Let us orbit. Let us automate. Let Us Drone. I just climbed to the top of the mountain and I want to get a 360 degree aerial shot of where I am but my hands are freezing!

Ok, I lied, I'm actually sitting at my computer desk and it's about 72 degrees in here. If I was in the opening scenario, I would definitely choose the Point of Interest (POI) intelligent flight mode to get that cinematic shot. Read on to learn why and how you too can get beautiful orbit shots.

What is the Point of Interest (POI) intelligent flight mode?

Ah, good ol' POI, the flight mode that makes circling your neighbors house a breeze. Wait…what? Ok, maybe your neighbor's house shouldn't be the set point (it really shouldn't), but the POI intelligent flight mode allows your drone to orbit around a fixed object.

It can be difficult to get smooth footage of an object that you want to fly in a circle around as you have to manage all of the stick and camera controls.

The Point of Interest intelligent flight mode will allow the drone to maintain its preset distance away from an object while automatically orbiting it at the speed you have set.

Be sure to check out my recommended gear!

You can adjust the direction and speed of orbit using the slider controls on the screen of the DJI GO 4 app, as well as having complete control of the sticks at all times.

Having control of the yaw, height, pitch, and gimbal tilt allow you to get creative with the shots you get.

The drone doesn't even have to be facing the direction of the POI you have set, which opens up the door for many more amazing cinematic possibilities.

Which drones have POI?

Not every DJI drone is able to use the Point of Interest intelligent flight mode. Here is a table of which drones have POI. Keep in mind that future firmware updates may affect which drones are able to use POI.

When to use POI

We've already discussed what the Point of Interest intelligent flight mode is, but why use it?

Let me start off by saying that there is no defined cut and dry script for when to use each intelligent flight mode. DJI and other's will give you examples of when a flight mode would come in handy, but I don't want my words (or theirs) to lead you into having a narrow-minded mindset.

What I'm saying is that I want you to get creative and see what you can do with POI.

So, when could you use POI? My opening scene is a great example, in my humble opinion. Using POI to really highlight a target (someone on a mountain top) while getting smooth footage of the surrounding area always turns out great.

If you were that person on the mountain you could even have the drone facing out so the shots captured would give the viewer a glimpse of what you saw and experienced.

Shots to get when using POI

You don't have to stick with automated flight path that the drone will when you activate POI. Here are some of my favorite shots to get when using POI.

Spin up: While the drone is orbiting around the POI, gradually raise the height of the drone while simultaneously increasing the radius to get that “toilet-bowl” effect.

Face out: As the name implies, simply point the nose of the drone in the opposite direction of the POI to get a nice 360-degree view of the surroundings. You see this shot a lot in movies when they want to show the actor/actresses first person point-of-view.

Down and in: Start with the drone up around 100ft facing the opposite direction of the POI, and slowly pan toward the POI as you descend with the drone.

Tilt up: Start with the drone's camera facing down and slowly tilt the gimbal up to reveal the POI. This is great if you are in a place with beautiful scenery.

How to use POI

Step 1

Before even launching your drone, observe your surroundings to ensure that there are no obstructions around the object that you intend to orbit.

Step 2

To access the Point of Interest intelligent flight mode, the first thing you need to do is get that drone up in the air.

Step 3

Once launched, switch the drone into P-mode if you haven't already done so. Remember that you can't access the intelligent flight modes unless you are in P-mode.

Step 4

Make sure that the drone is at least 15ft off of the ground. You won't be able to use POI if the drone is under that 15ft height.

Step 5

Bring up the intelligent flight mode menu by tapping on the RC icon on the left side of the screen.

Step 6

Scroll through until you find the Point of Interest intelligent flight mode. Tap on that.

Step 7

Once you select POI, a screen will pop up that gives you a description of how to control the AC while in POI mode. Tap “ok” when you're finished reviewing this screen.

Step 8

This brings up the screen where we can record the POI. You'll see instructions that say “control the aircraft to fly above one position and set it as the POI. The aircraft will record it.”

Step 9

Before recording your POI, you will need to fly directly over the object you would like to orbit. Once you're hovering directly over it, tap “record POI”.

Pro tip: You can turn on the grid lines under the camera settings if you would like to get the object directly in the center of the frame.

Step 10

Once you've recorded the POI, you will need to back away from it to the distance you'd like the drone to orbit the POI at. The menu will display the radius in feet that the drone will circle the POI at as you fly away from it.

When you've reached the desired distance and height, you can adjust the Return-to-Home altitude if you'd like. The AC will return to the home point if the low battery RTH is triggered.

When you're satisfied with all of the parameters, tap “apply” on the screen. As soon as you tap apply, the drone will begin to orbit your POI.

Step 11

Now that the drone is orbiting the POI, you have some options. A control panel will be displayed on the right side of the screen where you can adjust the speed at which you'd like the drone to fly by dragging your finger on the slider bar in either direction.

When you change the speed, you will notice that the “time per loop” will adjust accordingly. It lets you know exactly how long it will take for the drone to complete one full revolution around your object. This is a nice feature that I thank DJI for adding.

You can also pause POI, which will cause the drone to stop and hover in place. This is good if you'd like to get some still shots or if an object appears in the drone's flight path. Hit “resume” to have the drone continue to fly around the POI when you're ready.

Beneath the pause button you have “reset heading”. If you adjusted the yaw of the drone so the nose was facing away from the POI, you can hit the reset heading button to have the drone quickly turn back toward the POI.

At the bottom of the control panel you have the options to exit POI or to hide the panel.

Step 12

Hiding the control panel will give you a full screen view of what's in your frame. You can bring up the control panel once more by tapping on the POI icon on the bottom ride-side of the screen.

Remember that you can control the behavior of the drone at any time while in POI by using the sticks on the RC.

Obstacle avoidance in POI

Obstacle avoidance in POI will be active, but remember that each DJI drone comes equipped with a different set of sensors.

Even a drone with side sensors like the Phantom 4 Pro won't be able to detect obstacles to its right or left because those side sensors are only active in Tripod and beginner modes.

You may start at a radius of 40ft and expand that radius to 70ft, but you need to make sure that there are no obstructions at that 70ft radius around the entire circumference of the POI.

What I'm saying is to be cognizant of your surroundings and don't rely on the obstacle avoidance to save you from a collision.

Precautions and tips when using POI

We get so used to the way our drones behave when in normal P-mode, so it's important that we use extra caution when using intelligent flight modes.

I alway make sure that the entire 360 degree area around the intended POI object is free of obstruction before I begin the flight path.

Standing in front of a large building is a lot different than standing in the middle of the field that only has one tree. I would recommend walking around the building to ensure that there isn't a crane or some other object on the other side that could send your Mavic to its grave.

Since the drone will have an automated flight, it may be tempting to take your eyes off of it. This is like a Tesla on autopilot (just $99k cheaper). Just like you wouldn't nap behind the wheel of an automated Tesla, keep an eye on your drone while POI because you never know what could appear in its flight path.

Mavic 2 visual recognition POI

We've discussed how to enable and use POI above, but with the recent release of the Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom comes an update with Point of Interest.

If you have a Mavic 2, you'll now be able to use visual recognition with POI. What does this mean? Remember how we would need to hover over the object we intended to orbit in order to record the POI before starting the flight? Well, if you have a Mavic 2 and select visual recognition, you can draw a box around the object you want to orbit without flying over it first.

This is an amazing upgrade, if you ask me. For one, you don't have to waste precious battery life flying over top of the subject. Secondly, some subjects that would call for a POI shot are monuments or buildings that likely have people around.

With the visual recognition you would be able to stay a safe distance away from people while still capturing stunning footage of the object.

I would love to see a firmware update allow other DJI drones to be able to have visual recognition with the Point of Interest flight mode, but for now the Mavic 2 owners are the only lucky ones.

How to exit the POI flight mode

If you just remembered that it's your turn to pick up the kids from school and you're 30 minutes late, you're going to want to exit the POI flight mode before bringing the bird home.

You have three options to exit this intelligent flight mode.

Option 1: Tap on the red “X” on the lefthand side of the screen. This will put you back into normal P-mode.

Option 2: You can also exit Point of Interest by switching the drone out of P-mode into Sport mode (or ATTI, if you're drone has it) with the tactile button on the remote controller.

Option 3: While in POI, you'll see “exit” at the bottom of the control panel.

Let's review

Who's overwhelmed? I hope not you. We've discussed a lot here, so let's do a quick recap to sum up the main points.

FAQ

Trevor's Take

I love Point of Interest. Out of all of DJI's intelligent flight modes, I find that POI is in my top three. It is simple but highly effective in allowing you to get some seriously cinematic shots. What do you think about POI? Have you used it to get any cool shots? Let us know in the comment section below!