Capturing your awesome ski or snowboard footage is a big part of the ski experience. It might be to share on your social reels, or just sharing your cool holiday snaps with friends and family.
While action cameras have obviously been an effective way to capture your mountain adventures, drones are starting to figure more thanks largely to their decreasing cost and huge variety of options. But drones can be bulky, expensive and fiddly to operate when all you wanna do is go ride… Until the arrival of the follow-me drone.
The follow-me drone is a relatively new development in the drone market, and DJI have recently launched several of these follow me drones, including the DJI Neo. But is it any good for ski and snowboard footage? And should you buy your own follow me drone?
I’ve been using my DJI Neo for almost a year, including on the mountain during a couple of recent snowboarding trips. Here’s my take on whether you should buy the DJI Neo as a ski gadget.
What is a follow me drone?
Drones that lock onto their subject and track them are known as ‘follow me’ drones. What this means is that the user activates the drone, that drone then identifies its subject and will try to stay locked onto them, regardless of where they go (within reason).
These drones are often marketed as great for capturing outdoor activities, especially capturing first person (from behind the subject) tracking shots. After all, having a camera following you through your route as you explore and maybe pop some tricks is some of the best footage – especially for those who want to boost their socials.
You might already be able to see why a follow me drone for skiers and snowboarders is a great idea – a drone that follows you down the slopes? Awesome footage awaits? Right?
OK. Lets take a look at the facts.
DJI Neo: How does it work?
The DJI Neo is really quick to activate. Literally switch the drone on, select your mode (such as follow me), set it to launch, give it a second to lock on and away you go. That is literally it. From activation to tracking you on the slopes in a matter of seconds.
And yes, it genuinely is that easy.
So long as you give the drone a moment to lock onto you it will track and follow you at a set distance – meaning you do get some nice tracking shots of your skiing or snowboarding.
There are six preset modes on the drone itself which are:
- Follow – As it sounds, the drone follows you from behind at a set distance.
- Dronie – A drone selfie where it flies out and back taking a cool looking track out, track in shot.
- Circle – The drone circles you – you do need to be in one spot.
- Rocket – The drone shoots up into the air and takes a birds eye view shot with a slow rotation.
- Direction track – In theory, the drone sits in front of you and tracks you as you move. But it can’t keep up with ski or snowboard speeds unfortunately.
- Spotlight – The drone stays in one position and pans as you walk past.
- Manual – You can also connect to the DJI Neo using your phone or the RC N3 controller for more control over your shots. More on that in a moment.
When it comes to ski footage, the obvious best choice is the ‘Follow’. The drone does follow along at a steady speed and takes some nice shots with the rider as the focal point and those lovely scenic backdrops.
Once you’re ready to finish, the theory is that you simply stand still, hold out your hand and the drone returns to your palm. And presto! The shot is in the bag.
In short, the DJI Neo offers almost complete hands free operation, allowing you to capture the kind of epic shots that vloggers share on Insta and TikTok. And honestly, yes it does. The DJI Neo undoubtedly allows you to capture some stunning shots which are great for socials and casual vlogging.
But what about the cons? Are there any…? Well, yes, there are. Lets dig in.
DJI Neo negatives for skiing and snowboarding
There are a few things about using the DJI Neo on snowy terrain which are a little bit annoying. First of all, it is slow so it struggles to keep up. Those tracking shots do look lovely but if you go full pelt – ie, more than a very gentle cruise – you’re gonna lose your drone. With that said, the drone does keep up along fairly flat terrain if you’re cruising and if you’re doing some sedate off-piste.
Secondly, the drone doesn’t have obstacle avoidance, so if you’re planning on drifting through trees or along a busy ski trail, you might find the drone collides with something. Across a standard ski resort trail or open snow field you will be fine – but you might need to consider obstacles such as chair lifts, trees, snow cannons and other skiers.
Thirdly. the drone sometimes glitches out and will zoom away from the user in an erratic manner. On several occasions I’ve watched helplessly as the drone started flying away from me – once on the mountain in Bansko where it flew off the side of a mountain and then stalled, waiting for me to connect via the phone app and fly it back to safety. And another time during a trail run where it flew into a hedge…
One more point is that the image quality is good, but not the best. It’s marketed as 4k video, and while it looks crisp and smooth, those looking for professional high def images should look elsewhere. But for people shooting for social media or general holiday snaps, it will be fine.
Finally, the drone does not perform well in strong winds. While it can handle a fairly strong breeze, once the wind really gets up it will struggle to stay steady. This can be particularly unnerving if you’re using the ‘dronie’ drone selfie function and it flies off across a crevasse or something. And because there is no image stabilization this will mean wobbly shots too, which doesn’t quite ruin the shot but doesn’t make it quite as ‘pro’ as it could be,
How good is the DJI Neo for skiing and snowboarding?
Despite being quite slow in follow mode, the DJI Neo does track you fairly steadily and once you’ve got the hang of the track speed you can have some fun with it. If you’re riding through the park and popping some rails, taking your kids down a blue run or enjoying a leisurely cruise with your friends then you will get some nice footage. And it is quite funny watching everyones face as they spot the drone following you – although you’ll hear it’s mosquito like sound before you see it.
I did get some cool follow me footage from the mountain when I was out in Bansko, and a few more cool shots while out in Austria. So long as you can resist the urge to go full speed you can actually get some really nice shots.
For selfies – called ‘dronies’ here – the DJI Neo is great to have in the pocket. You can quickly whip the drone out, get a group shot or selfie video with the epic mountain background and be on your way…
Here’s a short video I shot in Austria testing out the Neo on the slopes.
It’s worth pointing out also that the footage can be shot either as video, or you can snap photos/stills too – either using hands free controls or by using the app or controller.
One really good thing is how compact the Neo is. You can literally put the DJI Neo in your pocket, or easily stash it in a daypack. Having a case for it is a good idea, as is an extra battery.
And as for control? While the drone is hands free and can follow you or perform those automated shots, you can also manage the drone using the DJI Fly app. This means you can fly the DJ Neo from your smartphone and control the video/photo function. However it is limited, you can’t fly it that far and you can’t control the gimbal.
But there is an essential add-on which changes the Neo. A lot…
The RC-N3: Remote control
With the addition of the DJI N3 remote control. suddenly you have a lot of additional control over the drone. While it doesn’t speed up the follow tracking, or any of the other hands free controls, it does make the drone easier to control and to capture some epic footage of your surroundings or your ski buddies.
It takes just an extra minute or so to connect your DJI Neo to the RC-N3 controller and then you have both the peace of mind that your drone is fully controllable (with return to home functionality) and you also have greater range and control over your shots.
You have options to control the gimbal (2-axis only) and you can fly much further and faster. This means you can capture some very cool follow shots, but you will need to control the drone from the RC. Using the N3 also adds in the return to home function, which could be super useful on a snowy mountain. Hit the RTH button and back it comes. Much easier than climbing back up the mountain to grab your stalled Neo, or connecting to the DJI Fly app in a snowstorm to bring your lost drone home.
The NC3 is included with the Fly More bundle – which also includes additional batteries. I strongly recommend investing in the controller and spare battery.
Get the DJI Neo Fly More bundle on Amazon.
Should you buy the DJI Neo?
Honestly, I love my Neo and use it a lot for a diverse range of activities. I’ve used it a lot for running footage, as well as family holiday shots, days out and yes, even snowboarding footage, I’ve got some really great shots with it, even the hands free modes – but it really does benefit from the addition of the remote control.
If you’re looking for top spec drone footage and epic follow me shots, then no I don’t think the Neo is what you’re after. You might need to look at some of the other choices of ski drones for that such as the DJI Mini 4k.
But if you’re looking for an easy to launch drone, that fits in your pocket and genuinely captures some really fun shots then absolutely grab yourself a DJI Neo.
Read more: Best ski gadgets and best ski gift ideas.
