Watch DJI’s ‘cinematic magic’ footage captured by its new Flip drone

DJI has shared a new video (above) showing off the kind of impressive cinematic imagery that it’s possible to obtain with its recently released Flip drone.

“Soar over sweeping desert dunes with the DJI Flip, a foldable drone that turns every flight into cinematic magic,” the company says in a message accompanying the video.

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DJI adds: “Weighing under 249g, with a bright f1.7 aperture, dual native ISO, and advanced LIDAR tracking, this compact drone captures breathtaking 4K footage that’s as smooth as the sands below.”

The footage certainly looks breathtaking, though according to DJI, you’ll have to tweak it in post-production to get similarly dramatic results. The quadcopter’s 10-bit D-Log M color mode supports recording “up to one billion colors and helps retain more highlight and shadow details for increased flexibility when editing,” DJI says, adding that even in high-contrast scenarios, like sunrises and sunsets, “it delivers natural color gradations with delicate details for a full-spectrum visual experience.”

Unveiled last week, DJI’s Flip quadcopter could prove popular with vloggers and content creators looking for something compact and reasonably priced — it starts at $439 — to record their adventures, though its relatively simple flight controls mean that folks coming to drones for the first time might also take a close look.

DJI’s latest drone is more advanced than the more affordable Neo, which launched last year, but sits below the Mini 4 Pro in terms of features and capabilities. The Flip has a maximum flight time of up to 31 minutes on a single charge, a control range of up to 8.1 miles (13 kilometers), and can operate at altitudes of up to 9,840 feet (3,000 meters). Importantly, it’s able to stay steady in wind speeds of up to 10.7 meters per second (for comparison, the Neo can handle speeds of up to 8 meters per second), ensuring that those cinematic shots aren’t ruined by distracting wobbles.

Considering that it wasn’t so long ago that you needed a helicopter and a huge budget to get aerial shots as beautiful as this, it really is quite astonishing how drone technology has utterly changed the game when it comes to filming from the sky.