DJI Flip drone Australian review: Fun, simply to fly with beautiful photos, videos
Critics have dubbed it the Flop, but we reckon this drone is one of the best gadgets we’ve reviewed in years. SEE THE PICS, VIDEOS
Gadgets
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gadgets. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Critics have dubbed it the Flop, but DJI’s Flip drone is probably one of the best gadgets we’ve reviewed in years.
It’s fun, simple to fly, and produces some incredible photos and videos.
Weighing it at 249 grams, the foldable drone has its own propeller guards made of lightweight carbon fibre string which weigh about 1/60th the weight of traditional polycarbonate materials.
The guards make it a lot safer for flying and certainly give you more confidence to do more than you would with other drones.
DJI says the Flip offers the simplicity of the DJI Neo with the stunning photo capabilities of the DJI Mini to bring aerial photography and close-up portraits to everyone.
It’s pitched at video bloggers, adventurers and travellers but really would appeal to anyone wanting to capture great family moments and memories.
The drone’s 1/1.3 in CMOS sensor takes superb 48MP photos and 4K video at 60 frames per second.
What is different about the Flip is the way it can almost fly itself, without a remote controller, with preset routines which can be launched off the palm of your hand.
Pressing down the mode button, you can choose from dronie, circle, rocket, spotlight, and direction track which includes helix and boomerang.
If you hold the button down for three seconds, the drone then starts up on the palm of your hand and launches into the routine you have chosen.
It uses AI tracking to keep you in the frame as you move along.
If you move your hand too much on launch, the Flip won’t take off and it also needs to be pointed at the subject to begin tracking before it will take off.
Once launched, it automatically starts recording video and does a good job in following you, whether you are walking along a beach or even riding a bike.
For safety reasons, the maximum distance from the subject is pretty limited, though you can fly much higher and further away from your talent if you use a remote control.
It can also operate with the DJI Fly app or voice control for hands-free flying.
When connected to your phone, it can capture audio and intelligently reduce noise, filtering out propeller noise.
Most of the time, we tested the Flip using DJI’s RC 2 remote controller with a screen which provided for an even better experience, particularly flying further away over water.
The screen makes it a lot easier to keep track of where your drone is with the distance away and height of the flight displayed, along with a map and a circled H to indicate where home is.
You can simply press a button to return to home and it will automatically do that if your battery starts to run low.
The battery has a flight time of up to 31 minutes and with the fly more combo you have three batteries and a charger for all three.
While the Flip doesn’t need a remote, flying with one gives more flexibility and confidence.
You also have easy access to controls to change exposure levels on the photos or quickly switching from cinematic to sports mode flying.
When paired with the DJI RC-N3 or RC 2 remote controller, DJI O4 video transmission supports up to 13 km of 1080p/60fps video transmission.
Despite its small size and lightweight configuration, the Flip moves across a lake or the ocean at a decent pace and even does a pretty good job in flying against the wind.
It has a maximum speed of about 40km/h.
The drone, which has great three-way stabilisation and forward and downward obstacle sensors, also has automatic braking which is said to even work at night, though we never tested that.
One big downside is the lack of obstacle avoidance when flying the drone backwards.
Automatic obstacle avoidance also doesn’t work when you use features like Direction Track or ActiveTrack.
In contrast, HoverAir X1 Pro, can track forwards, backwards and sideways with full obstacle detection enabled.
The camera specs of the Flip are pretty impressive with it delivering more highlights and shadow details.
Using ND filters improves results even more, particularly in bright conditions.
The camera has Dual Native ISO Fusion to provide more versatility in various light environments, f/1.7 aperture, and 2.4μm 4-in-1 pixels. It can also capture photos with up to 4x zoom, though they can be grainy in lower light.
Next-gen SmartPhoto combines HDR imaging, scene recognition, and other features for images that can be posted with little or no editing.
The Flip also supports slow-motion recording at 4K/100fps and 10-bit D-Log M colour mode. A 4:3-aspect-ratio CMOS sensor provides enough space for vertical crops while maintaining a 2.7k resolution, optimised for smartphone viewing and social media without any cropping needed.
Some of the more advanced features include:
● MasterShots: DJI Flip perform diverse camera movements, shooting multiple clips and editing them with music, cuts, and effects for fast cinematic footage.
● Hyperlapse, including Free, Circle, Course Lock, and Waypoint to capture timelapse footage at up to 4K horizontally or 2.7K vertically.
● FocusTrack: Different creative ways to follow your subject including ActiveTrack 4.0, Spotlight 2.0, and Point of Interest 3.0
● Panorama: Supports shooting 180°, Wide Angle, Vertical, and Sphere panoramic photos
The Flip has super fast data transfer via the DJI Fly app with speeds of up to 30MBs, while the charging hub can power up two batteries at the same time.
It’s not as fast as more expensive drones, its obstacle avoidance is more limited, and its ability to fly in higher winds, but for its price, we reckon it offers good value.
DJI FLIP PRICING
DJI Flip is available to order from store.dji.com/au and authorised retail partners for $699.
DJI Flip (DJI RC 2) retails for $949 while the DJI Flip Fly More Combo (DJI RC 2) retails for $1159.
More Coverage
Originally published as DJI Flip drone Australian review: Fun, simply to fly with beautiful photos, videos
Apple announces gamechanging new iPhone
The tech giant has launched a new iPhone in a bid to respond to cost of living pressures which may have scared customers away from the pricey mobile.
If you’re not doing this already, get on it
Tech Expert Trevor Long has revealed the top five ways you can use AI to enrich your life from the workplace to the living room.