Where does it fit in the lineup? Flip vs Neo, Mini4 Pro

Erk1024 · Tuesday at 2:34 PM

Are we more clear now about where this fits in the DJI lineup?

Flip vs Neo
The Flip has more speed, longer flight time, 3 axis gimbal, and front obstacle avoidance. The Flip is def a dedicated camera drone. The ONLY thing the Neo can do that the Flip can't is FPV mode with goggles.

Flip vs Mini 4 Pro
This is a tough one. Also, I don't own the Mini 4, so I'm not intimately familiar with it. The Mini has better vertical shooting. The Mini has obstacle avoidance on the sides and back. Otherwise similar cameras and gimbals. The speed and flight time on the Flip is excellent, but one review said it's not as good in the wind because of the ducted props.

What do you guys think?

Chrislaf · Tuesday at 3:36 PM

Although the camera is basically the same as the Mini 4 and better than the NEO, what I am disappointed in is the FOV (Field Of View). The NEO has an equivalent FOV of 14mm whereas the Flip is 24mm, the same as the Mini 4. That means the NEO can capture more of the scene and it can also focus closer at 0.6m. That to me is puzzling since the Flip is designed to do some of the same things the NEO does.

Chris

Erk1024 · Tuesday at 4:22 PM

Chrislaf said:
Although the camera is basically the same as the Mini 4 and better than the NEO, what I am disappointed in is the FOV (Field Of View). The NEO has an equivalent FOV of 14mm whereas the Flip is 24mm, the same as the Mini 4. That means the NEO can capture more of the scene and it can also focus closer at 0.6m. That to me is puzzling since the Flip is designed to do some of the same things the NEO does.

Chris

In terms of photography, I'm always shooting panoramas, so I can go as wide as I want. The Mavic Pro 2 seemed like a good compromise at 28mm. 14mm is crazy wide in photography terms. It makes sense in FPV so you can see where you're going?

Chrislaf · Tuesday at 4:36 PM

Erk1024 said:
In terms of photography, I'm always shooting panoramas, so I can go as wide as I want. The Mavic Pro 2 seemed like a good compromise at 28mm. 14mm is crazy wide in photography terms. It makes sense in FPV so you can see where you're going?

I too shoot a lot of panoramas but where the NEO's wide angle lens shines is in tracking shots where you can have it follow closer and still get the subject in the scene. Also, it is great for flying in tight areas for example over streams covered in dense foliage - you can get more of the scene in without having to 'move back' to frame the shot and where a pano might not be suitable.

One other factor is the NEO's small size makes it more suitable for tight spaces.

Chris

ryguy80 · Tuesday at 5:00 PM

FPV aside, it’s a “Neo Air” or “Neo Pro”. A more featured Neo, but not a full featured Mini Pro. The biggest omission on the Flip vs Mini Pro is the Omnidirectional obstacle avoidance.

My biggest disappointment with the Flip was no on-board Remote ID as it could have qualified as a Cat 1 operations over people drone for Part 107 flights.

I understand people are upset about lack of FPV, but the drone’s design, both in the foldable legs and using dual blade props seems to limit its abilities to fly FPV.

Erk1024 · Wednesday at 10:48 AM

It seems like DJI is trying to lower the costs of their drones and controllers (Neo, Flip, N3 Goggles), so they are trying different configurations to see what works. The Neo (I own one) has a super low price, but it costs you a lot of features and capability. But maybe that's fine for some customers. The Flip is another configuration where they've swapped out the 360 obstacle avoidance for the time-of-flight depth camera. For the Neo and Flip it seems like those drones are for more casual uses.

There are definitely tradeoffs. Some like the N3 goggles *better* than the more expensive Goggles 3 (I have both). But I also think some customers are buying NEO's and Flips and expecting the same level of product as DJI's more expensive offerings and will be disappointed.

I have the Neo and the Avata2. There is a huge difference between the two. And the Avata2 is more than twice the price (drone only) so that makes sense.

ryguy80 · Wednesday at 12:09 PM

Erk1024 said:
It seems like DJI is trying to lower the costs of their drones and controllers (Neo, Flip, N3 Goggles), so they are trying different configurations to see what works. The Neo (I own one) has a super low price, but it costs you a lot of features and capability. But maybe that's fine for some customers. The Flip is another configuration where they've swapped out the 360 obstacle avoidance for the time-of-flight depth camera. For the Neo and Flip it seems like those drones are for more casual uses.

DJI seems to be aggressively going after new drone owners and adding them into the ecosystem. These Neo and Flips are sort of a "gateway drug" into more expensive drones in their lineup.

Droning on and on... · Wednesday at 1:40 PM

I think you guys are missing the big big feature: Truly safe prop cages.

If you make comparisons based on flight or camera features, you'll be scratching your head. This drone makes no sense.

If you think about the safety features, it makes a lot of sense. The point of this drone is close proximity to people. The cages are a hat tip to the Hover X1. No other DJI drone can be buzzing around where there are a lot of people and risk little more than annoyance.

Even the Neo smacking someone in the head at a slower max speed is likely to hurt more than the flip because of physical design. Just speculating, but I'll bet those prop arms will pivot downward and take some of the energy flying into someone... the drone will be pitched forward, and forces will push against the prop from above.

This is 100% about OOP, in my opinion. The current regs in the US are in conflict, and need to catch up. They will.

Cristil and Merayngue want their group selfies at the Saxquatch concert, and can be very difficult when they don't get their way.

Erk1024 · Saturday at 11:16 AM

Droning on and on... said:
I think you guys are missing the big big feature: Truly safe prop cages.

It's a good point! Less broken propellers too. What would even make it a little bit better is if the center of gravity (CG) was *below* the cages. One problem with the NEO is if you bump sideways into a wall, the drone tips up, and is sucked into the wall. If the drone tipped down, it would naturally fly away from the wall instead.

FLIP 317 · Saturday at 2:09 PM

Erk1024 said:
One problem with the NEO is if you bump sideways into a wall, the drone tips up, and is sucked into the wall. If the drone tipped down, it would naturally fly away from the wall instead.

So that explains my incident and I how I got lucky.

Nailed It.

I was flying the NEO in my yard and a gust of wind pushed it into the side of the garage. I went to pick it up from the fresh 8" of snow but didn't find it. 🤔 I looked up on the side of the garage and the NEO somehow got hooked on a nail about six feet up. It was hanging there like a bat...

neopilots.com

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