Can you confirm this?  And if so, what is the constant value, in seconds, for the Phantom 4 Pro drone (X4S camera)

Your formula, using that constant would then calculate the speed of the ground movement given the altitude and thereby determine the max speed based on a minimum required delay between shutter actuation.

So if the shutter actuation delay cannot be adjusted by the user of your software, what constant value are you using in your max. speed calculation?

Thank you

 

4

The speed of the drone is calculated based on the selected overlap, GSD (height), camera model and the triggering interval as described in this article: https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/202557479

If you want to calculate the maximum speed of the drone for the specific configuration you need to take into account the minimum triggering time that is defined for the camera/ drone. For example, the minimum interval for DJI Phantom 4 Pro is 2 s. 

As a side note, we do not take into account the speed of the memory card. 

Best,