DJI: Neo 2, The Irresistible Little Drone that Makes you Want to Get One
EYE IN THE SKY: The manufacturer DJI, is renewing its pocket drone, the DJI Neo 2 with new functions that make it essential
It’s no longer one drone, it’s a Trojan horse! With Neo 2, DJI wants to convert as many people as possible to the use of small flying objects. The successor of the little one Neo who already possessed many virtues, filled the gaps of his elder and landed with new features in his holds. And this, for a price that really makes you want to get on board.
It does much, much more…
Like many others, we quickly fell under the spell of Neo, the small pocket drone launched by DJI in mid-2024. Of Boeotian use, it did not require having its pilot’s certificate, took off and landed from the palm of the hand and recorded beautiful images in most circumstances. With its successor, the Neo 2, there is a mini-drone with a fairly similar aesthetic, but which does much, much more than its predecessor.
Barely heavier (151 g compared to 135 g), its operating principle is the same. The quadcopter can always take off and land from the palm of its pilot’s hand, be controlled in manual mode (from the app DJI Fly, with a smartphone grafted onto a radio control or used alone), but also in automatic mode. Your choice: mode Follow up so that Neo 2 follows us like a little dog; Dronie so that his camera films you moving 2 to 10 meters away then comes back towards you; the aptly named fashion Circle for Neo to make… circles around his pilot, etc.
Previously, these modes could be controlled by pressing a button on the drone (or from the app). Now, two buttons to navigate its modes are located on the right side of the device, while a small LCD screen on the front displays the name of the selected mode. Which is really more practical.
A “Follow-up” mode that we are fans of
Among all these modes with visually quite stunning effects, the mode Follow up (baptized Activetrack) undoubtedly remains the one that we will use massively. Because he’s great. Whether you are a hiker, mountain biker, skier, surfer, or content producer, Neo 2 follows its subject. It frames it perfectly while keeping its face in axis, stops when it stops, restarts when it restarts…
And new: it is possible with a gesture of the hand (palm oriented towards the camera) to keep it at a precise distance, to modify its altitude, or even to reposition it by orienting the hand to the right or left. Or to move it back or forward by spreading or bringing the palms of both hands together. It’s exemplary simplicity and very intuitive. And it works terribly well (kids love it) Neo obeys the hand and the eye.
DJI also took the opportunity to fill one of the main shortcomings of its predecessor: obstacle detection. Where the first Neo could without warning hit a tree or a wall (we showed it to good old Neo!), Neo 2 avoids them thanks to its new sensors, including a frontal Lidar. Even a fast-paced mountain bike session in the forest didn’t allow us to plant the quadcopter in a tree… Not for lack of trying.
105 minutes of video in 4K
With a battery life of 19 minutes (only one included), Neo 2 can continuously record images up to 4K/60fps. The small drone’s 49 GB internal memory can hold up to 105 minutes (its predecessor’s 22 GB was often quickly filled). You then transfer them very simply via WiFi to that of your smartphone: editing software in the application DJI Fly can mount them automatically. Otherwise, the transfer can be done via USB-C.
Sold alone at 239 euros, Neo 2 is only 30 euros more expensive than Neo, still on the market. We advise you not to make this saving, as the new model outperforms its big brother!
If your budget allows it, DJI also offers its Neo 2 in a so-called pack Fly More (sold for 399 euros), with two additional batteries and a radio control. At 599 euros, Santa Claus can also offer you the total: the drone, its batteries but also its Goggles N3 FPV headset and its pilot controller. Immersion guaranteed with this pack: from then on, the experience becomes unique, the pilot seeing through an LCD screen in front of his eyes what the drone sees.
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