How to Use The DJI H20 Series Cameras

Posted by on 2/18/2021 to How To's


DJI’s H20 series cameras for the Matrice 300 RTK are the most versatile drone cameras available. Both the H20 and H20T have three sensors: a wide angle 12MP RGB sensor, a laser range finder and a 23x hybrid optical zoom sensor. The only difference between the two cameras is that the H20T has one additional sensor, a 640 x 512 resolution 30Hz thermal imaging sensor.


With so many sensors packed into one camera, it may seem overwhelming to operate all of them at once. Fortunately, DJI’s Pilot app has an intuitive layout that allows you to easily switch between them. This how to will be a basic introduction to the controls of the H20 series cameras.


To switch between the wide angle camera, thermal sensor, and zoom camera, simply select the sensor on the left of the screen. The camera view that is currently displayed is shown in the green box in the top center of the screen.


Zoom


When the zoom camera is selected, you can adjust the magnification by using the slider on the right side of the screen. This slider is accessible regardless of which camera is displayed, but you will only see a difference when the zoom camera is selected. The camera movement speed will be faster when the camera is zoomed out and slower when the camera is zoomed in. This is a huge improvement from the Z30 because it allows you to easily track a subject. The Z30 does not adjust the camera movement speed based off of the magnification making it extremely difficult to focus on a subject when zoomed in.



Wide Angle Camera


The wide angle camera gives you a “zoomed out” view of the scene without losing the focus of the zoom camera. When you want to take a step back and see the whole scene as opposed to a zoomed in view, switch to the wide angle camera.


Thermal


The thermal sensor is packed with many different features. With the thermal sensor, you have the ability to adjust the color palette, read temperatures of a specific point on the screen, and adjust the isotherm settings. Isotherm is the ability to select a specific range of temperatures that you want displayed. For example, if you are monitoring a fire, you may want to adjust the settings to eliminate temperature readings below a certain temperature. Anything outside of the isotherm temperature range will be grayed out. The color difference between temperatures in a tighter range will be more exaggerated than in a wider temperature range.



Range Finder


The range finder can be turned on or off and will be displayed regardless of which sensor is selected (the wide, zoom or thermal). The rangefinder will display a crosshair in the center of the screen. The range finder will tell you the distance, GPS location, and altitude of any object in its focus.



The thermal sensor will take the most practice to master as there are many settings that you can set to enhance the performance of the sensor. This also means that you can miss out on important information if these settings are not optimized. The rest of the sensors are fairly easy to master, but it can take some practice to use them all of them effectively at the same time. With the Matrice 300 RTK, it is always beneficial to have a second pilot whenever possible.


At Terrestrial Imaging, we offer online and in person training to help you get the most out of your equipment. If you would like to schedule training, please reach out to our team at 800-359-0530.