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Jason asked: “I recently acquired a DJI Phantom 3 Pro. Wondering what apps you would recommend to fly the drone with. I have an iPad and an Android phone that I can use. The guy I bought the drone from upgraded the remote for an HDMI cord. he said that I could use a VR headset with it. Any information would be great.”
Jason, it really depends on how much more you’re willing to spend, and what you’re looking to do with your drones, but there is a pretty surprising amount of apps you can use with your Phantom.
The first one you should probably get is kind of a boring pick, it’s called Hover, it’s free, and it will give you wind speed and direction, and it will alert you of no-fly zones around you. Again, it’s not very exciting, but with all the new FAA rules and the mandatory registry you probably want to try to stay on the legal side of things.
If you don’t mind spending $20, Autopilot is a very cool app.
If you don’t mind spending $20, Autopilot is a very cool app. It allows you to fly autonomously or semi-autonomously, you can set up waypoints, altitude, speed, and camera setting and let your drone take off and capture amazing video. You can also use Autopilot to create panorama photos, or to control your drone using gestures.
Litchi is very cool too, it’s one of the apps that will let you use that VR headset you mentioned, but it also includes features like making your drone automatically track a target, so if you’re shooting a movie, or just want to really annoy a kid riding a bike, you can set your drone to chase after the moving target. Litchi can control the camera’s movements so you can get good cinematic shots. Unfortunately, Litchi is even more expensive than Autopilot at $25.
If you’re just starting out, you’ll probably be fine using just your standard DJI controller until you get used to it and want a new challenge, so if you don’t want to spend any more money, don’t worry, you can still enjoy your Phantom.