The DJI Flip is not only a drone for close-range vlogging. It is also an excellent model for landscape videography and photography
I will show you all the settings needed to get the best cinematic footage
Other related articles you may find interesting:
Using a remote controller
The DJI Flip can be used autonomously but only for some automated short-distance moves
A smartphone or tablet can also control it. However, in this case, several important video functionalities are missing, and the signal transmission is limited to a very close range
The Flip can only be purchased with a remote controller, the RC-N3 or the RC2, and this makes sense, as a controller is needed to make the most of this drone for landscape videography
In this article, I will show you how to use the Flip with a remote controller and DJI Fly app
If you are mainly interested in photography, I have made a similar guide for still images, you can watch it by clicking on the link on the screen
DJI Fly App
At the top of the main screen of DJI Fly app, some useful indicators show the status of the aircraft
On the top left we find the current Speed Modes:
- Cine
- Normal
- Sport
To the right an indicator of the remaining battery life with the time left until RTH, forced landing, and depletion of the battery
Then an indicator of the strength of the signal, the status of the Obstacle Avoidance System (white when it is on and red when off), and the number of satellites connected
At the bottom left, an icon to access the Map of the area; next to it, we can check the horizontal and vertical distance from the home point and the vertical and horizontal speed
In DJI Fly app there are three main areas to set the different options for filming:
- The Settings, through the three-dot icon at the top left of the screen
- The Photo/Menu window above the shutter
- The exposure values at the bottom right of the screen
I will focus only on the ones for video
Safety tab
The Flip has a basic obstacle avoidance system with a single sensor to detect obstacles in front of the aircraft
In Obstacle Avoidance Action there are two options:
- Brake
- Off
When Brake is selected, the aircraft stops and hovers when an obstacle is detected. When filming I select Break to have some protection, although some care is needed as lateral obstacles are not detected
Scrolling down to the bottom, open the Advance Safety Settings to choose the behavior in case of signal loss
The option Descend must be avoided, as the aircraft could land on someone’s property, in bushes, or on a lake. In most cases, I set it to Return to Home, unless when flying indoors, under trees, or in confined spaces, in which case it is better to choose Hover
Control tab
The Control tab of Settings contains several important options to control the camera movement in Gain and Expo Tuning
In the window, we can set the values independently for each speed mode:
- Cine
- Normal
- Sport
Max Horizontal, Ascend, and Descend Speed are self-explanatory
Max Angular Velocity is the speed of the camera rotation when panning using the left stick of the remote control, I suggest setting it to a low value in Cine mode for more control
Yaw Smoothness controls the behavior when releasing the stick after panning: with the minimum value the rotation will stop abruptly, I prefer a value just above the midpoint for a smoother move
Further down we can control the gimbal movement: Max Control Speed determines how fast the gimbal will tilt up or down. I like to set a low value for precise moves. Tilt Smoothness controls how quickly the gimbal will stop after a move. I prefer a value slightly above the midpoint.
In the Button Customization window, we can assign specific actions to the two buttons on the back of the RC 2 controller, to the scroll wheel, or a combination of the wheel with each button
I like to set the C1 button to Recenter/Tilt Down Gimbal and the C2 to Cruise Control
After starting a movement, in this case, advancing diagonally to the left, if we activate Cruise Control, the aircraft will continue to fly at the same speed and direction, so we can concentrate on adding other movements like ascending, descending, or tilting the gimbal
Camera tab
The menu of the Camera tab of Settings is context-sensitive, in video mode it shows different options from photo mode. After selecting video in the video/photo menu, all the items in the Camera tab will relate to filming
Besides the traditional 8-bit mode Normal, the Flip has a 10-bit color profiles, D Log M. When this profile is chosen the image on the screen will appear flat, but we can activate Color Display Assist to add contrast and saturation
The Histogram is the only tool I use for exposing, so I always keep it on. I leave space between the last bar to the right and the right edge of the histogram to prevent burning the highlights
Peaking Levels highlights in red the areas in focus. I only use it when focusing manually on a subject close to the camera
Overexposure Warning shows zebra lines on overexposed areas. I find it distracting and never use it
Then we can Overlay Gridlines. I add the one in the middle to apply the rule of thirds. With drones, we often have the horizon line in the frame. Rather than having it in the middle, it is more interesting to divide the scene into thirds and have it either on the higher or lower third. On other occasions, especially for top-down shots, we might want a symmetric framing, in which case the same overlay helps position the subject
Further down there is a function Style with two sliders to adjust Sharpness and Noise when filming in Normal mode. Some users find Normal slightly oversharpened. They can compensate by setting the Sharpness value to -1 or -2
This is an example of footage taken at different Sharpness values, zoomed in at 200% to better appreciate the difference
Photo/Video menu
On the right of the screen, above the big red shutter, we find the Photo/Video Menu. We can select:
- Photo
- Video
- Masteshots
- Quickshots
- Hyperlapse
- Panorama
I will focus on Video mode
Video mode has two options. Normal is the one we use on most occasions
In Slow Motion mode it is now possible to shoot footage at 100 fps in 4k for extreme slow-mo
To the left of the shutter, there is the Zoom icon: by tapping on it we toggle from normal to 2x zoom, then 3x, and back to normal. By holding and dragging it is possible to apply a progressive zoom, although smoother results are obtained by using the scroll wheel of the remote control
The icon at the bottom toggles between Auto and Manual Focus. On most occasions we use autofocus, manual focus is only needed with targets close to the camera. In Manual, we can slide on the icon for focusing
Exposure window
The exposure window is on the lower part to the right. The icon to the right toggles between Auto and Manual, labeled as Pro
In Auto mode, the only control on exposure is through the overall Exposure Value (EV), the first icon to the right. I prefer to set the EV value around 0.3 to avoid overexposing
In Manual exposure mode, we can set independently the ISO value and Shutter speed for more control
The MM Value at the bottom cannot be modified, it displays the luminosity resulting from the values chosen above compared to the optimal exposure computed by the software
Correct exposure is crucial for high-quality footage. It would take too much time to cover it here. If you want to know more about the exposure settings you can watch my specific article. It was made for the Mini 4 Pro but the settings are almost the same in the Flip
The next icon is for Resolution and Frame Rate
For resolution we have the following options:
- 4k
- 2.7 vertical
- 2.7
- 1080p vertical
- 1080p
Unlike the Mini 4 Pro and Mini 3, the Camera of the Flip cannot rotate to take footage in portrait mode. This is where the two vertical resolutions come into play
Below the resolution, there are options for different frame rates. The most widely used are 24 and 30 fps. The higher frame rates are for slow motion
In the same window, we can click on the icon on the bottom left to access other video settings. At the top, the White Balance value. It is possible to use Auto WB by tapping on the icon on the left, but I suggest avoiding it, as it leads to unwanted shifts of colors when the luminosity changes. The value I normally use in sunny conditions is around 5500 kelvins