How To Fly The DJI NEO In The Dark

[@RobertGlazier]

That was a great in-depth test. Thanks for sharing.

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

Thanks, Robert! 👊

[@RonaldBrown59]

Interesting that you got better results using the RC controller and your phone. I've never tried to fly it in the dark, but after hearing that it doesn't perform well, I always land it before the sunsets. I've never tried to fly it indoors. Great testing Kris, and thanks for sharing.

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

Yeah, it is strange that there's an inconsistency when in the dark. Your plan seems solid. Land before sunset. 😅 Also, don't go in a shaded area if using FPV goggles. Thanks, Ron. 🤝

[@PetkoKolev00]

Thank you for that test, I’ve actually tried it in a car park when I was recording my friends car late at night as he was driving around. The Neo kept pushing up and hitting the ceiling which my mini 3 and 4 never did so this really does help show why it happens

[@JOEBlalock23]

The neo cons are there and thanks for letting us know. Some of these I have observed. Things I wish they would fix. 1. Auto land in dark 2. Auto stop and drop when it touches something. #intothedarkness

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

I agree with those NEO cons. Wait, did I just say that? 👀🤔😂

[@RJ2A81]

Thank you for testing this out. It’s too unpredictable in poor lighting. I have to get the manual setup to get the most out of it it seems.

[@MikeMillerDrones]

#intothedarkness I like the light on the bottom idea. I actually carry this drone with me everywhere I go. It is a fun little drone.

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

👊 Great for guerilla whooping, perhaps! 😉

[@MikeMillerDrones]

@SunriseWaterMedia 😂

[@gregb1599]

I have seen another KZbinr claiming to fly it outdoors in RC mode in the dark comparing another DJI drone cameras, and it at least in that video was flying quite high without issues and even the camera contrast seemed fine.

[@Tecuany]

Excelent! More info more value for every drone pilot. Thanks to you dear Bro! Have a great day bro!

[@chrishope82666]

#dontflyalone #intothedarkness Fun video

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

Flying alone especially into the darkness can be scary! 😂 Thanks so much, Chris.

[@DroningVeteran]

Great demonstration, I think Kelly was having a little too much fun shining that light in your face Kris LOL I was actually out with my Nephew today while he was flying his NEO and it does not like trees either LOL. I still plan on getting this little guy just because :)

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

Lol 🔦 😅 Dan you definitely should get a NEO. Dang trees!

[@DroningVeteran]

@@SunriseWaterMedia I am hoping the BIG man in red will be nice to me this year. Usually he gives me coal but this year I am hoping for a NEO ;)

[@B-RadAlstonRiverCityRVA]

Thanks for that demonstration of the different ways to fly the Neo in the dark. I hope DJI will improve the low light capabilities in future firmware updates. As for the goggles issues with low light, it would make better sense if the drone just stops instead of just taking off and crashing into something. #IntoTheDarkness

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

I totally agree, Brad. Thanks for watching closely! 👀🤝

[@BobCaseyAerial]

Nice testing. This should help ppl that have the NEO.

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

Thanks, Bob. 👊

[@SCAerialsSteveCarpenter]

Kris and Kelly, thanks for another innovative drone test. Kris, the Neo is not afraid of the darkness, it afraid of being in the dark with Kelly 🤣🤣. Nice testing, gentlemen 👍👍.

[@woodydroneson]

Great vid Chris, I just received the DJI Neo Fly More Motion Controller 3 and N3 Goggles as well as the DJI FPV Controller 3, I have not flown it yet, but looking forward to it :) Great work with the camera RSD ;)

[@readysetdrone]

Thanks, Paul! Have fun with the NEO.

[@ILLBEDRONED]

Nice Kris! Sounds like AI is afraid of the dark 🤔 😂 #intothedarkness

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

Thanks, Dan-O! 😅👊

[@LowryDroneography-Steve]

Great testing, Kris!

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

Thanks, Steve! 👊

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Ha! Much fun guys! 😄 #IntoTheDarkness Was I watching closely enough?

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

Lol yes, thanks Marcus. 😂 I saw you got a shout-out in Russ's latest video. 🎉🤘

[@lukepadfield80]

#IntoTheDarkness

[@readysetdrone]

Thanks for watching! 🤝

[@DarrenWinslow-e1d]

LMAO @ :13

[@readysetdrone]

😜 lol ... It seems like there's a monster chasing it, I swear!

[@drone_angles]

Thanks for your video! What if you allow it to get 8-10 satellites, will it still not work in the dark?

[@readysetdrone]

In our previous video about the NEO we tried that, but it went crazy.

[@pjhunton]

Cant get satellites indoors mate, its the sensors underneath they need patterns to recognise that its stable. The reason it failed with the light on the bottom was he was stood on solid black paper which has no patterns so the neo cant stabilize using the optical flow sensors.

[@readysetdrone]

In that dark room, there's actually a patterned gray carpet, but it's pretty dark, so it might have looked like black paper. When testing out the satellite question, we didn't really want to have an unruly NEO in the darkness, outdoors, so we just taped the sensors on the bottom, got GPS lock, and took off.

[@pjhunton]

The Neo is awesome, the light is a good idea but the solid black paper isnt, the optical flow requires patterning or differential textures to reconcile its position and stability. Youll notice it failed as you walked over the black paper. If outside the light under it would work (up to a certain height - as long as there was enough light on the floor for the optical flow sensors). I mean how often are you going to use a drone like this in the dark anyway? Especially with a flat black floor as well. I have the tello and its optical flow sensors also went mad when I flew over my studio white backdrop as it couldnt sense the floor. Works OK on snow because there is always some irregularity so it can almost detect the floor but not on pure white or solid colour flooring. Realistically the Neo is an extremely good micro drone that does an awful lot very well while taking no time to setup and little room in the backpack and costs very little considering its abilities. Back when I started photography and video (both with film) I would have thought it was impossible to have such a tool with the features it has, at the size it is and for the price they charge. [casually looks longingly at the 'amazing' 1 megapixel goodmans digital camera from 2000 that still works but has pixels the size of footballs and "video mode" of 640x480 that even in good light has more grain than a silo]

[@readysetdrone]

Interesting the Tello also goes crazy. And, you're right, we don't often fly over solid dark colors. What sparked this little series of experiments was our previous video, which was me being confused why I kept crashing while flying in FPV mode (normal and sport modes). Here's that video if you're curious. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYWakox-ZsyHkLs I totally understand that it drifts while in the dark, but actually accelerating is just nuts!

[@readysetdrone]

The NEO is seriously impressive, for sure! It's probably the most versatile drone we've flown. We were mostly curious to figure out what makes it freak out in the dark, versus just drift.

[@reyzuna]

This is just Logic. It has a Optical Lens Sensors on the Bottom to see the Ground Level and holding its position just like on GPS. So what happen when there is no GPS? the same way if it doesn't sees the Ground it will Drift.. The drone fly like crazy when you flew it in a narrow dark space not because it's darker, it's because the wind from its propeller push it making it like it freaks out.

[@readysetdrone]

That makes sense, except for the part and propeller wind. It only freaks out with FPV goggles in normal or sport mode. When flying with an RC 2 controller, it definitely drifts, but it doesn't accelerate on its own. Those two flying setups make it behave differently.

[@screamatthewind]

The Neo does not work well indoors even with all the lights on. When I go from one lighting condition to another it just takes off forward in a split second at high speed out of control and crashes into whatever is in front of it. It won't fly indoors for more than a minute or so without going out of control and smashing into something. None of my other dozen or so drones have this issue including my 5 other DJI drones, even the cheap little Mavic Mini and the Tello work fine indoors. DJI Support told me the Neo is meant for outdoor use only even though the users manual says otherwise. I bought the Neo to fly indoors during the winter. Starting to see tons of blogs on this issue. Many people are experiencing similar issues. It helps to strap a light to the bottom of the drone but, there is no good place to strap it because the battery and camera are in the way. I figure DJI will have to address the issue at some point. Nice aircraft otherwise.

[@readysetdrone]

Wow, your NEO sounds a lot worse than ours. It seems like a firmware update could fix this problem. We were very surprised when we noticed ours accelerating suddenly, as you described. 🤔