Thought I’d kick off a thread on drones since I find it a fascinating subject and the barrier to entry just got a lot lower with the latest offering from DJI, the wee little Neo.
I’ve had several more expensive DJI drones over the years including the original Phantom and the Mavic Pro which are great albeit bulky, cumbersome or expensive if you crash. I also rarely take them with me hiking since weight is an issue and it seems a waste for only a minute or two of footage.
Enter the Neo, an entry level drone for less than CHF 200 that is tiny (135g), very rugged and does all the things the bigger ones do for a fraction of the price. You don’t even need a controller or phone to operate it, its all possible on the drone itself. It takes off and lands on your palm, which is great if you’re in the mountains. Its also capable of 4K 30fps video or 1080p 60fps and obviously the footage won’t be as crisp as its bigger cousins, but for simple clips or social media content its more than capable.
This could be the most important drone DJI have ever release since it opens the field to beginners and they benefit from all the R&D and polished software developed over the last 2 decades.
P.S I actually bought the fly more combo for CHF 280 which comes with two extra batteries, USB charging hub and a controller that extends the range to several km. All of this fits into a small laptop sleeve which can be chucked into a backpack without a second thought.
Even my 5 year old son was annoyed by drones. We’d just hiked for hours to the mountain ridge to enjoy the view and got the infernal drone noise following us along the ridge.
Agree, they could be extremely annoying. Got a DJI Mini 4 Pro though and at 249 gr as soon as its more than 4-5m above the ground its practically impossible to hear. More annoyingly for someone new to this like myself, its also impossible to see it anymore so you have to rely on the RC, which takes some practice.
You are a whisker away from having to do a 4 hour online course and exam as mandated by the Swiss government (drones weighing 250g or more).
N.b. You still need to register your drone even if its < 250g, and I’ve heard officials do spot-checks in and around touristy areas. A lot of people who purchase one from Mediamarkt etc… don’t know these new rules and get caught out.
Yes, actually I couldn’t fly it before registering with the Swiss authorities. It was a relatively quick and painless online process. I believe everything with a camera needs to be registered which is fine by me.
Someone bought my kids a drone in the summer, in the UK. When I protested the extravagance, they said it was really cheap - fifty quid on Amazon!
They then asked me to fly it above their house and get some footage.
They weren’t very impressed with the quality but they didn’t seem to comprehend that that’s all they could expect for fifty quid.
I wish my brother who was there, has piped up that his son’s drone was 2000 USD and it wasn’t my abilities as a photographer!
I’ve got mixed feelings about drone flying - yes they can be annoying - some of the Youtube travel videos made by amateurs using drones, and handheld video cameras far surpass many things on paid-for TV both in quality, editing and general story-telling.
I’m still amazed when, at sea, people launch their drones, in a storm, and capture their yachts being tossed around in the Southern Ocean - truly amazing.
The new drone laws and online training should ameliorate the issue of idiots flying them. I wish there was something similar for ‘e scooters’ as I narrowly avoided collision with one in Zurich, ridden by a wobbly Chinese tourist near the lake.
What I find amazing is that you can buy a DJI drone from Digitec that has a 40kg payload. That’s enough to carry my 11 year old to school each morning.
I remember how we - 40 years ago - just hiked up a mountain for hours on skis and furs and when we enjoyed the view from the mountain top a (real) helicopter landed just on a little plateau beneath and spat out a group of skiers dressed like parrots and babbling just like such. Ruining our downhill run, we thought would be a wonderful, quiet experience in the middle of nowhere.
That was worse, believe me. Heli-skiing was not a thing back then so totally unexpected.
Now that you put it in words I’m sure it won’t be long until that will be put into reality.
After buying and (successfully) crashing two drones to repairs too expensive to consider, I have been sitting on the sidelines in anticipation of a repairable DJI that does not require special equipment or a trip to the service centre.
To what extent is the DJI Neo repairable, parts available, et al? Does anyone know?
