The DJI Neo is a small (127mm x 145mm x 30mm), surprisingly light (135g) flying camera that features optical flow stabilisation, a rechargeable 2S (Two cell) 1,435mAh Li:Po (lithium polymer) flight battery, the ability to have it take to the skies right from your palm, the ability to land directly in your hand and shoot a number of video styles.
The Neo is termed a "celfie drone" because that is one of its primary purposes; it is also designed to be flown indoors.
But the most amazing thing about this product is that it needs no remote control!!!
I love things that fly; that's why I took the bate and also why I added a seperate section titled "PRODUCTS DESIGNED TO FLY" on my website a number of years ago and created a new website just a few years ago specifically for flying machines of this nature!!! I was also attracted to some things that this drone has that many others don't...
1: It has a gyro -- that means it's easy to fly even for a "craptastic" pilot like me.
2: It has an
optical flow sensor; this allows the drone to stay stable in the air.
3: It has GPS (Global Positoning System) for accurate positioning.
4: Because it doesn't need a controller, it is possible for stroke survivors to successfully fly it.
5 It has a number of automated flight modes; called "Quickshots" by DJI.
The Neo is in the lower end of being a hobby grade drone.
It's not puny for one thing (it isn't huge, but it isn't microscopic either).
It also features brushless motors, which deliver more power and have far longer lifetimes than their brushed counterparts.
The Neo sports a 4k camera with a 117.60° FOV (Field Of View); both still photos and aerial video can be taken with it!
I believe that the Neo can withstand winds of up to 17.895mph (189.734kph)!
Because I am crippled due to a stroke that I had in early-2022, I am not able to test the Quickshots (except possibly "Spotlight") and can only fly the Neo in manual mode.
* This price is for the drone only (plus flight battery, two spare props, four screws for them, and USB-C charge/data cable)
SIZE (compared with my foot)
As with any rechargeable product, charge the Neo first, and then you can pretend to fly a large dragonfly (well, that's what kitty cats would think it was if it were designed to be flown in a small living room -- you CAN fly it indoors (it was actually made for this purpose) but you'll want to be certain that the illumination level is relatively high.)
1: First off, load the app called, "DJI Fly" (the Android version from Google Play) onto your 5G WiFi cellular telephone handset, and run it.
2: Press and release the POWER button on the drone (it's located on the upper surface of the drone's fuselage {this word is definitely *NOT* pronounced "fyoo SELL' uh jee" as Drake Parker from the TV program "Drake and Josh" would pronounce it ; the word is pronounced ""} near the back); the drone will begin flashing its battery level lights near the front to let you know that it is on.
3: Follow the prompts on your cellular telephone's display to set up your Neo (you only need to perform the setup routine once).
4: Press the circular graphic near the center of the phone display and hold it for several seconds; the Neo will spring to life and lift off.
Congratulations, you're now a pilot!!!
For additional instructions & tips on how to fly the Neo, please read the instructional material that comes with the product.
On the Neo, short-press & release and then long-press & release the "OFF/ON" button. This should neutralise it.
The battery in the Neo is rechargeable.
To charge the Li:Po battery in the Neo, plug up one end of the charge cable into any free female USB-C receptacle on your Pee-Cee or Mac computer, and plug the other end into the female USB-C receptacle on the rear of the Neo's fuselage.
The battery indicator LEDs on the upper surface of the battery near the front should come on and start blinking with one or more lights. When you see four lights steady-on (not blinking), the charge cycle is complete and the cable may safely be unplugged.
Expect it to take ~65 minutes.
Fully charging the Neo's battery should give you approx. 17 to 18 minutes (advertised) of flying time.
This little drone is meant to be used as a flying camera in a large dry area outdoors or a large indoor venue (smaller rooms are kosher when slow speed is employed), not as a flashlight meant to be carried around all the time, thrashed, trashed, bashed, and abused; so I won't throw it against the wall, stomp on it, viciously chuck it at one of those wall-mounted porcelain uranators to see if it becomes broken (the Neo, not the whizzer!), try to drown it in the {vulgar slang term for a fudge bunny}bowl (loo) or the cistern, run over it, swing it against a loo ring (toliet seat), swing it against the concrete floor of a patio, bash it open to check it for candiosity, fire it from the cannoñata (I guess I've been watching the TV program "Viva Piñata" too much again - candiosity is usually checked with a scanner-type device on a platform with a large readout, with handheld wand that Langston Lickatoad uses, or with a pack-of-cards-sized device that Fergy Fudgehog uses; and the cannoñata is only used to shoot piñatas to piñata parties away from picturesque Piñata Island), send it to the Daystrom Institute for additional analyses, launch it into the upper atmosphere of Gamalon V** so that chairman Sonji gets all piddled-off about it and kills the poor thing, or inflict upon it punishments that I might inflict upon a flashlight.
Besides, drones are meant to be loved, not punished.
There is an optical flow sensor on the bottom of the Neo; this helps to maintain the Neo's position at lower altitudes. The ambient light level must be fairly high in order for this optical flow positioning system to function though, so please do not expect it to function on night missions.
I believe the optical flow is functional to 3 meters (9.84 feet) in altitude.
The Neo does not use a MicroSD memory chip as is usual for drones; it transmits images & video directly to your cellular telephone handset.
The Neo is suited for those with certain physical limitations; it can be flown WITHOUT a remote controller!!!
Ahhh, the next iteration of the "stroke drone" has been invented!!!
This shows the, "time of flight" sensor on the Neo's underside while the Neo is in flight.
That white light is actually a NIR (near-infrared) LED that works in concert with a photosensor to determine the Neo's altitude.
ALL OF THE FLIGHT VIDEOS ARE ON THEIR OWN WEB PAGE
SO THAT THIS EVAL. WOULD NOT BECOME TOO CUMBERSOME!!!
TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased on Amazon.com on 09-23-2024, has an ETA of 10-10-1024, and was received on the afternoon of 10-09-2024.
** From the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "Final Mission".
UPDATE 10-22-24
I went ahead and purchased another flight battery for my Neo.
UPDATE 01-09-25
The cellular telephone handset that I use as a controller went to pot a couple of days ago; the replacement won't arrive until 01-14-25, so there won't be any flights until then.
UPDATE 01-10-25
The cellular telephone handset that I purchased as a replacement arrived yesterday; I wasted no time in seting it up, downloading the DJI Fly app, and making a flight.
UPDATE 01-19-25
I have it on good authority that DJI has removed all geofencing and no-fly zones from all DJI drones; this means you'll want to fly with much more caution than you might have before with regards to flying near airports and other places where air traffic might be present.
This also means that some dimbulb f###weeds could fly dangerously and put lives at risk.
Here is a video on YourTube explaining the situation:
UPDATE 02-13-25
I've been receiving the message, "Battery cycle count approaching limit<" so after some consultation, I've gone ahead and purchased a replacement.
UPDATE 05-02-25
I have become aware of some phoney Neos flooding the market as of late (late-April and eary-May 2025) that you should be aware of; don't let the tempting price tags sucker you in!!! As far a I'm able to determine, these Neo knock-offs are real POS and should be avoided at all costs!!! >:-(
PROS:
Unique drone does is controlled with your cellular telephone handset or with various remote controls (or even with none at all)
NEUTRAL:
CONS:
Just a wee bit noisy
MANUFACTURER: DJI
PRODUCT TYPE: Small celfie drone w/ lots of features
LAMP TYPE: LED
No. OF LAMPS: 11
BEAM TYPE: N/A
REFLECTOR TYPE: N/A
SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/off on upper surface of the Neo's fuselage
CASE MATERIAL: Plastic
BEZEL: N/A
BATTERY: 1x 7.3V 1,435mAh Li:Po
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
WATER- AND ASIAN ELEPHANT MICTURITION-RESISTANT: Very light sprinkle-resistance at maximum (though if a huge elephant really does go poddy on it, you've got FAR bigger problems than a stinky dead drone, hahaha!!! )
SUBMERSIBLE: ¡¡¡EL CONEJITO DE PASCUA CON UN CEPILLO DE DIENTES QUE CAYÓ EN UN HIGIÉNICO DE LOS, NO!!!
ACCESSORIES: Flight battery, two spare props, four screws for them, USB-C charge/data cable
SIZE: 130mm L × 157mm W × 48.50mm H
WEIGHT: unknown/unable to weigh (advertised as 135g; incl. flight battery)
COUNTRY OF MANUFACTURE: China
WARRANTY: 12 months
; the word is pronounced "
"} near the back); the drone will begin flashing its battery level lights near the front to let you know that it is on.
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