Supported survey drones
DroneField currently works exclusively with DJI drones, as it relies on DJI’s XMP metadata convention and the MRK file format for precise image positioning.
Supported models
Section titled “Supported models”| Drone | Camera | RTK | MS bands | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DJI Phantom 4 RTK (P4R) | 20 MP RGB | Yes | — | The classical survey drone |
| DJI Phantom 4 Multispectral (P4M) | 2 MP RGB + 5 mono bands | Yes | B, G, R, RE, NIR | Older multispectral platform |
| DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise (M3E) | 20 MP RGB | Yes | — | Compact, fast, field-ready |
| DJI Mavic 3 Multispectral (M3M) | 20 MP RGB + 4 MS bands | Yes | G, R, RE, NIR | The most common MS drone today |
| DJI M300 / M350 RTK + Zenmuse P1 (beta) | 45 MP RGB full-frame | Yes | — | RGB orthomosaic creation — see the notes below |
Zenmuse P1 (beta) — what to know
Section titled “Zenmuse P1 (beta) — what to know”P1 support is beta, focused on RGB orthomosaic creation:
- No multispectral features — NDVI and the other vegetation indices, AI analysis and VRA are not available with this camera (it is an RGB sensor).
- On mixed nadir + oblique missions only the nadir images are used for the orthomosaic.
- The P1 does not guarantee RTK-fix accuracy on every flight — check the RTK status field after import.
The MRK file is required — DJI Pilot 2 writes it next to the images at the end of every RTK flight. Without the MRK, DroneField will not process the imagery (see Import errors).
Flight recommendations
Section titled “Flight recommendations”The quality of processing depends largely on flight planning. The values below are tuned for agricultural use.
| Parameter | Recommended value |
|---|---|
| Along-track overlap | 75–80 % |
| Cross-track overlap | 65–75 % |
| Altitude | 80–120 m AGL (RGB) / 60–90 m (MS) |
| Speed | 6–10 m/s |
| Pattern | Lawnmower (back-and-forth parallel strips) |
| Gimbal | Nadir (straight down) |
| Weather | Overcast or thin clouds — direct sun shadows are noisy |
Multispectral drones (P4M, M3M) also need a calibration panel photographed before and after the flight — DJI Pilot 2 prompts for this automatically.
What about the area you actually want to see?
Section titled “What about the area you actually want to see?”Objects on the edges of an aerial photo are tilted by parallax — they distort more and more as you move away from the image centre. So:
Whatever you want to see in detail in the result, fly over it. Don’t just observe the field edge from afar — fly over the important area.
If you need to measure NDVI on a tree at the edge of the field, or see a wire obstacle in the corner, the drone should pass over the tree / wire — not just up and down the field’s centre.
Unsupported drones
Section titled “Unsupported drones”Currently we do not process imagery from:
- DJI Phantom 4 Pro / Advanced (non-RTK)
- DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise / Pro
- Mavic 3 Cine
- WingtraOne, senseFly, Parrot Anafi (other manufacturers)
If you would like a particular drone added, write to us via the portal support form.
Looking for the spray drones?
Section titled “Looking for the spray drones?”Everything on this page concerns the survey drone. The spray drone brands DroneField exports application plans to — DJI Agras, XAG, ABZ Innovation — have their own page: Supported spray drones.
What is RTK?
Section titled “What is RTK?”RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) is a GNSS augmentation that gives the drone centimetre-accurate positioning — versus the ~3-metre error of plain GPS. It requires either a ground base station or a network correction service (NTRIP).
DroneField handles both modes (see the Project info panel’s RTK status field):
- Full RTK — 95+ % of images are RTK Fixed.
- Mixed (RTK + GPS) — some images RTK, some not.
- No RTK (GPS) — all images on plain GPS. Image alignment accuracy is lower, but processing still works.