DJI Flip – DJI’s Weirdest Drone! (But You’re Gonna Love It! )

Here I have one of the weirdest-looking drones that I’ve ever held in my hands: the DJI Flip. It’s a new drone from DJI. It’s sub 250 grams; it flies by itself, and it has a great-quality camera. But overall, is it any good? Let’s find out today.

Built-In Prop Guards and Sub-250g Advantage

So, DJI states that this is their first camera drone equipped with built-in full-coverage propeller guards. This one is made mostly for beginners who want to take advantage of the new 无人机技术 that DJI has crammed into this tiny sub-250-gram body (which is a big plus), but also for anyone who’s looking for a great-quality photo and video flying machine.

Automatic Unfold and Power-On

Now let’s start with how this thing actually works because, as you see, it looks like a giant old-school bike, a Ferris wheel, or so many other things. But as soon as you unfold it, it powers on automatically, and it’s ready to go. You then have a lot of options for controlling and flying it.

Sensors and Safety

Of course, to enjoy it, first things first: you will notice this huge sensor on the front, which looks like 激光雷达—although it’s not really LiDAR. It’s called a 3D ToF sensor, and it works similarly to LiDAR by automatically detecting obstacles. This is great for tracking, as you will see later. Then you’ll notice that all the props are secured by these prop guards, and overall, this cage design is made so you can safely fly this drone around people. However, if you stick your finger inside, you can still get cut by the props, so be mindful of that.

You can take advantage of palm takeoff and palm landing, similar to the DJI Neo. Generally, this drone has a lot of similarities with the DJI Neo, as you will notice later in the 视频. On the drone, you will see two little latches for ejecting the battery. You have a microSD card slot and a USB-C port for activation, and on the other side, you have the power button and LEDs indicating how much battery is left.

Controls and Quick Shots

One thing I purposely left out is the button right next to the microSD card slot. This button is used to quickly cycle through the different Quick Shots you can get with this drone. Similarly to the DJI Neo, you have a few predefined flights on the DJI Flip. When you cycle to one and pick it, you can hold that button, and the drone will select it, hover, and then execute that exact flight maneuver around you.

Besides the palm takeoff and the six Quick Shots—Follow, Droney, Circle, Rocket, Spotlight, and Helix—there are a couple more ways of controlling the DJI Flip.

• First, you can control it via a traditional remote controller, such as the DJI RC2.
• Or, similarly to the Neo, you can just use your phone to have virtual controller sticks and fly your drone through the app’s interface. It’s very convenient and works really well.
• Finally, there is voice control, which you can use to start or stop recording, change different Quick Shots, adjust their settings, and easily land.

Unfortunately, this drone cannot be flown like an FPV drone, so it doesn’t work with any DJI Goggles or FPV remote controllers at this time, unlike the Neo.

Camera Specs and Quality

Another interesting aspect of the DJI Flip is that it tries to morph a couple of different products into one. The aerial shots you can capture are similar in quality to the 迷你 4 Pro. The close-up shots are pretty much the same quality as the Pocket 3, with an f/1.7 aperture giving you a nice shallow depth of field. DJI is trying to make this the perfect vlogging drone that you can use for high-quality footage and then bring it down low to the ground, have it follow you, and still get that shallow depth of field.

We need to talk about the camera of the DJI Flip because this is a big selling point: it has a 1/1.3-inch sensor with an f/1.7 aperture, 48-megapixel photos, 4K 60 fps, HDR video with 10-bit D-Log M, and 1080p 100 fps slow-motion video. On paper, it’s very similar to the 大疆迷你 4 Pro, which I will be comparing directly to this drone in an upcoming video, so subscribe if you want to see that. This drone can definitely produce some very high-quality visuals. I’m very happy with both the photos and videos I’ve been getting, especially considering that this is a sub-250-g drone with such a tiny (albeit weird) footprint.

Like many other DJI drones, this one comes with intelligent flight modes such as Quick Shots, MasterShots, Panorama, and Hyperlapse. Each mode also has sub-modes you can take advantage of.

Flight Time and Wind Caution

The maximum flight time that DJI states the Flip can achieve is up to 31 minutes in perfect conditions, but conditions are never perfect in reality. There’s something very important to mention here: when you fly in less-than-ideal conditions—especially windy conditions—be extremely careful. This drone is not made to fly in strong winds. As soon as you get a strong wind warning, land immediately.

I almost lost the drone right next to my house during one of my first flights. A sudden gust of wind nearly took it away, and I had to run outside to retrieve it when it landed far away from me. It just couldn’t fight back against those strong gusts because of its flat design and prop guards. If the wind picks up, it’s best to land right away and be safe.

Bump Test

You’ll notice how every single time I unfold it, it automatically powers up. That’s a great feature, but sometimes it’s a bit too sensitive. A few times, it turned on automatically just by me grabbing it from the side. Once, it even powered on inside my backpack for over an hour and a half without me noticing, which completely drained the battery and made the drone very warm. Be mindful not to press the power button accidentally.

Now, let’s do a little experiment: I’ll try to bump the drone into myself to see if it will stop. Going forward, it detects me and stops. But going backward, there are no sensors, so let’s see what happens if we crash it. It bumped into me, gave me a navigation system error, but recovered and continued flying. Nothing was damaged. After recalibrating the gimbal, everything went back to normal.

Signal and Transmission

"(《世界人权宣言》) Flip uses the O4 transmission system, so you shouldn’t have any issues with the signal, whether you’re in a busy city center or a large open field. Just remember that a strong signal won’t help if it’s too windy, because this drone struggles a lot against the wind.

Comparing the DJI Flip Drone

I guess this is DJI’s direct response to this drone right here: the Hover Air X1 Pro Max. They are similarly sized, though the Flip has a different footprint—it looks like a Ferris wheel, while the Hover looks more like a book. Their weights are also quite close. Comparing the Flip to the Neo, of course, the Flip is bigger, but this seems to be DJI’s way of making a Neo with a better camera and competing directly with the Hover Air X1 Pro Max.

I’m planning some very interesting comparisons soon. Let me know which matchups you’d like to see in the comments, and I’ll make it happen.

That’s everything I have for you in today’s video with the DJI Flip. Let me know what you think about this new drone: its form factor, shape, and design. I’m really curious to hear your thoughts down in the comments. With that said, Mik from 无人机至尊, over and out. Don’t ever stop flying, and I’ll catch you in the next one. Ciao.