Drones with cameras are now part of everyday life and are standard equipment for amateur pilots and filmmakers. Thanks to sophisticated ready-made models, it is now a matter of unpacking, charging and flying – at least if you know how to control such a drone. For all those who have not yet dared to pilot a multicopter, DJI now has the Neo Mini drone at an affordable price 199 euros Issued. It can be controlled by remote control, but is not necessary – thanks to sophisticated AI.
In our personal test, we show how well autonomous flight works and what else the drone with 4K camera has to offer.
What’s included in Evo?
DJI offers its drones in two sets of variants. The small set includes only the drone, a battery, spare propeller, tools, and a charging cable.
In addition to the drone and replacement propeller, the Fly More combo includes a total of three flight batteries, an RC-N3 remote control, and a triple charging station.
Why should you buy DJI Evo?
Despite the low price and compact dimensions, the DJI Evo is a full-fledged camera drone with good flight characteristics and good image quality. It’s easier than ever to take video and photos from above with pre-programmed flight maneuvers and automatic tracking – all at a price less than an action camera. If you want to show off yourself with the Neo, you can control the drone yourself, but it’s not necessary to do so.
Thanks to various control options, optional use of video glasses and useful recording quality, Neo is suitable for both beginners and professionals.
How do you control DJI Evo?
To date, we have never seen a drone that offers such a wide range of control options. The DJI can either fly in automatic mode without a remote control, controlled via a smartphone app, or via one of three different controllers.
Automated maneuvering works the easiest – you don’t have to drive yourself or have a smartphone or remote control. The operation is incredibly easy. After switching on, you can use the function buttons on the drone to select one of six flight maneuvers (Chase, Droney, Circling, Rocket, Spotlight, Helix). Then you place the Neo in the palm of your hand to get started. Pressing the function button once more causes the small drone to take off after a few seconds and begin its flight maneuver and video recording. Once the flight is complete, the drone returns to the starting point. As you place your open hand under the EVA, it gently folds into your palm and closes. The user can adjust the flight altitude and distance of the automatic maneuvers using the DJI Fly app.
Apart from circling or classic drones, we especially like the automatic tracking. Here Neo follows us completely independently. It worked surprisingly well in testing and the drone did not disturb other pedestrians. If you go for it and hit an obstruction, you’ll eventually lose the drone, but the Neo generally does a great job here. Even tracking on e-scooters and e-bikes worked well in testing – at least up to a certain speed. If you have enough video content, you simply stop and place your hand under the Neo. After this it descends freely.
If you want to intervene yourself in flying other maneuvers without the bulky remote control, you can use the mobile phone app. The range here is significantly less than the remote control, but control via WLAN works reliably and without any delay. One of the compatible remote controls is used for fast flights with a theoretical range of up to six kilometers. However, such a long flight is not allowed.
The controls are similar to other drones – anyone who already has experience will feel immediately comfortable with the Evo. But even beginners can master it quickly with a little practice.
How does the DJI Evo perform in the wind?
The flight characteristics of the Neo, as is typical for DJI, are very good. Thanks to the GPS and optical sensors at the bottom, the mini drone flies very stably and maintains its position. Despite its small size and take-off weight of only 135 grams, the drone reliably stands in place and reacts reliably to each control input. Even steering through the app works well – we were expecting significantly more latency and erratic movements.
Unlike the manufacturer’s larger drones, the Neo is less suitable for sharp maneuvers, high speed and maximum range. It lacks performance. What is more important for Neo is a stable flight image and precise control for precise aerial photos – the mini drone fulfills both of these.
How fast does the DJI Evo fly?
Of course, you can’t expect speed records from the little DJI Neo, but the performance is perfectly adequate in everyday life. The maximum speed in normal mode is 6 m/s (21.6 km/h). In Sport mode it is 8 m/s (28.8 km/h) and with manual control without stabilization 16 m/s (57.6 km/h) is also possible.
For comparison: the sporty DJI Avata 2 (test report) up to 8 m/s (28.8 km/h) in normal mode, 16 m/s (57.6 km/h) in sport mode and 16 m/s (57.6 km/h) gains speed. /hour) at 27 m/s (97.2 km/h) in manual mode.
How long do DJI Evo batteries last?
According to DJI’s data sheet, the maximum flight time per battery is about 18 minutes. This can work in laboratory conditions in slow-moving flight, but in practice, depending on the type of flight, the battery runs out of steam after about 12 to 15 minutes.
Although this is only half the flight time of the DJI Mini 3 Pro (test report), in our opinion the flight time is perfectly adequate for short clips and individual maneuvers. With a self-made FPV drone, the battery lasts less than 3 minutes when flying very sporty.
How good is the Evo’s camera?
We had completely underestimated the image quality of the DJI Neo before testing. Why? Classic camera drones use a three-axis gimbal to achieve perfectly stable video. Even the DJI Avata 2 (test report), which is intended to fly with video glasses, has a two-axis gimbal.
On the other hand, the DJI Neo’s camera mount is only stabilized on the horizontal axis, which is why we expected shots to be quite blurry overall. However, in practice, there is nothing to complain about. DJI benefits from the experience of its own action camera series here – thanks to digital image stabilization, you can also take smooth, blur-free shots at up to 30 fps in 4K and 60 fps in 1080p. The maximum bit rate of MP4 videos is 75 Mbit/s, photos are finished with a resolution of 12 megapixels on the internal 22 GB memory. A memory card is not necessary for the DJI Neo.
How much does the DJI Evo cost?
Small set with drone and battery already available 199 eurosLonger range is possible with the Fly-More combo including remote control, triple charging station and a total of three batteries 349 euros possible.
conclusion
If you want to take aerial photos, the DJI Neo is a great choice. Although there are other drones with higher image quality, greater range and higher speed, such high quality aerial photography has never been so easy and affordable. Although the editor already owns more than a dozen ready-to-fly drones in all sizes and price ranges, he ordered a Neo for family trips on his first day of testing. Now our Tik Tok editor has also arrived. Even without a pilot, aerial selfies are no longer a problem. If you prefer to control your drone for aerial photography, you will also get your money’s worth. Here the combination with FPV goggles is really exciting dji google 3 video glasses,
