DJI Neo 2 After One Month — Insane Value, Easy to Use, and Surprisingly Tough

Jan 21

Written By Ryan McKay

Blake smiling on a Parksville beach holding his DJI Neo 2 drone on Christmas Day — Christmas week on the beach with Blake and his first drone.

The DJI Neo 2 was Blake’s Christmas present, which comes with some very specific rules.

I’m allowed to:

Charge it
Download the footage
Untangle it from backpacks, jackets, and occasionally bushes

I am not usually allowed to fly it.

That hasn’t stopped this thing from getting used constantly over the last month.

First Impressions: No Manual, No Stress

The first day out, we didn’t read a manual.

We turned it on, held it in our hand, waved at it like idiots, and waited to see what would happen.

It worked.

Gesture controls clicked immediately. Takeoff, follow, basic framing — Blake figured it out faster than most adults figure out a new phone. That’s a big deal. If something’s confusing, a four-year-old abandons it instantly. If it makes sense, they stick with it.

The Neo 2 passed that test on day one.

Active Tracking: Genuinely Good (Collision Avoidance… Let’s Talk)

Active tracking has been surprisingly solid for a drone this small.

Walking, biking, running around the neighborhood, showing off new dance moves — it keeps up, stays framed, and does what it’s supposed to do most of the time.

Collision avoidance, however, is more of a friendly suggestion.

We’ve had bonks. A few of them. One particularly memorable one involved the drone tracking Blake directly into his helmet at the bike park. Helmet did its job. Drone survived. Blake laughed. The footage was excellent.

This is not a “set it and forget it” drone. You still need to supervise. Micro drone does not mean micro consequences.

Why This Thing Comes Everywhere With Us

Here’s the real magic.

There’s almost no startup tax.

No controller to power up.
No satellites to wait for.
No app updates killing the moment.

You pull it out of your pocket, press a couple buttons, and you’re flying.

Blake wants to bring it everywhere. Walks, bike rides, trips to the park. Because it’s small and light, it actually goes with us instead of staying at home “for next time.”

That’s why it gets used.

$300 Goes a Long Way Here

For roughly 300 bucks, the amount of technology packed into this thing is honestly kind of wild.

Gesture controls.
Active tracking.
Stabilized footage.
And the ability to survive a surprising number of minor impacts.

It’s not cinematic. It’s not replacing a proper drone. But the value is undeniable, especially if you care about actually capturing moments instead of planning to capture them someday.

If you want the official breakdown of features and specs, DJI’s Neo 2 product page covers it — this post is more about how it actually behaves in the real world.

→ Link DJI’s Neo 2 product page

What I’ve Played With (And What I Haven’t)

Most of our use so far has been gesture control and active tracking. That’s where the Neo 2 shines, and that’s what Blake keeps going back to.

I briefly tried flying it with my phone, and honestly, I don’t think that’s the way to go for most people. It works, but it kind of defeats the whole point of how easy this drone is supposed to be.

That said, using the phone to quickly change settings — follow in front, follow behind, height, distance — while it was chasing my kid around the bike park was actually pretty cool. Being able to change angles on the fly without landing adds a lot of flexibility.

We haven’t even scratched the surface on all the automated shots yet. That’s coming.

The Stuff I’m Looking Forward To (If I Ever Get Flight Privileges)

At some point, I’m hoping to connect this thing to my RC2 controller from the Air 3S and see how it feels with proper sticks.

I think it’ll be fun.

Whether that happens anytime soon is… unclear.

For now, I’m mostly on charging and download duty.

One Month In: The Honest Take

After a month of real use:

The DJI Neo 2 is ridiculously easy to use.
It offers insane value for the money.
It’s tougher than it looks.
And it gets used because it’s not a hassle.

Between the bonks, the bike rides, and the ever-evolving dance routines, this little drone has already earned its keep.

When I eventually get to fly it properly, we’ll see how far it can be pushed. Until then, it’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to do.

Watch It in Action

Below is a video showing what the Neo 2 actually gets used for — tracking, gestures, bike rides, dance moves, and yes, a few bonks along the way.