After agitation with the $200 Neo, DJI returned to it with another innovative drone, Flip. It has the first folding design and a shrouded propeller to ensure people’s safety. It also integrates 3D infrared obstacle detection to track subjects and has many impressive features.
With a camera borrowed from the Mini 4 Pro, Flip can use high-quality 4K 60p video indoors, or use it with almost no risk. It comes with Vlogger-friendly features such as Direction Tracks and Quickshots for social media. And you can use DJI's controller, smartphone, voice control or buttons to fly.
No use license required, and most importantly, it costs $439, which includes the RC-N3 controller – making it one of the cheaper drones available. To understand how it serves the creators, I flew it into the castle, a 500-year-old house, and went out in nature. It's not perfect (hi, wind and obstacles) and has some fierce competition with the Hoverair X1 Pro, but it's one of the most useful creator drones to date.
design
Flip has a smart, user-friendly design. All four propellers fold and stacked under the body like some kind of Star Wars spacecraft. DJI chose this structure so it can be combined with a permanent (rather than removable) shroud to protect props to limit damage or damage from collisions. The design also uses large propellers to help performance and reduce noise. By contrast, DJI's NEOs have small fast-rotating propellers that make highly screaming noises.
DJI uses carbon fiber and other lightweight materials to keep the takeoff weight at 250 grams (250 grams). This means that flight flips can be allowed without special permission. It's still quite large, though, especially compared to the sleek Hoverair X1 Pro.
However, Flip has far surpassed its competitors' battery life. DJI promises up to 34 minutes of flight time (about 27 minutes in the real world), while the X1 Pro is only 16 minutes. The battery can also be quickly charged, about 35 minutes each time with an optional four-cylinder charger. However, you need a memory card because the flip is only 2GB of internal storage.
Flip is DJI's first lightweight drone with 3D infrared sensors that avoid forward obstacles and also has a downward vision sensor for lowering spot detection and stability. However, unlike the Mini 4 Pro and other DJI drones, it has no side or rear barrier sensors.
One small problem is that flipped propellers don't have much permission, so they can be caught in the short grass even when taking off. But, like the Neo, it is designed more for taking off and landing from your hands. To do this, it has a button on the other side of the power switch that allows you to select flight mode and take off automatically, just like NEO. It can also be used by apps, voice control or manually using the controller – a DJI RC-N3 controller (a smartphone required) or an RC 2 controller with a built-in 5.5-inch display.
Functions and performance
Steve Dent
In Sport mode, the flip can buzz at 26 mph, which is not bad for light drones, but a little slower than the Mini 4 Pro (37 mph). However, the weight reduction and the larger surface area mean that it is not the best in strong winds. For example, as it flew over the roof of the castle, it was hit by a gust of wind, which almost pushed it backwards.
However, flips can do something you never tried with the Mini 4 Pro. Complete propeller protection, stability and relatively low noise make it ideal for flying in large rooms filled with fragile objects and people. This, along with excellent picture quality, means it is a great choice for event professionals and content creators working in public places.
It is also great for beginners, because like Neo, you can press a button to flip your hands and reach out. It will then fly the pre-programmed mode and restore its starting position. One of these modes, Directional Orbit, can make the drone fly backwards and follow you on a video blog. There is also a follow mode, such as activities like running and hiking, as well as social media friendly flight modes such as Dronie, Rocket, Circle, Helix and Boomerang. Note that video in these automatic modes is limited to 4K 30 fps only.
Meanwhile, flips are easy to fly manually with a smartphone or a supported controller. Although not as hands-on as the Mini 4 Pro, it is easier for newbies to fly and make a stable camera platform. You do need to be cautious in areas with untextured floors, such as concrete, as it can discard the flip sensor and make it unstable. When this happens, the best option is to switch it to Sport mode to disable the vision-based flight stability sensor (and then fly carefully, as obstacle detection will also be disabled).
Steve Dent
Strangely, unlike the cheaper NEO, Flip's goggles N3 and Motion 3 controllers are not available with DJI. That's because DJI mainly sees it as a camera drone rather than an acrobatic device.
If you want to use flips to track yourself or others, there is a big problem: it lacks obstacle detection in any direction except forward or down. For example, if you fly a drone backward, you have to make sure there is nothing behind it to crash. Automatic obstacle avoidance does not work at all when you use Flip's smart features such as directional tracks or ActiveTrack, although the drone will stop for 10 feet before hitting anything detected. The lack of this feature is strange, as avoiding obstacles is an important part of topic tracking, and DJI did not disclose whether it is planned to correct the issue with future updates. Neither the HoverAir X1 Pro is an issue, which can track forward, backward, or even sideways by enabling full obstacle detection.
With DJI's O4 transmission system, Flip has excellent range at up to eight miles, and can accommodate such eight miles. At the same time, it can send high-quality 1080p 60 fps video signals that can be recorded to the controller as a backup. However, if you fly with a smartphone with Wi-Fi connection, the range is limited to 165 feet.
camera
Samuel Dejours for Engadget
The camera is the biggest difference between flip and NEO. Flip with a larger 1/1.3-inch 48-megapixel sensor and a 24mm equivalent wide-angle f/1.7 lens. It's the same as the one on the Mini 4 Pro and provides a vivid, noise-free video with good light.
You can shoot 4K videos at up to 60 fps (100 fps in slow MO mode), not just 30 fps like NEO. In addition, the flip supports 10-bit D-LOGM video, which improves dynamic range in bright lighting, such as on ski slopes. You can also capture 12MP or 48MP RAW (DNG) photos.
The video quality is significantly clearer than on NEO, and due to the low noise, the flip is night shot or dim indoor settings. Although the DJI AIR 3S and MAVIC 4 offer higher quality due to the larger sensor, there is no big difference in good light. Since there is only one camera in flip, the video is obviously noisy when using 2x zoom. Note that when shooting in automatic mode (directional track, Dronie, etc.), the camera is not manually controlled to adjust exposure, shutter speed and ISO.
The HoverAir X1 Pro has the same size 1/1.3-inch sensor and offers very similar video quality (also has log mode), although I found the DJI's color to be more accurate. Unless you spend an extra $200 on the Pro Max version to get 8K 30FPS and 4K 120FPS, the 4k 60p video at the shelter is slightly lower.
With the three-axis positive, Flip can shoot silky videos even if it is burned by the wind. You can choose to focus mode to maintain camera level, even if the drone hangar or FPV mode allows the camera to tilt for a more exciting first-person perspective. Usually, the video remains smooth even for sudden action, while the Hoverair X1 Pro's lenses occasionally have shocking and clumsy action.
Flip's camera doesn't rotate 90 degrees like it did on the Mini 4 Pro, so the maximum resolution of vertical video is 2.7k, backing from 4K 60 fps 9:16 vertical video on the Mini 4 Pro.
wrap up
Steve Dent
Flips represent a bold change in the direction (and design) of DJI. Unlike open prop drones, it enables creators to shoot in people with relatively high quality video indoors and around them. It only costs $439 and can do that – well below the $759 Mini 4 Pro. However, flips are not perfect, and its main drawbacks are reduced operability when using smart modes such as ActiveTrack, wind and obstacle avoidance.
As I mentioned, DJI also has some fierce competition in this category, namely the Haverair X1 Pro. Both offer features like Palm Paskoff, Intelligent Flight Modes, and theme tracking, and have similar quality, but the Hoverair X1 Pro offers rear-side active collision detection, wider lenses and more internal storage space. It is also about half the flip. In its section, the flipped flight time is twice as long and the transmission range is longer.
Then, the selection depends on what you want. If portability, theme tracking and obstructions are key, the Hoverair X1 Pro is a better choice. Others who prioritize battery life, sleeker videos and more mature companies should opt for flips. Regardless, DJI usually dominates all drone categories, so it’s nice to see multiple products centered around creators facing multiple products.
This article originally appeared on Engadget
