My review unit of the DJI Mini 5 Pro has arrived and my first impressions are?
Good. Very good in fact. When I think back to my first drone, a model from French company Parrot, that on its very first flight simply decided it was going to disappear over the fence and was found 5 doors down a few days later, we have come a long, long way.
But first, I need to address an elephant in the room (again) regarding the weight of the Mini Pro 5.
As it is over the 250g limit set by CASA (which is an arbitrary number in reality), you will need to register the drone with them. This is a 2-minute painless experience, done on the web and doesn’t cost anything if you are only using the drone for recreational purposes.
But if you plan to make money out of the Mini Pro 5, even as a side thing, then yes, a fee may be charged depending on how far you want to go and what you you’ll be doing. I cover it in more depth here (along with all the rules and regulations you need to know).
Standouts
If you are thinking of upgrading to the Mini 5 Pro from, say a Mini 4 or even a Flip or NEO, then there are two compelling standouts why you should do so. The first is the incorporation of LiDAR into the omnidirectional 360° object detection system which is a huge leap forward and almost guarantees you won’t crash into something.
The second is the 50 megapixels, 1” sensor used in the imaging system. Without getting into unnecessary technical jargon on why, just rest assured this makes your videos and photos so much better, crisper, sharper and with improved colour.
Also worth a mention is the 225° angle of rotation available on the camera which means you can now – if you must – shoot vertically as well as the standard landscape orientation.
Form Factor
My first DJI drone was a Mini 1 quickly followed by a Mini 2, and the form factor has not changed a great deal in this latest iteration. When fully folded (closed up) the Mini 5 Pro is approximately 20mm longer, 15mm wider and 10mm thicker than the Mini 2. When fully open, it is actually wider by a good 100mm.
However, despite this, the Mini 5 Pro is still small enough to not be too much of an impediment when travelling light due to the clever folding mechanism, and it slips easily into a backpack – or if you get the Fly More Combo version, the supplied carry bag.
Don’t forget though, if you are taking one to a location by air travel, you do need to keep the batteries in your cabin luggage although the drone itself, sans battery, can be in your suitcase.
I have more information on that with the various specific rules from major Australian airlines here. As these change regularly though, it’s best to double check before hitting the airport!
One thing they have changed, and is a carryover from the Mini 5 Pro’s bigger brother, the MAVIC 4, is that the gimbal protector has now incorporated a strap to hold it on instead of just snapping into place.
Capabilities
The actual performance capabilities are generally way above what a recreational flyer would use and are enough to please even the most discerning photographer or videographer. It’s a bit like giving a Hasselblad camera to someone used to using a smartphone for video and piccies.
But I think that’s a good thing as it allows people to explore the potential beyond their normal limits.
Examples include photos up to 8192 x 6144 pixels including RAW format for the conscientious image tweaker with Lightroom or Photoshop. Video shooting goes up to 5.4K in resolution; if you can handle the lower res, then you can achieve slo-mo at 240 frames per second.
Into colour correction? You can shoot in three different colour profiles too – D-Log, D-Log-M and HLG 10 bit with a dynamic range of 14 stops up to 12800 ISO.
We are talking pro-level stuff here.
And it’s a moot point as you need a very level of licencing to be legal to do this, the transmission range of video when shooting is up to 20KM. (If that side of things interests you, you can gain more info on the how’s and whys here in Parts 1 and 2 of an interview I did with Mahmood Hussein of Global Drone Solutions, an accredited professional drone training company).
Controller
Depending on the version of the DJI Mini Pro 5 system you decide on, and there are 4 options, dictates whether you have a controller with a screen or you use a smartphone as the screen.
Having used both, and trust me on this, I would now opt for the RC-N3 screen option with screen every time. Sure, it adds $300 to the base price – and you can always get one later – but the time saving and convenience in setting up alone is worth the extra money, not to mention the screen in sunlight is brighter than any smartphone I have used.
There are no fiddly cables to plug in, no apps to download, no wrestling the phone into the clamps … need I go on?
Additionally, you can buy 3rd party sunshades for a few dollars that make it even better.
Using a smartphone also makes the controller, in my mind, unwieldy, and it’s just, well much more comfortable and a pleasant experience to use the controller with a screen.
Flying
I’ve only managed a short flight so far as about a minute after take-off, a storm blew in and wind speeds started to get a bit hairy. Having said that, at the time of flying, the BOM website said my area’s wind speed was up around 26 km/h, and when I reviewed the footage, the onboard stabilisation is quite staggering even though the Mini 5 Pro was rolling a little from side to side in the gusts.
The Mini 5 Pro is easy to fly, especially with the N3 controller, but I do urge anyone to study the controls and options thoroughly as there is a lot there to get your head around. On the bright side, the great battery life of around 30 minutes from a standard battery gives you plenty of time to become au fait with everything. Just go and find a big field and let loose and play is my advice.
I mentioned earlier the Mini 5 Pro can shoot landscape and portrait (vertical) modes. There is one trap for new players who haven’t read the manual. When I first took off, it was in vertical mode and I remembered there is a portrait / landscape button on the remote’s screen, although you can also press the C2 button to switch between the two. It’s also worth bearing in mind you cannot switch from one mode to the other while recording.
As an aside, if you are used to the high-pitched whistle of a NEO or even the whirr of a Flip, the low noise levels from the Mini 5 Pro will impress you too.
Conclusion
For this initial review due to the minimal flight time allowed by Mother Nature, I didn’t get to test all the features of the Mini Pro 5. If you are a 4 or 3 owner, or scaling down from a MAVIC, the usual Quickshots and things like Active Track are all there and work pretty much the same though, and the major changes are in the camera options and of course the improved object detection.
DJI has taken the humble mini drone a long, long way from the days of the original Mini 1 which seems so long ago now. The price has increased to be sure but so have the capabilities and features. I think for $1119 for the base version of the Mini Pro 5 is a fair investment; the Mini Pro 5 with RC-N3 controller, 3 batteries, charging hub. ND filters and shoulder bag is the outstanding buy at $1419.
The even better RC-2 controller adds around $180 and if you want the extended batteries giving you nearly 50 minutes of fly time, add another $100 giving a total of $1799.
There is more information and pricing detail at the D1 Store website.