so ive been using DJI Fly for everything on my Mini 3 Pro and honestly its fine for casual stuff but i keep hearing people say Litchi is the move for serious waypoint missions. problem is i cant tell if its actually better or if people are just used to it and thats why they swear by it.

the main thing i want to do is set up longer automated routes, like i do some light real estate work and occasionally map out some larger properties, nothing crazy but DJI Fly's waypoint stuff feels kind of limited, or maybe im just not using it right. does Litchi give you more control over camera angle during the mission or is that still kind of clunky. also does it handle altitude changes mid-route decently because some of the properties i shoot have terrain that isnt flat at all.

not looking to spend money on something that does basically the same thing with a different UI, just want to know if theres an actual functional difference worth caring about

Litchi is genuinely better for waypoint missions, not even close imo. the waypoint editor on desktop is the big thing ? you can actually see what youre building before you fly it instead of just hoping the in-app stuff works out. i do a lot of corridor mapping and being able to adjust heading, gimbal pitch, and speed at each individual waypoint is something DJI Fly just cant do properly.

terrain following is hit or miss though. Litchi has a terrain follow mode but it pulls from a DEM database and honestly in hilly areas ive had it be off by enough that i dont fully trust it. i still manually set altitudes at key waypoints for anything where it actually matters. for flat or mostly flat real estate stuff youll probably be fine.

the one thing that annoyed me at first is theres a bit of a learning curve with the mission hub on desktop, took me a few sessions before i stopped making dumb mistakes like forgetting to set the finish action. but once you get it its pretty solid. worth the cost if youre doing this semi-regularly.

i switched to Litchi like 8 months ago and dont really go back to DJI Fly for anything planned. the virtual litchi mission hub thing where you can build routes on google maps on your laptop before you even leave the house is kind of a game changer honestly. especially when a client sends you an address you've never been to and you can just plan the whole thing the night before.

camera angle control per waypoint is definitely there and works well, thats probably the thing i use most. gimbal tilt at specific points during the route is super useful for getting that reveal shot without having to do it manually every time.