It’s satisfying to have a camera that’s small enough to bring everywhere and capable enough that you don’t immediately wish you had brought something bigger. That’s how I felt about the DJI Lito X1.

At under 249 grams, it’s small enough to disappear into a camera bag, but once it’s in the air, it feels like considerably more drone than its size suggests.

You get 10-bit D-Log M, a 1/1.3-inch sensor with an f/1.7 lens, 4K video at up to 100fps, RAW photos, obstacle sensing, ActiveTrack, automated flight modes, and DJI’s O4 transmission system.

On paper, that sounds like a lot for a lightweight drone. After actually flying and shooting with it, the more interesting question is where those features make a difference in real-world shooting.

The answer is that the Lito X1 makes a surprisingly convincing case for itself as a travel drone and B-cam. It’s easy to get into the air, produces footage with enough flexibility for proper color grading, and gives you a lot of the tools you would expect from a more serious camera drone.

It still has limitations. Low-light footage requires some restraint, and its vertical shooting mode is convenient rather than revolutionary. The Lito X1 also cannot completely escape the physical limitations of being a 249-gram drone.

Still, that combination of portability and capability is what makes it interesting.

Small drone, serious footage

The first thing that stood out to me was the amount of flexibility in the footage.

DJI’s 10-bit D-Log M footage initially looks exactly how you would expect log footage to look: flat, washed out, and somewhat lifeless. That changes once you bring it into an NLE and start correcting and grading it.

There’s enough information in the footage to recover some detail from bright skies and lift darker areas without the image immediately falling apart.

It’s not going to give you the same latitude as footage from DJI’s larger Air-series drones, particularly once you start pushing the shadows aggressively, where noise becomes more noticeable.

For normal grading, though, the Lito X1 never felt restrictive. That’s important because the camera is arguably the biggest reason to take this drone seriously.

The 1/1.3-inch sensor paired with an f/1.7 lens also makes the drone surprisingly capable around golden hour. Sunset footage retains a good amount of detail while keeping the image clean and warm.

@gadgetmatchCapturing moments with the DJI Lito X1 ☁️♬ original sound – GadgetMatch

ISO 800 still looks good. ISO 1600 is where I would start paying closer attention to the darker parts of the frame. Push beyond that and then lift the shadows in post, and noise becomes much easier to see. ISO 3200 is usable when getting the shot matters more than having the cleanest possible image, but it is not where I would want to live for important footage.

That makes the Lito X1 particularly appealing for daylight and golden-hour shooting. It gives you enough latitude to make the footage feel like it belongs in a more polished production, provided you understand where the sensor starts to struggle.

48MP is useful, with a catch

The Lito X1 can also capture 48MP photos, and that extra resolution is genuinely useful when you need to crop into a landscape or subject.

In bright daylight, there is enough detail to give you more flexibility in post. You can frame wider during the flight and make the composition tighter later.

That does not mean 48MP automatically produces a dramatically sharper image in every situation. In lower light, the cleaner look of the lower-resolution shots can be preferable.

I think of the 48MP mode as giving you a larger canvas to work with. It gives you more room to crop, but the bigger file does not magically make every part of the image sharper. For landscapes and bright daytime scenes, it makes sense to reach for 48MP RAW. When the light gets difficult, a cleaner image can be more valuable than additional pixels.

Slow motion needs sunlight

One of the more fun things about the camera is 4K/100fps.

There’s something about putting a drone in the air and slowing everything down that makes even ordinary movement look cinematic. Waves, cars, runners, trees moving in the wind, and other fast-moving subjects benefit from the extra frames.

The image remains sharp in good light, but 100fps comes with the usual practical compromise: it needs more light.

As the sun goes down, the faster shutter speed required for high-frame-rate recording means noise becomes more apparent. For sunset and nighttime footage, dropping back to 24, 30, or 60fps produces a cleaner image and gives you more flexibility during editing.

So 4K/100fps is a feature I would happily use, but I would save it for situations where the lighting can support it.

Vertical video is convenient, not magic

For anyone making TikToks, Reels, or Shorts, the Lito X1’s 2.7K vertical shooting mode is extremely convenient.

You can capture a shot, transfer it, edit, and get it online without having to build a vertical crop from a horizontal frame. That makes the drone much easier to integrate into a fast social workflow.

The catch is that the camera does not physically rotate. Instead, the drone crops a vertical portion from the image. That’s  perfectly fine for quick social content, but if I were shooting something for a client, I would still choose 4K horizontal and create the crop myself.

That gives me control over composition, particularly when a subject is moving through the frame. The dedicated vertical mode saves time, but the Horizontal 4K gives you more creative freedom.

A rotating camera would have made this considerably more compelling, and that’s one of the upgrades I would most want to see in a future version.

It handles wind better than it looks

The Lito X1’s weight can make you wonder how it will behave once the weather stops cooperating. For a drone this light, it handles normal breezy conditions surprisingly well.

You can see the aircraft moving as it fights the wind, but the footage remains remarkably calm because the three-axis gimbal does a good job keeping the camera steady and the horizon level. It feels a little like watching a small boat move with the waves while the camera remains locked in place.

There are limits, of course. A 249-gram drone is still a 249-gram drone. Strong winds can move it around, and there is no getting around the physics of putting something this light into the sky.

For ordinary breezy shooting conditions, however, the stabilization does an impressive job.

Normal mode for control, Sport mode for fun

The flight experience is also approachable. In Normal mode, the Lito X1 feels calm and predictable. The controls are smooth rather than twitchy, which makes it easier for newer pilots to get comfortable with the aircraft.

Sport mode changes the personality completely. The drone becomes faster, turns more aggressively, and feels much more responsive. It is the difference between casually cruising around and suddenly remembering that this thing can actually move.

There is an important trade-off here: obstacle avoidance is disabled in Sport mode. That means the faster flight comes with a greater responsibility on the pilot.

For everyday shooting, Normal mode is where I would spend most of my time. Sport mode is there when you want the drone to wake up.

Real-world battery life matters more than the box

DJI quotes up to 36 minutes with the standard battery and up to 52 minutes with the Plus battery.

Those numbers are useful as a reference, but they are not how I would plan a shoot. Real flying involves wind, repositioning, changing angles, recording, and keeping enough battery in reserve to get home safely. You are rarely flying continuously under perfect conditions until the battery reaches zero.

For an actual shoot, I would plan around 25 to 30 minutes of usable flight time with the standard battery. That leaves enough breathing room to land without watching the battery percentage with increasing levels of anxiety.

The Plus battery gives you more time, although it also pushes the drone beyond the sub-249-gram weight class.

For travel, that distinction matters. The Lito X1’s tiny weight is one of its biggest advantages, so the standard battery makes more sense when portability and weight restrictions are part of the equation.

O4 keeps the connection reassuringly solid

The O4 transmission system also does its job without demanding much attention.

With a clear line of sight to the controller, the video feed feels smooth and responsive. In open areas, there is little reason to spend your flight staring at the signal indicator.

Urban environments naturally make things more complicated. Buildings, walls, and other large obstructions can weaken the connection when the drone flies behind them.

That is less a reason to distrust the system and more a reminder that radio signals still have to deal with physical objects. When the drone remains in sight, the connection feels dependable enough for normal flying.

The safety net is useful, but you are still the pilot

The obstacle-sensing system adds another layer of confidence, particularly when flying around trees and buildings.

The LiDAR system is also useful as the light gets darker. Still, I would never treat the sensors as permission to stop paying attention.

Thin branches remain particularly tricky. A large tree trunk is easy for an obstacle system to recognize. But a narrow branch suspended in the air is considerably less obvious.

That is the right way to think about the Lito X1’s safety features. They are another set of eyes helping the pilot. They are not a replacement for the pilot. The same applies to ActiveTrack.

When the drone has a clear view of its subject, tracking works impressively well. You can walk, run, bike, or change direction while the drone works to keep you in frame. It can also navigate around larger obstacles.

The limitation appears when the subject disappears behind something for too long. A tree can still break the tracking. ActiveTrack can feel like having another camera operator with you, but you still need to remain the person flying the drone.

Automated modes can save time

MasterShots, QuickShots, and Hyperlapse also have a place in a more serious workflow.

QuickShots can produce orbit, pull-back, and reveal movements without requiring you to manually execute every part of the flight. That can be useful when you need a polished establishing shot quickly.

Shot on the DJI Lito X1

Hyperlapse also lends itself well to hotels, buildings, events, sunsets, and travel footage. The bigger risk is repetition. If every video relies on the same automated moves, the footage can start to feel familiar very quickly.

Used sparingly, though, these modes can be valuable production tools rather than gimmicks.

The features that make it easy to live with

Some of my favorite things about the Lito X1 are not necessarily the ones that make the biggest impression on a spec sheet.

The 42GB of built-in storage is a perfect example. You probably will not think much about it until the day you arrive somewhere and realize your SD card is sitting at home.

Having internal storage means you can still fly and capture footage instead of turning the drone into a very expensive paperweight.

Off-State QuickTransfer is similarly useful when you only need a few clips. You can pull footage over Wi-Fi without removing the card.

For a couple of clips, that is considerably easier. For a full day of 4K footage, I would still reach for an SD card and reader because it is the faster workflow.

The drone itself also feels more solid than its weight initially suggests. It’s obviously lightweight and does not have the heft of a larger aircraft, but the arms feel secure when unfolded and the hinges do not feel flimsy. I would have no problem bringing it on trips or into the field.

I would still protect it in a bag. A lightweight drone can handle normal use, but that does not make it indestructible.

Getting in the air takes about a minute

The other major advantage is how quickly the Lito X1 can go from bag to sky.

Unfold the arms, remove the gimbal cover, power up the drone and controller, wait for GPS, and you are essentially ready to go. When everything connects quickly, the whole process can feel like about a minute.

That sounds like a small convenience until you are shooting during golden hour and the best light is disappearing in front of you.

A drone that takes less time to set up gives you more time to actually shoot. Pull it out, get the shot, land, pack it away, and move on.

Is the DJI Lito X1 your GadgetMatch?

The Lito X1 sits comfortably between a beginner drone and a more serious camera drone. With D-Log M, RAW photos, obstacle sensing, ActiveTrack, and 4K/100fps, it offers plenty of room to grow beyond casual flying.

The Mini 4 Pro still makes more sense if advanced vertical shooting and higher-end capabilities are priorities, while cheaper options are available for simple recreational flying. The Lito X1 finds its sweet spot in between, delivering strong image quality and useful production tools in a small, lightweight package.

I would still like to see better highlight handling and more natural colors straight out of camera. A rotating camera for true vertical 4K would also make it considerably more versatile for creators.

Calling the Lito X1 a beginner drone undersells it. It’s small, quick to launch, easy to bring anywhere, and capable enough to serve as a B-cam for travel and commercial shoots.

It may not replace a larger DJI drone when image quality is the priority, but its biggest advantage is that you are far more likely to have it with you when the shot presents itself.

The Lito X1 looks like a beginner-friendly drone on the outside, but there is a surprisingly capable B-cam inside.

The DJI Lito X1 starts at PhP 21,690 for the standard bundle in the Philippines. It’s available in local authorized retailers.