A small and lightweight drone, the DJI Neo is designed for anyone who wants to level up their vlogging or selfie game, or just an affordable drone to play with.
Small drones have been hit-or-miss over the years, often suffering from poor flight performance, short battery life, and cheap, fragile parts. Given DJI’s extensive experience making drones, I figured they’d be the ones to solve these issues, so my expectations were high.
Weighing just 135 grams, the Neo has a number of controller options, performs well when flying, can do palm-based take-offs and landings, and has a decent camera for photos and video. It’s also packed with intelligent features and doesn’t even need a controller at all, depending on what you want to do with it.
With this in mind, I took the DJI Neo on a recent trip down the coast to see what it’s capable of.
Table of contents
- What’s in the box?
- Specs and price
- Controller options
- Shooting modes
- Is it fun to fly?
- Camera quality
- Flight time and battery life
- Vlogging
- Who is it for?
What’s in the DJI Neo’s box?
First, I had the Neo Fly More Combo bundle, which included the Neo, an RC-N3 remote controller, three flight batteries, and a battery charger. You also get propeller guards, a spare set of propellers, a USB-C cable, and a screwdriver in the box.
There are a few different kit options, and I’d recommend the Fly More Combo as it has everything you need. However, for tighter budgets, you can still fly the Neo on its own and rely on the app and built-in shooting modes. As the batteries don’t last all that long, having three allows you to quickly swap them out and keep flying.
The Fly More Creator Combo bundle costs $539, while the bare-bones Neo is priced at $229.
DJI Neo specs and price
| Takeoff weight | Approx. 135 g |
| Dimensions | 130×157×48.5 mm (L×W×H) |
| Max ascent speed | Cine mode: 0.5 m/s Normal mode: 2 m/s Sport mode: 3 m/s |
| Max descent speed | Cine mode: 0.5 m/s Normal mode: 2 m/s Sport mode: 2 m/s |
| Max horizontal speed | Normal mode: 6 m/s Sport mode: 8 m/s Manual mode: 16 m/s |
| Max takeoff altitude | 2000 m |
| Max flight time | Approx. 18 mins (17 mins with Propeller Guards) |
| Max flight distance | 7 km |
| Max wind speed resistance | 8 m/s (Level 4) |
| Operating temperature | -10° to 40° C (14° to 104° F) |
| Camera sensor | 1/2-inch image sensor |
| Lens | FOV: 117.6° Format Equivalent: 14 mm Aperture: f/2.8 Focus: 0.6 m to ∞ |
| Still photography modes | Single/Timed Shot |
| Video resolution | EIS Off: 4K (4:3): 3840×2880@30fps 1080p (4:3): 1440×1080@60/50/30fps EIS On: 4K (16:9): 3840×2160@30fps 1080p (16:9): 1920×1080@60/50/30fps |
| Colour mode | Normal |
| Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS) | RockSteady, HorizonBalancing, or Off |
| Gimbal stabilisation | Single-axis mechanical gimbal (tilt) |
| Mechanical range | Tilt: -120° to 120° |
| Controllable range | Tilt: -90° to 60° |
| Image roll correction | Supports correction of footage recorded on Neo |
| Sensing type | Downward visual positioning |
| Price (RRP) | DJI Neo: $299 DJI Neo Fly More Creator Bundle: $539 |
| Warranty | 12 months |
| Official website | DJI Australia |
What are the Neo’s controller options?
The included DJI RC-N3 remote controller is about the size of a PlayStation or Xbox game controller and attaches to iPhones or Android phones using a slide-out bracket and USB-C cable. Once you download the DJI Fly app, the controller uses your phone as the view screen.
The joysticks and buttons are well-placed, and the sticks have a good combination of resistance and accuracy. They also unscrew and can be tucked neatly into small sockets on the controller’s side when you don’t need them.
Another benefit of the RC-N3 controller is its longer signal range, as it uses radio waves to communicate with the Neo. This gives you 10 kilometres but if you choose the mobile app instead, this uses Wi-Fi and can only reach 50 metres at best.
The app controller has a specialised control screen with virtual joysticks that you can move in the direction you want to fly. The mobile app also has menus for fine-tuning the built-in shooting modes, as you can’t do this when using the RC-N3 controller and DJI Fly app, and will need to open this up instead.
The Neo is also compatible with DJI’s Goggles 3 and Motion 3 controller if you want an FPV flying experience, or plan on racing through derelict buildings and other tight spots.
DJI Neo shooting modes
The Neo’s pre-set shooting modes are designed for capturing footage of a person or group and make for great vlogging and selfie content. What’s really cool is that these modes can be selected by pushing the shooting mode button on the drone itself, with no need to connect to a phone or controller.
So if you want to get some footage of you cross-country running, for example, you simply turn on the Neo, pick your shooting mode via the mode button, and it will film and follow you on your run based on built-in parameters like distance from you, flight path, and camera position. You don’t need to mess with connecting a controller or digging out your phone, it’s that easy.
The Neo uses AI-based subject tracking to keep you in the frame, and this is established after you pick your shooting mode by pointing the camera at yourself.
There is a range of shooting modes for different effects; for example, it can track your movement while staying behind you, or perform pre-set circles, swoops, top-down shots, or travelling in the same direction. The six shooting modes are called: Follow, Dronie, Rocket, Circle, Helix, Boomerang, and Spotlight. There’s also a directional tracking mode that follows alongside you in the direction that you’re travelling, including from the front, facing you.
Using the Mobile App, you can fine-tune the shooting modes, such as how far the drone will fly from you, setting different heights, angles and more.
Once you’re ready to shoot, you can launch the Neo from the palm of your hand and place your hand beneath it to tell it to land.
In use, this all worked surprisingly well provided that the Neo has time to identify you as a subject first. However, with the Directional track mode, I found that it was tricky to get my hand under the Neo to tell it to land, as with this mode, the drone will move away from you as you approach it, so I forced it to crash into a nearby bush. I’m sure there’s a trick to this but I wasn’t game to find it.
Is the DJI Neo fun to fly?
Flying the Neo is lots of fun, and the RC-N3 controller gives you the best experience. You can choose from Cine, Standard, and Sport modes, each with different speed and flight control limits. Speed mode is made for those who know what they’re doing, as the drone will fly and respond at full speed, but I felt a little safer in the Standard and the slowest Cine modes when learning as well as when filming.
Unlike other drones, like the DJI Mavic 3 Pro Cine, there are no object avoidance sensors or features, other than a proximity sensor beneath it. This is used for sensing the ground or your hand for takeoff and landing, and the occasional object that’s too close to the Neo’s underside.
It was quite windy when I did most of my test flights. Since it’s so light, the little Neo did an admirable job maintaining its position and compensating for wind gusts. DJI says the Neo is rated for Level 4 wind conditions, which is eight meters per second (m/s).
Performance-wise, the Neo is rated for 120 meters altitude, with a maximum horizontal speed of 6 m/s, and a climb speed of 3 m/s, in Sport mode. It can fly for seven kilometres and hover for about 17 minutes on a single battery. Also, it can operate between -10° to 40° C.
Thankfully, most of the footage I filmed was still usable, but I wasn’t game to let the Neo fly too far away, and it struggled to return home automatically during high winds. Don’t take this experience as indicative of its overall performance, however, as I found it to be much more precise in less windy conditions.
On the plus side, the Neo’s weight also means that you are less likely to damage it if it does crash, and the guards are very handy for protecting the propellers. I crashed it 3 or 4 times and there was no damage that I could find.
DJI Neo camera quality
I was impressed with the video quality of my test flights. The ½-inch sensor and 4K UHD resolution helped it record plenty of detail, including the sunny highlights and shadows. With its 14mm f2.8 lens, I wouldn’t have any problem cutting footage from the Neo into my videos; however, it would be nice to have DJI’s D-Log mode, as with some of DJI’s higher-end drones and cameras.
Still, the colour rendition is pretty good out of the box, and you can film up to 4K at 30 frames per second, or go for something like 1080p at 60 frames per second if you want to save memory space.
Speaking of which, there’s 22GB onboard, storing about 40 minutes of 4K/30 or 55 min of 1080/60 video. For photos, the Neo can take 12-megapixel shots.
Once you choose the shots that you want, the Neo can transfer full-resolution footage wirelessly to your phone’s album, or you can transfer using a USB-C cable. There’s no removable memory card option, however.
As you won’t be flying the Neo outside at night, low-light shots and videos are not as important; however, I thought the darker videos that I captured when flying inside my office were okay.
Another benefit of DJI’s camera system is its mechanical gimbal, along with some “algorithmic”-based digital stabilisation. The net result is that even on my windy day, the footage was smooth and there were no visible micro-jitters or bumps. If you’re a better pilot, you’ll probably be able to push the image stabilising system to its limits; however, I certainly didn’t.
The gimbal can tilt about 120 degrees, and if you’re using the RC-N3 controller, you can move its position up or down. Otherwise, the gimbal is automatically directed by the subject tracking system for the different shooting modes.
Flight time and battery life
Each battery lasted for about 15 minutes of flight, although I suspect I could get a little more if it wasn’t so windy. DJI says the batteries are rated for 18 minutes of flight without the blade guards, or 20 “excursions,” which is taking off from your palm and landing again.
To recharge the 3 batteries all at once, you simply put them into the two-way USB-C charger, and the entire pack took about three-and-a-half hours to top up. If you use a 60W charger, DJI says it takes just an hour to charge the three batteries, however, a charger isn’t included in the box. If you want to charge one of the batteries when in the drone, this will take 50 minutes using its rated max of 15W.
Otherwise, the RC N3 controller will give you two hours of battery charge.
Is the Neo good for vlogging?
When flying, I noticed that the Neo’s propellers make quite a loud and high-pitched buzzing sound. So if you’re filming with a mic, and the Neo is close to you, this will definitely overpower your audio. However, I discovered that you can use a DJI Mic 2 or even just your smartphone’s internal microphone, and the DJI Fly app will sync and layer your audio track with the video, and remove the propeller noise.
Just how well this can cancel out the buzz while maintaining good audio fidelity will depend on a few things, but it’s a great work-around and means you can use the Neo for more than just b-roll, but rather, recording piece-to-camera style footage.
Of course, drones are great for filming wide establishing shots; however, the Neo’s small and unobtrusive size allows you to put a camera in odd places – even indoors – that you wouldn’t be able to reach with a tripod. This could be grabbing a ceiling-down shot of people walking into a room, or a steady-cam style take from a low angle, that remains at a set distance as you walk towards it.
DJI has its own editing tools too, which can be found in the DJI Fly app, including templates and other enhancements, such as the Glamour Effects to make your skin look better.
Who is the DJI Neo for?
The DJI Neo is an easy-to-use and full-featured vlogging drone that is both fun to fly and can help you create unique selfies and vlogging-style footage. Its versatile control options mean that you don’t need to spend a lot to access the built-in shooting modes, or otherwise, you can get a fully featured flight controller and battery bundle to open up more traditional drone features and fun.
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