DJI Flip official: Unique bicycle-spoke folding drone starts at $439

At $439, the DJI Flip might be a good starting point for those who don't typically buy drones. You can unfold it, launch it from your hand with a button, place it in your hand again, or choose to use a joystick, all while capturing higher-quality photos and videos than direct competitors.

In August, my colleague Thomas Ricker told you how DJI competitor Hover was changing the game by selling a $349 flying camera that didn't require people to learn a joystick; with the $199 DJI Neo, DJI seemed to We are ready to enter this field in a big way. But the $439 Flip not only lets you launch and shoot basic drones, tracks, and follow shots of the drone itself, it also significantly improves camera quality, flight stability, and battery life (quoted at 31 minutes ), and lets you launch your drone faster. You just can't fly in FPV like some of us would like.

The Flip isn't just the first drone to look like a DJI drone Star Wars The AT-AT walker, or cheap bike when folded, was also the first to automatically turn on when unfolded, saving you the time of having to press a button twice. When you flip over its four-spoke, fully-covered propeller guards (which DJI says are a first for its folding drones), they incorporate an auto-braking, forward-facing 3D infrared sensor to protect the camera from any head-on collisions as well as.

While this camera isn't as impressive as the 1.0-inch camera on the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, I was impressed with the first results in good light! It has a smaller 1/1.3-inch 4K60 sensor with a 4:3 aspect ratio, capable of shooting 2.7K vertical video or 48-megapixel stills behind a fast f/1.7 aperture lens. Here are my unedited early flights, drone selfies and photos for your reference:

Frankly, the DJI Neo (less than half the price) can't match this level of performance; over the same lake, in the same park, the Neo couldn't even hold a steady, level shot as the breeze blew around its lighter frame. By comparison, its image becomes muddy and washed out. The Flip has a three-axis gimbal to help maintain stability. Additionally, professionals can record using 10-bit D-Log M.

But other pricier DJI drones still offer better performance, plus true vertical shooting via a rotating gimbal – it's hard to imagine drone enthusiasts choosing the Flip instead of waiting to see the DJI What the unreleased Mini 5 might bring to the table.

“There are currently no plans to retire the Mini Series. The DJI Flip is a new entry-level drone series that will be available alongside DJI Neo and DJI Mini. Each drone is designed to meet the needs of a different type of beginner. “DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong confirmed. edge.

I've always been surprised by the sheer size of the Flip. But it's still under the 249-gram limit, which typically triggers government compliance standards such as publicly broadcasting your location. Even though it has folding arms, it doesn't fold up any smaller than a Mini, so I can't fit it into any other pocket than the largest cargo pants pocket I own. Despite its ducted propellers, it's also quite noisy—definitely not one of the quieter drones the company sells.

Although it's more expensive than the $199 DJI Neo, it doesn't support any FPV headsets to let you soar like a bird.

But the Flip costs just $439 and comes with a basic RC-N3 joystick controller that lets you use your phone as a screen and has a hand-activated mode; the $779 kit comes with three batteries, a carrying case and a more powerful DJI RC 2 controller with a built-in daylight-viewable 700 nit screen. The DJI Mini 4 Pro versions of each of the same kits cost $959 and $1,099 respectively, a $320 difference.

The DJI Flip should be available for purchase and shipping today on the DJI website.

Photography and video by Sean Hollister/The Verge