senseFly S.O.D.A. 3D User manual

S.O.D.A. 3D Camera User Manual
Revision 1.9 / June 2020
© 2020 senseFly

GENERAL INFORMATION
READ ALL USER MANUALS CAREFULLY BEFORE USING A SENSEFLY PRODUCT.
USER MANUALS ARE AVAILABLE ON MY.SENSEFLY WEBSITE.
senseFly products (the “Product(s)”) are intended for professional use only.
Always comply with Civil Aviation regulations and other applicable laws, act responsibly and follow the instructions in
your senseFly User Manuals.
Regulations
ALL USE OF THE PRODUCT INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE USE CONFORM TO THE APPLICABLE LAW OF THE COUNTRY IN
WHICH THE PRODUCT IS OPERATED, IS UNDER THE CLIENT’S SOLE RESPONSIBILITY.
THE CLIENT SHOULD INFORM HIMSELF BEFORE USING THE PRODUCT.
Compliance with Export Control Regulations
Products may be subject to export control regulations. In which case:
• The Product must not be used to design, develop, manufacture or use any military equipment or any nuclear, chemical
or biological weapons, nor missiles classified under the U.S. Munitions List, the Common Military List of the European
Union and the Wassenaar Arrangement Munitions List.
• The Product must not be exported, re-exported, sold or transferred, either directly or indirectly, to any military end-
user (defined as a national armed organisation) or to anyone else if the Client is aware that the Product will be subse-
quently exported or transferred to a military end-user.
• The Client must comply with the dual use regulations if such regulations apply.
• The Client must declare that he/she is not a “Person subject to Sanctions” and must not export, re-export, sell or
transfer the Product, either directly or indirectly, to any “Persons subject to Sanctions”. A “Person subject to Sanctions”
means a person, a company or entity appearing on the list of specially designated persons established by the Security
Council of the United Nations, the United States of America and the European Union.
• The Product must not be exported, re-exported, sold or transferred, either directly or indirectly to any “Country sub-
ject to Sanctions”. A “Country subject to Sanctions” means a country subjected to international economic sanctions
adopted and applied by the Security Council of the United Nations, the United States of America and the European
Union.
Limited warranty
senseFly (the “Supplier”) warrants that the delivered Product will be free from defects in workmanship and materials for a period
of twelve (12) months from the date of shipping by senseFly to the original Client. During the Warranty Period, should the covered
Product, in the Supplier’s sole opinion, malfunction due to any defect in material and/or workmanship, the Client’s sole remedy
and the Supplier’s sole liability shall be, at Supplier’s option, to either repair or replace the malfunctioning Product with a similar
product at no charge, or if repair or replacement is not possible, issue a credit note; provided that the malfunctioning Product
is returned, with proof of purchase in the form of the Client’s original copy of the sales receipt, within the applicable Warranty
Period.
Warranty does not apply, without limitation, in case: a) the delivered items are not stored, maintained or used according to their
specifications, b) the delivered items are damaged due tocarelessness, misuse, negligence, or wrong use by the user, c) for defects

due to normal wear and tear including, but not limited to, normal degradation, misuse, moisture or liquids, dust, proximity or
exposure to heat, accidents, excessive strain, abuse, neglect, misapplication, non authorised repairs or modifications, damage
due to rain, water or humidity, or other causes for which senseFly is not answerable, d) the delivered items are damaged during
shipping. The warranty is void if the Product has been tampered with or opened.
Battery cells are excluded from warranty after first use.
The Client shall make available to the Supplier, at the Supplier’s request, all data regarding maintenance parameters. The Client
further agrees and acknowledges that the Supplier is entitled, at any time, to access, analyse and use all data available on the
Client’s Account regarding the maintenance parameters. If such data are not available for a reason over which the Supplier has
no control or responsibility, including but not limited to an external service provider issue, network fault or power failure, the
Supplier is under no obligation to provide the Limited Warranty coverage until such data is made available.
It is the Client’s responsibility to check that the Product is compliant with applicable requirements under local laws and regu-
lations. Before using the Product, the Client shall make any and all necessary checks to ensure that any additional provisions
required by international or local authorities are taken into consideration and carried out.
There are no express or implied warranties, representations or conditions other than those stated in this Limited Warranty. This
Limited Warranty is made in lieu of all other warranties, representations or conditions, whether expressed or implied, including
without limitation, merchantability or fitness for a specific purpose.
The remedy set forth herein shall be the sole, exclusive remedy by senseFly with respect to the Product.
Limitation of liability
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THE SUPPLIER BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUEN-
TIAL DAMAGES (EVEN IF THE SUPPLIER IS NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES) INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
ANY CRASH OR DAMAGES CAUSED BY THE CLIENT OR A THIRD PARTY WHILE OPERATING OR USING THE PRODUCT(S) (INCLUDING
SIMULTANEOUS FLIGHTS OF PRODUCTS USING A SINGLE INSTANCE OF THE SOFTWARE, ENCRYPTION MODE) AND ANY DAMAGES
CAUSED BY FAILURE OF THE AUTOPILOT, ELECTRONICS OR SOFTWARE (EVEN IF CAUSED BY A MALFUNCTION OF THE PRODUCT,
AUTOPILOT, ELECTRONICS OR SOFTWARE), ANY LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFIT, OR LOSS OF DATA WHETHER BASED UPON
ANY ALLEGED BREACH OF WARRANTY, REPRESENTATION OR CONDITION, CONTRACT, OR ANY OTHER CONDUCT INCLUDING NEG-
LIGENCE (INTENTIONAL OR OTHERWISE), GIVING RISE TO SUCH CLAIM. THE CLIENT SHALL NOT OPERATE THE PRODUCT(S) IN
AREAS OR UNDER CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE A FAILURE COULD CAUSE DAMAGES OR/AND HARM TO PEOPLE, PROPERTY OR/AND
ANIMALS.
Intellectual property rights
senseFly Products and software are protected by intellectual property rights. senseFly is the proprietor and legal and beneficial
owner and/or the authorized licensee of any intellectual property rights within the Products, and senseFly is entitled to the
benefit of all applications made for the grant of senseFly Intellectual Property Rights.
senseFly, eBee, albris and related logos are registered trademarks of senseFly. You may not use or register, in whole or in part,
registered trademarks without express authorization from their respective owners.
Declaration of conformity
senseFly SA, Route de Genève 38, 1033 Cheseaux-Lausanne, Switzerland, declares under its
sole responsibility that the product described in this user guide conforms with technical standards EN55032,
EN55024, EN61000-4-2, EN61000-4-3, EN50581 in accordance with the provisions of the EMC Directive
2014/30/UE and the RoHS Directive 2011/65/UE.

Disposal of this product at the end of its life
At the end of this Product’s life, please do not dispose of this Product in your general household waste. Instead,
in order to prevent possible harm to the environment or human health from uncontrolled waste disposal, please
dispose of this Product separately in accordance with your local laws and regulation. For more information on the
separate collection systems for waste electrical and electronic equipment that are available for consumers, near
your home, free of charge, please contact your local municipal authority.
You can also contact senseFly or the reseller from which you purchased your drone who may provide recycling services or be
part of a recycling scheme.
Copyrights
senseFly reserves the right to make changes to the terms, specifications and product descriptions contained in this document at
any time without notice. Please consult the my.senseFly website for the latest release.
Copyright © 2019 senseFly. All rights reserved. REPRODUCTION, USE OR DISCLOSURE OF ALL OR IN PART OF THIS DOCUMENT
TO THIRD PARTIES WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OF SENSEFLY IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

Address
senseFly SA
Route de Genève 38
1033 Cheseaux-Lausanne
Switzerland
Website: http://www.sensefly.com
Technical support
senseFly and our resellers are dedicated to providing you with full professional product support. To submit a support ticket
and/or view your outstanding tickets, please use our customer portal, my.senseFly (http://my.senseFly.com). Log in with the
same account details you used to download your drone’s software (see the separate software information document in your
senseFly drone’s case).
In addition to support access, my.senseFly includes:
• Details of all your senseFly drones, including their serial numbers.
• The Knowledge Base – packed full of helpful articles, tips, tutorials and webinars.
• Download links for the latest versions of our software.

The S.O.D.A. 3D
Thank you for choosing S.O.D.A. 3D (Sensor Optimised for Drone Applications
3D), a sensor specifically designed for 3D mapping using drones. The S.O.D.A. 3D
is one of the lightest sensors on the market and the only one to seamlessly pro-
vide oblique and nadir photos for enhanced 3D modelling. It has high-stability
optics and built-in dust and splash protection. It provides extremely accurate
images and features:
• The ability to tilt and take 3 photos in quick succession, 2 of them oblique
• A 20 Mpx RGB sensor with 28mm focal lens
• Automatic capture settings optimised for use in drones
• Tight integration with senseFly drones, optimised for precise camera con-
trol
• A weight of 76 grams, perfect for senseFly drones
• A removable protective lens
• Rubberised covers on all ports
• An SD card slot

Caution: The S.O.D.A. 3D has been designed to be compatible
with senseFly drones. It is therefore not recommended to use it
for other purposes than as a payload in a senseFly drone.

Package contents
The following items are included with your camera:
• 1 ×32 GB SD card
• 1 ×USB type A adapter
• 2 ×protective lens
• 1 ×cleaning kit (cleaning cloth and tool)
Depending on your order, your package may also include additional items. Please
verify upon delivery that your package is complete. In case of a missing item,
please contact senseFly or your reseller immediately.
Caution: Only use approved SD cards.
Only fly with high-performance, Secure Digital High Capacity
(SDHC) SD cards that have a speed class of at least UHS 3 ( )
capable of 85 MB/s writing and 95 MB/s reading data rates, for-
matted with the FAT32 file system.
Flying with any other SD card risks causing a malfunction and will
void your warranty in case of an incident.

Contents
1 About S.O.D.A. 3D 13
2 Using S.O.D.A. 3D with a senseFly drone 15
2.1 Pre-flight checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2 Installing the camera into the drone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3 Flying S.O.D.A. 3D 19
3.1 Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4 Updating the S.O.D.A. 3D 22
5 Retrieving your flight data 22
6 Processing your flight data 22
7 Camera maintenance 23
8 Specifications 25

1 About S.O.D.A. 3D
S.O.D.A. 3D is a lightweight camera specifically designed for drone mapping ap-
plications. It can take images up to 20 Mpx with a focal length of 28 mm (35 mm
equivalent).
The camera’s parameters are controlled by the drone and set automatically to
the optimum for your drone’s flight conditions.
Weight:
S.O.D.A. 3D + SD card + protective lens 207 g (7.30 oz)
Dimensions: 85 x 154 x 74 mm (3.3 x 6.1 x 2.9 in)
74 mm
(2.9 in)
85 mm
(3.3 in)
154 mm
(6.1 in)
13

S.O.D.A. 3D’s features
1
2
3
5
SD CARD
4
6
14

1 Micro HDMI connector
Connects the camera to a monitor or an HDMI-equipped drone.
2 Micro USB connector
Permanently connects the camera to the tilting gimbal.*
3 eBee connector
Can connect the camera to a senseFly drone†.
4 SD card slot
Slot for an SD memory card.
5 Protective lens
Replaceable lens screwed onto the front of the camera.
6 Gimbal clamp
Holds the tilting gimbal still for transport.
2 Using S.O.D.A. 3D with a senseFly drone
When flown in a senseFly drone, the camera is fully integrated into the drone
and with eMotion:
• The camera is controlled by the drone’s autopilot.
*do not attempt to unplug
†not necessary when using S.O.D.A. 3D
15

• You monitor the camera through eMotion.
• The camera has no battery of its own. It is powered through its connection
to the senseFly drone.
2.1 Pre-flight checks
Before every flight with S.O.D.A. 3D:
• Make sure that the protective lens is installed on the camera.
• Make sure that the camera’s lens and the protective lens are clean. If nec-
essary, use the microfibre cloth and cleaning fluid, or the cleaning tool to
clean them.
• Make sure there is an SD card in the camera, that it is not write-protected
and has enough empty space.
• Make sure that the camera is properly installed in the drone.
• Make sure that the camera’s connector cable is properly connected to the
connector in the drone’s camera bay.
• Before take-off, make sure that the lens cap has been removed.
• Before take-off, make sure that the gimbal clamp has been removed.
2.2 Installing the camera into the drone
1. Ensure that nothing is connected to your drone. That is, your drone’s bat-
tery is not connected, and your drone is not connected to a computer.
16

2. Plug the camera connector into the connector with the icon within
the senseFly drone’s camera bay.
3. Remove the gimbal clamp.
4. Install the camera into the drone’s camera bay.
Caution: To protect the drone’s and the camera’s electronics,
never connect the drone’s battery while the drone has both a
camera and a computer connected.
Caution: senseFly drones are not designed to fly without the
camera. Attempting to fly without the camera may render the
drone unstable, which may eventually lead to a crash.
Caution: Connect only compatible senseFly cameras to the
drone’s camera port. Never try to connect anything else.
17

Caution: Once the drone’s battery has been connected, do not
touch any of the camera’s metallic parts. A static electricity dis-
charge can cause the camera’s gimbal to temporarily malfunc-
tion. If this happens, disconnect then reconnect the drone’s bat-
tery.
18

3 Flying S.O.D.A. 3D
With the camera installed in your senseFly drone and connected to eMotion,
camera information is shown in the Camera tab on eMotion’s Drone panel.
•Camera type
The camera you have installed in your drone and its firmware version.
•Camera state
Your camera’s status, for example, On or Standby.
•Number of photos
The number of photos taken in the current flight.
•External storage
Indicates the amount of storage space that is left.
3.1 Camera settings
The following settings are available:
•Picture format
JPG Camera will take only jpeg photos
JPG + DNG Camera will take jpeg and raw (DNG) photos
•White balance
Automatic Automatically adjusted by camera
Daylight Ideal for open, sunlit areas
Cloudy Ideal for overcast weather
Shady Ideal for areas in shadow, for example, in a valley
•Exposure bias
The amount of under- or over-exposure you want.
19

•Exposure time target
The camera will try and maintain this photo exposure time. It will only
override your chosen exposure time if correct photo exposure cannot be
achieved by adjusting aperture and sensor sensitivity (ISO).
•ISO max
The camera will not exceed this sensitivity level when adjusting exposure.
Note: In almost all cases, the cameras default settings will be
sufficient.
How to save then reuse your own camera settings
Set the camera settings you want then click Save custom settings.
Next time you connect to a drone that has a S.O.D.A. 3D installed in it, click
Load custom settings and eMotion will restore your saved settings.
How to restore the default camera settings
Click Restore factory settings to restore the following settings:
Picture format JPEG
White balance Automatic
Exposure bias 0.0 EV
Exposure time 1/1000 s
ISO max 800
20