If you're looking to enter the drone market without needing a pilot license or even knowing how to actually fly a drone, DJI now has a palm-sized, inexpensive, simple, yet incredibly capable drone for you that doesn't even require a controller.
The Neo is DJI's latest release geared towards the vlogger or anyone who wants a simple-to-use "selfie" drone. With just the push of a button or a yell of "Hey! Fly!", the Neo will lift off from the palm of your hand and fly a multitude of pre-determined flight paths before politely returning to gently land back in your palm when done.
It responds to voice commands, or you can connect it to your smartphone. Optionally, you can connect it to a controller like DJI Goggles 3, RC Motion 3, or the FPV RC 3 and reap the benefits of bigger, more expensive DJI drones, like a six-mile (10-km) range and aerial stunts in FPV view up to level 4 (18 mph / 29 km/h) wind conditions.
At a mere 135 g (3 oz), the Neo circumvents the US FAA laws requiring expensive drone pilot licensing (anything 250 g and up requires a pilot license, even for hobbyists). And should anything go a little sideways on you in flight, the Neo has an automatic return to home (RTH) feature as well.
Still photos are captured by a 12-MP 1/2 sensor. The Neo has 22 GB of internal storage and will hold 40 minutes of 4K footage at 30 fps. It can also shoot 1080p/60fps, giving you 55 minutes of footage with its onboard storage, all of which can be transferred straight to your phone via Wi-Fi without the need for any cables. Or you could use a USB-C cable directly to your computer or phone.
To save weight (and money), the Neo comes with a single-axis gimbal for stabilizing up/down motion only, unlike its bigger brothers that typically have a 6-axis gimbal, so your shots won't be quite as smooth as the pricier, bigger drones offered by DJI, though the Neo does use electronic image stabilization to help make your video smoother.
The drone also offers object tracking. For example, set it to track your face while you're out for a hike and it will follow your face wherever you go at whatever distance you set. And with the ability to pair audio recording from your phone or through the DJI Mic 2, now you've got yourself the perfect camera operator that isn't going to trip over a tree root while you talk about life, the universe, and everything.
Unfortunately, it does not have obstacle avoidance. While roots might not be an issue, branches will. With its robust guards around its props, though, the little drone is made to take a beating.
Flight time on the little drone is about 18 minutes, according to DJI, however, the company has a Combo model that comes with two extra batteries that should give you up to about 54 minutes of flight time. The battery can be recharged with a simple USB-C cord plugged directly into the drone, eliminating the need to carry a charger, although the Combo pack includes a two-way charging hub that can charge three batteries simultaneously in about an hour.
US$199 will get you the Neo, sans any controllers, and $289 will get you the Combo version with two extra batteries. That's cheap enough that I almost impulse-purchased while writing this article.
Source: DJI
