Dji mini or Neo?

[Daniel Mclean]

Hi, all fellow pilots, I was wondering whether the Dji mini or the Neo would be better for photography in smaller, tighter locations. I like the foldable design of the mini, but my only concern is that it may be more fragile than the neo. Does anyone have any experience with these 2 drones?

 

[jlynde]

What is it you are wanting to do exactly?

 

[scro]

For photography (ie stills) the Mini is the better choice. The Neo is more for doing quick video clips, and autonomous "selfie" videos, and follow-me clips. It is physically smaller than the mini series drones and has built in prop guards so can fit into tighter spaces, but the camera/sensor and gimbal are not ideal for taking stills. The Mini 3, 4 or 5 all have better sensors.

Like jlynde said, what exactly are you looking to do?

 

[MS Coast]

For anything you're going to post that will be viewed on a phone, the Neo will definitely provide adequate image quality. Same for most things that will be viewed on a typical computer. In tight spaces, the Neo has the advantage of being able to bounce off walls, objects, and even people, without damage to either party to the collision. The Neo is ridiculously cheap for a flying camera. On the downside, the sound it makes is irritating.

Unless you need higher quality images, functions other than photos and video (waypoints, panos, tracking ...), longer range, longer flight duration, or have other uses for a drone, the Neo is a good choice.

I've used the Neo for travel and for some videos in wooded locations where I didn't want to risk a more expensive drone. You might consider buying a controller for it. Flying with a phone is a bit awkward and limits the range. A second-hand RC 2 controller would be relatively inexpensive and would work well.

The Neo is a great first step. If you get into flying drones and see that you want a model with more features and capabilities, I suspect you'll want to keep the Neo around for it's particular advantages.

 

[BenThe]

Hi, all fellow pilots, I was wondering whether the Dji mini or the Neo would be better for photography in smaller, tighter locations. I like the foldable design of the mini, but my only concern is that it may be more fragile than the neo. Does anyone have any experience with these 2 drones?

Which Mini are you referring to? Mini 4K, Mini 3 Regular/Pro, Mini 4 Pro, Mini 5 Pro? I am assuming you mean the Mini 4K since that is the closest in price point to the Neo.

I don't have a Neo, but from footage I saw online, the Mini 4K actually has greater quality. In tight locations, you can put the offical DJI prop guard on it and it protects the blades pretty well. Mini 4K crashes worse than the Neo because of laws of physics, it is just under 100 grams more heavy than the Neo, so more mass/inertia/Force to destroy plastics and hinges in a crash.

I also want to mention using both in dimly lit locations with poor GPS coverage may result in both going into Attitude mode.

 

[Daniel Mclean]

Sorry for the Lack of information and late replies everyone! I somehow managed to completely forget about this thread I started.  I have a small filming business run by me and my 2 brothers that basically is about exploring my country and filming some of our amazing natural scenery and other adventures (mountain biking, Hiking) etc for a Christian TV channel. We need a drone that is small enough to fly in tighter locations and be tough enough to withstand light crashes. I was looking at a Dji mini 2 4k for just a bit more than 500 NZd Dji mini 4k. Is that a reasonable price or not?
Thanks for the suggestions,
Daniel M

 

[MS Coast]

Sorry for the Lack of information and late replies everyone! I somehow managed to completely forget about this thread I started.  I have a small filming business run by me and my 2 brothers that basically is about exploring my country and filming some of our amazing natural scenery and other adventures (mountain biking, Hiking) etc for a Christian TV channel. We need a drone that is small enough to fly in tighter locations and be tough enough to withstand light crashes. I was looking at a Dji mini 2 4k for just a bit more than 500 NZd Dji mini 4k. Is that a reasonable price or not?
Thanks for the suggestions,
Daniel M

The Neo is far more "light crash resistant" than any of the Minis. The props and gimbal are well protected.

 

[Daniel Mclean]

Thanks for the advice!