Reviews |DJI Flip review

DJI Flip review

The compact Flip is simple to fly and has a camera that shoots phenomenal footage. There is little not to like about it.

DJI Flip review
Review

Our Verdict

In the last few months, we’ve had a range of new drones arrive from the DJI stable, and the Flip is probably the most interesting yet. It’s been specifically designed to appeal to vloggers, which is interesting as this is a market presently dominated by the superb Mini. Like the Mini the new Flip drone weighs in at 249g, and from the design, you can see that DJI has worked hard to create a drone that is compact and incredibly safe to use and fly, featuring a protective guard that encircles each propeller.

The actual design is a bit of a breakaway from DJI’s usual styling. While it uses the same matte white scheme, the large wheel-style flip-out propellers give this drone an altogether different look, which is unique.

If you’re going to compare the new Flip to any other drone within the DJI range, it has to be directly against the DJI Mini 4 Pro, although the Flip is significantly cheaper.

While the design of the two drones is obviously quite different, when it comes to the market, there is little differentiating between the two, with DJI aiming the Flip at the entry-level market and for vloggers who just want a drone as part of their creative equipment. As such, some features have been pared back slightly compared with the Mini 4 Pro whilst actually retaining much of the same camera and image quality that impressed me when I looked at the Mini 4 Pro last year.

I’m going to cover the flight features in the full review, but there are a few interesting additions to the drone that make a difference as you fly. The Flip somehow manages to have a far more sedate and controllable flight compared with the DJI Mini 4 Pro, and if you are vlogging or wanting to shoot video at relatively close range, then the Flip just takes the edge over the Mini 4 Pro. An impressive 3D infrared sensor system helps it avoid objects, although this is not 360°.

Essentially, many of the flight features have also been fine-tuned for this new drone, and this is actually an amazing option for anyone who wants to fly a drone but has always been a little bit wary of those exposed propellers. The Flip also has a lot more beginner-friendly flight options, and you can operate it using the remote controller, Fly app, and voice control.

Once again, as with the Mini 4 Pro, the camera really impressed during the test. The drone seems to share the same 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor, which is capable of capturing 48-megapixel photos and 4K HDR video at 60 frames per second, alongside 4K video at 100fps to capture some great slow-motion footage.

It also features all the usual AI subject tracking and intelligent flight modes, which are all accessible through the app. Again, because of those propeller guards, it all feels a little bit more beginner-friendly.

So, whilst DJI has aimed this directly at vloggers, it’s a great option for all beginners. I have to say, of all the small DJI drones released in the last couple of years, the Flip feels a little bit more refined. DJI has dropped the fold-out propeller design with exposed blades for this flip-out design, which feels a lot safer and far more user-friendly.

If you’re new to drones or you’re a content creator wanting a nice, simple, easy-to-use drone to get started, then the DJI Flip is an absolutely superb option and great fun to fly.

For

  • Compact and lightweight design
  • Ultra-easy to fly
  • High-resolution camera

Against

  • Slightly too large to fit in a side pocket
  • Small fingers could still get through the propeller protector

What is the DJI Flip?

The DJI Flip is the latest drone from the DJI range and follows hot on the heels of the DJI Neo, which is of a similar size but is pitched at a very different market. When you look at the lineup now, you have the compact Neo, which is great fun and a great entry point to the FPV market. Then you have the Flip, which is brilliant for those getting into drones, with its protective guard (a first for the DJI range) and a phenomenal camera, which makes it superb for vloggers and anyone who just wants a drone that’s extremely easy to use. Then you have the Mini range, which takes things up a notch with a few more camera features, longer flight times, and flight distance. Above that, you have the Air and the Mavic ranges, which are pitched at the enthusiast and professional markets.

So, in real terms, the main competitor for the DJI Flip is the DJI Mini 4 Pro, and when you start to look through the specifications list, you can see that they’re pretty evenly matched, with the main feature being that they both come in at 249g, which means you can fly both without the need for a licence.

The other big similarity between the two drones is that they feature much the same camera, and both are capable of capturing 48-megapixel images and 4K resolution footage at up to 100fps, which is phenomenal for shooting slow-motion and high-resolution footage. However, suppose you’re thinking that the DJI Flip will be a cheaper version of the DJI Mini 4 Pro, and you’ll be able to get away with using this to integrate with footage captured for your video productions. Unfortunately, it doesn’t feature the pro-level 10-bit RAW that the Mini 4 Pro includes. However, it does have built-in glamour effects, which are more tuned to social media. So, if you’re looking for a drone with some high-end cinematic features, then you’ll need to stick with the DJI Mini 4 Pro. If you’re a vlogger and you’re just looking for a drone to produce stunning footage, then the DJI Flip will be the better option.

DJI Flip reviewSo, it’s really the features around the camera that differentiate these two drones when it comes to imaging. But when you have them both side-by-side, you see the difference in the design between the two drones is more dramatic. The DJI Mini 4 Pro takes the usual approach with fold-out arms and exposed propellers on the ends, compared with the Flip, which has these flip-out propellers that are fully protected in propeller guards, making it far better for use by those just getting into drones and drone imaging.

When it comes to who the DJI Flip is aimed at, the main audience will be vloggers and content creators who want to utilise the DJI Flip alongside other equipment, such as the DJI Osmo Pocket or even the Osmo Action. If you’re a filmmaker and you want to take your videography up a level, then you have the DJI Mini 4 Pro, which will give you access to higher bit-rate footage that is better for grading and blending in with other sources.

Specification

  • Weight:: Under 249g (no license or training required in most countries)
  • Maximum Flight Time: : 31 minutes
  • Transmission Range: : 13 km with O4 video transmission at 1080p/60fps
  • Sensor: : 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor
  • Photo Resolution: : 48 MP
  • Video Resolution: : 4K/60fps HDR video, 4K/100fps slow-motion, 10-bit D-Log M colour mode
  • Aperture: : f/1.7
  • AI Subject Tracking: : Automatically locks onto and follows subjects
  • QuickShots: : Six modes, including Dronie, Circle, Rocket, Spotlight, Helix, and Boomerang
  • MasterShots: : Automatically perform complex movements and edit the footage with music and effects
  • FocusTrack: : Includes ActiveTrack 4.0, Spotlight 2.0, and Point of Interest 3.0

Build and Handling

As with the DJI Mini 4, one of the big features of the Flip is that it weighs under 250g—exactly 249g with the standard battery and everything loaded and ready to go.

Taking out the DJI Flip from the packaging, you can see that it has the usual DJI design principles behind it and the usual high-quality finish, with the materials and everything feeling good and solid, so even if you bash it into something when in flight it should withstand it well. Through the test, it did have a few knocks and bashes and survived perfectly well, and apart from a couple of marks on the exterior, it’s all good. What I really like about the design of the Flip is the fact that the propellers are fully enclosed. So, if you are a beginner, this drone is an absolutely ideal place to start. Even though the Mini is a drone often used by those just starting, the fact that the propellers are exposed does put some people off. So, with the Flip having them fully encased in the way that they are, will definitely give people confidence to give the Flip a go over something like the Mini.

DJI Flip review

Like the ingenious design of the standard DJI fold-down and rotate-around arms and propellers we see on most of their other drones, this new flip-out design initially looks like something reminiscent of a penny-farthing, with a large wheel and a small body of the drone on top. As you fold out those circular propeller modules, you can see a two-blade propeller protected by wire spokes going into the large guards around the outer edge. This design enables maximum airflow around the propellers while making it very difficult to get your fingers actually inside or even close to those propellers. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, and without the propellers spinning, it is easy enough to put your fingers through those spokes to touch the blades. However, when it’s flying, and if you do fly into yourself or someone else, then it’s less likely that your fingers are going to go through or get touched by the blades, which is a great safety feature, especially when you’re considering using this for vlogging where the drone could be at quite close quarters.

As with many of the other DJI drones that are designed for the entry-level market, the drone itself is relatively small, measuring roughly 16.5cm by 13.5cm when folded and having a diagonal measurement of 30.5cm when the props are flipped out. This small packed-down size means that it will fit into a larger backpack side pocket, and without those blades (as you have on the Mini) flapping around, it’s much easier to take it in and push it back into the pocket. However, when I checked several of the backpacks that I have on test at the moment, I found only a few that would actually facilitate the drone just being popped in. Instead, a larger front pocket or an actual pocket within the backpack is required to hold the drone itself. The controller is the standard LCD-type DJI RC2, and again, due to its size, it will fit into a larger backpack side pocket, but again, it’s probably best sat inside your backpack.

DJI Flip review

When it comes to power, there’s a quick-release battery that simply clicks on top of the drone’s body. It takes up just under half of the drone and contributes most of its weight. In this review, I’ve looked at the combo version of the Flip, which comes with three batteries and an especially useful charging hub.

Taking a quick tour of the body: on one side is the power button and the usual row of power lights. A quick press, then a longer press of the power button, powers up the drone, and you can see the lights on the side illuminate, highlighting exactly how much battery power the drone has.
On the other side are the Micro SD card port, USB Type-C port, and the mode button, which enables you to quickly switch between flight modes, including Dronie. On the front is the camera with the 3-axis mechanical gimbal, and then there’s the visor at the front that hides the support for the 3D Infrared Sensing System and Forward Obstacle Sensing technology. On the underside of the drone are the two positioning sensors, which enable palm takeoff and landing and help with flight when no GPS is available.

Overall, the Flip’s design and physical handling are a slight departure from DJI’s usual design profile. With the integrated propeller guard, IR sensor visor on the front, and high-resolution camera, it makes the Flip a superb choice for anyone just getting into flying drones and looking for something with some serious imaging potential.

 

Features

Taking a quick look at some of the Flip’s key features, first of all, it has to be the foldable full-coverage propeller guard. This is a first for DJI, with the guard normally just clipping onto the propeller rather than being an integrated part of the drone’s design. One of the things you should notice during flight, and even during the occasional bashing into things, is the fact that this design seems a lot more robust and less likely for the drone to break if it does hit the floor.

This new design feature makes the drone a far better option for anyone just getting into drone imagery and also for its primary focus, which is vlogging. But importantly, the drone guards themselves are relatively lightweight, which helps this drone stay under that all-important 250g weight limit, coming in at 249g.

As with all areas of photography, AI is becoming a huge feature, and DJI has had a lot of experience in the sector. Here, we see AI subject tracking incorporated, and again, it works superbly at tracking an object, which you can highlight using the touchscreen on the RC2 controller. This essentially enables you to highlight yourself and then use the drone to track you, taking the shots as you present to the camera or capture stunning scenery with you walking in it. You also have the usual array of QuickShots and MasterShots that you can quickly select either through the interface or using the mode button on the side of the drone.

DJI Flip review

For an entry-level drone, the camera technology is also a level up from what we’ve come to expect in the past. Like the DJI Mini 4, there’s a 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor capable of capturing stills at up to 48 megapixels. This sensor is fronted by an f/1.7 aperture lens and also features plenty of effects that can be applied through the RC2 controller or DJI app. One of the latest additions is a glamour effect that automatically applies itself to the footage as you export it.

Likewise, when it comes to video, there are plenty of options, with standard 4K at 60 frames per second enabling HDR video for greater shadow and highlight detail. This will be especially interesting to anyone travelling and wanting to capture exotic scenery. If you want high-resolution slow motion, an exciting addition is the fact that this drone can shoot 4K at up to 100 frames per second, essentially enabling you to get four seconds of playback from one second of footage.

This new camera also supports 10-bit video recording like the Mini 4 Pro, enabling you to record in D-Log M. So, if you want to record flat footage that can be graded with other sources, even the Flip, at its entry-level, has this ability.

Another thing to mention is that the days of short flight times for drones are long gone. Here, each battery offers a good 31 minutes of flight time, enabling you to have plenty of flexibility over the footage that you capture—although you should always leave a good 20% in the craft before swapping, so most flights in the test saw about 20 minutes of flight per cell.

Performance

Setup and starting with the DJI Flip is extremely fast and straightforward, and from the outset, the new propeller guard design makes a huge difference to my confidence in using this drone. This isn’t so much from a safety angle, but more from the fact of storage. If it is popped into the side pocket of a camera backpack, when you pull the drone out, it’s less likely that one of the props will get stuck or caught on the backpack as you pull it out. Likewise, as you flip out the propeller units, they all feel really good, strong, and robust. It just feels like this design is less likely to break if you have a crash. Over the years, I’ve gone through two DJI Minis due to a broken arms, whereas here, I’m pretty confident that had this drone been in the same situation as those Minis, it would’ve been absolutely fine.

So, for me, this drone guard design is a real evolution of the design, which has been around for several years as the company migrated from the iconic design of the Phantoms through to the Mavic and now to this Flip design. While it might not be so convenient for the larger versions of the DJI drones, it seems absolutely ideal for the mini version.

Due to this design, when it comes to setting up and taking off, there really is nothing to worry about. The propellers are already outstretched and ready to spin, and they’re less likely to catch on anything as you take off. When taking off, you draw the sticks down into the centre of the controller to start the propellers before pushing the left stick up to launch the drone into the air once all satellites are connected.

DJI Flip review

The initial takeoff is, as you’d expect, nice and smooth, and after doing a few quick tests before landing the drone, everything feels good and tight on the control and decidedly DJI in its flight characteristics. If there were anything to be said about the way that this small drone feels in the air, it would be that it isn’t quite as quick to respond or as positive as some of the other drones. However, it does feel nice and stable and is absolutely perfectly suited to anyone just starting out or anyone looking to use this drone for imaging.

A quick test of the sensors by flying it towards objects shows that the sensors do kick in, stopping the drone from flying into obstacles in front of its flight path. However, as the sensors are all forward-facing, anything to the side or back won’t be sensed. So, you still need to be quite careful about how you fly this, especially if you’re flying in an indoor location.

When flying it indoors without GPS, it does have those two sensors at the bottom, which help with takeoff and landing, but through my tests, I have to say that without a GPS connection, the drone was prone to drifting, whereas most other drones will just hover stationary. The Flip had a bit of a habit of ambling off in one direction or another.

Outside, with a GPS connection, it was absolutely fine. There is no drifting, and you have the usual static positioning that we’ve come to expect from drones. This makes it exceptionally easy to fly, and the brake function works well, holding the drone in the air nicely and quickly if you do get into trouble. On that note, if you are a complete beginner and you’re worried about losing the drone, the RTH (Return to Home) button on the controller will instantly bring the drone back to its takeoff point. So, if you are new, it’s always worth taking off from a point that you know you can access when you land. Especially with a drone that can fly for upwards of 20 minutes, you might have wandered quite some distance from the original RTH position, so it could be a long walk back if you don’t reset it or land on another occasion.

While the Flip is aimed at beginners and vloggers, where speed is not going to be an essential feature, when you switch the controller over to sport mode, you can pick up quite a rate of speed. As you get more experience with flying the drone, it’s nice that you have access to that faster flight so that you can experience what things are like when you take a step up to a larger drone. Each of the flight speeds can be accessed via the RC2 controller with the simple slide switch. This is always a really nice feature, as you can switch it over to sport mode to get your drone to the location you want and then switch it over to normal or cinematic mode in order to slow down the pace so you can capture the shot that you want.

When it comes to the actual camera options, these are all accessible through the touchscreen of the RC2 or the app if you’re using that. Again, it’s really nice and easy, and if you’ve used any of the DJI devices before, then this should make sense. Tapping on the camera icon will then give you the options for either auto or pro and then tapping on the screen will bring up all the options, which you can then quickly adjust. Over time, this interface has adapted so it’s more in line with that of the Osmo Action and Pocket, so anyone familiar with either of those two cameras will easily be able to find their way and navigate the options and settings of the DJI Flip.

One of the features that I wasn’t expecting was the fact that, despite this being an entry-level model, you still have access to the D-Log M colour profile. This means that you can produce or capture flat footage from the drone, which can then be matched and integrated with footage from other cameras, such as the DJI Osmo Action or Pocket. It also supports D-Log M which is a bit of a surprise and further closes the gap between this and the Mini 4 Pro.

Overall, from flight through to the quality of the camera footage, the DJI Flip is exceptional and ideal for anyone just starting, but also for anyone with more experience flying drones. Its simple-to-use design and the fact that it has reassuring guards around the propellers make it a great option for all sorts of users. What I really liked was that the quality of the footage is so good, just like the DJI Mini 4 Pro, that it is perfectly possible to integrate it with other workflows. And while the best image quality can be seen in bright sunlight conditions, the lower-light interior quality is still pretty good. However, one word of caution: if you are flying it indoors, it doesn’t have the positioning abilities of some of the more expensive drones. So, when it goes over to manual mode, it is close to full manual and will have a little bit of a tendency to drift. However, outside and under normal use, it’s absolutely fine.

One area I’ve been unable to test so far is connecting the DJI mics to the drone for a complete solution, but once I’ve solved this issue, I will bring you an update along with the sample footage from the drone.

Final Thoughts

At first look, I thought the DJI Flip was going to be solely focused on the entry-level market, especially with that large propeller protector around the blades. However, DJI was keen to highlight that this drone is aimed at vloggers, not just the entry-level market. As you start to use the drone and actually put its functions and features to the test, it becomes more and more apparent that this is actually one of the best options out there for any content creator looking for a drone to capture footage.

DJI Flip review

First and foremost, it’s small and lightweight, which means it’ll easily pack into a backpack without adding too much bulk or weight. But this alone is not enough to make it stand out, especially when it’s competing against the superb DJI Mini 4 Pro, which essentially matches this in many ways when it comes to imaging potential. However, it quickly becomes apparent that the Flip is something new, and it’s an evolution of drone design. It packs in a similarly decent camera, although not quite to the pro level, and those protective propellers are more than just a safety feature—they’re actually a change to the DJI design and one I’m interested to see whether it develops into those larger drones.

In use, those propeller guards just give you the confidence to fly it around more complex locations. When flying through trees, you’re less worried about a stray twig clipping a propeller, and it all seems to handle the flight exceptionally well. The fact that you have a drone that is not only small, easy to fly, and has those protective propeller guards but also comes in at less than 250g opens up huge potential for when and where you can use the drone.

So, while this is the ideal drone for anyone just starting with drone flight, it is also an ideal option for its focused target group, which is content creators. But equally, it’s great fun for professional drone pilots who want a drone that they can fly anywhere without many of the issues that accompany the larger drones. To be honest, the footage is so good that, as long as it’s used just for short clips, it will integrate well into higher-end footage. And the fact that you can shoot in M-Log just means that it’s much easier to integrate with higher-end footage.

So, whether you’re a complete beginner, an experienced content creator, or a professional, the Flip is a superb new option from DJI and has quickly become one of my favourite go-to drones whenever I want to capture some footage or just play around with a drone.

Price and Availability

DJI Flip is available to order from store.dji.com and authorised retail partners, with shipping starting today, in the following configurations:
DJI Flip retails for 369 GBP/ from 439 EUR
DJI Flip (DJI RC 2) retails for 549 GBP/ from 639 EUR
DJI Flip Fly More Combo (DJI RC 2) retails for 659 GBP/ from 779 EUR

For more details check out DJI.com