Thanks to its larger 1” sensor, the Mini 5 Pro raises the bar in terms of video quality compared to previous models of the DJI lightweight line; however, to get the best results, it is crucial to expose correctly
In this article, I will show you how to achieve the best exposure when shooting footage
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Light Conditions
The most important thing to consider is the choice of light conditions. The central hours of a sunny day are to be avoided, as the shadows are very harsh and the contrast too strong
For centuries, painters and photographers have tried to control the quality of the light in their studios by carefully choosing the position of the windows and the distance from walls that act as light reflectors. In more recent times, reflectors and diffusers have been widely used to avoid strong highlights and soften shadows
The best light conditions for video and photos with drones are during the two hours before and after sunrise or sunset, known as golden hour and blue hour
Another possibility is when the sun is covered by clouds, acting like big softboxes. The idea is to reduce the dynamic range, which is the difference in luminosity between highlights and shadows
My favorite time is about half an hour after sunset, with the last twilight acting as the fade light and the artificial lights as the main source
How to Use the Histogram
The histogram is the only tool I use for exposure. It tells us a lot about the lighting conditions of a scene: when the bars touch the right edge, the image is overexposed. This must be avoided at all times, as burnt highlights cannot be recovered while editing. I always make sure to leave a gap between the last bar to the right and the right edge of the histogram to preserve the highlights
When a few bars touch the left edge, the shadows will be dark, but can still be recovered in post-processing, up to a certain extent. But when too many bars are clustered against the left edge, the shadows will be too dark
When the histogram has most of the bars in the central part, with gaps on both the right and left sides, the image has low contrast. These are ideal conditions and correspond to the best hours of the day mentioned earlier. It will be simple to add a bit of contrast while editing for excellent results
When the bars touch both the right and left edges of the histogram, we are in a high-dynamic-range scene, generally with the camera pointing toward the sun
These are the most difficult situations; it is better to leave a small gap to the right to preserve the highlight. The shadows will be very dark, but we can try to recover them, at least partially, with some advanced post-processing. For this reason, beginners should avoid shooting footage or photos toward the sun
Manual Exposure
When shooting footage, we cannot use a shutter speed value lower than the frame rate. For example, at 25 frames per second, we cannot use a value slower than 1/25
Beginners generally start by using Auto Exposure; however, there are two main reasons why it is better to get used to shooting in manual exposure
When using auto exposure, if the overall luminosity of the scene changes, the software will detect it and adjust the exposure value. This will lead to a noticeable shift of luminosity in the clip, an evident sign of amateur footage
For similar reasons, I suggest always using Manual White Balance for video, as in Auto mode, the differences in luminosity within a clip cause color shifts
Another reason to use manual exposure is to control the exposure parameters. Professional videographers prefer to use a specific shutter speed based on the frame rate: 1/50” at 24 or 25 frames per second, or 1/60” at 30 frames per second
This is known as the 180-degree rule, and it is more important when filming close to the ground or when the scene contains elements in motion, to optimize motion blur. When shooting landscape videos with a drone at high altitude and without elements in motion, the 180-degree rule is not crucial
Via the icon to the right, we access manual mode, labeled Pro; then, by tapping the area of the values slightly to the left, we access the exposure window
The Mini 5 Pro has a fixed aperture, so the only values to select are ISO and Shutter Speed. We can set these values independently. 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. I prefer to see a value slightly negative to avoid overexposure
It is preferable to set the ISO base value, 100, for best quality whenever possible; however, the Mini 5 Pro can handle higher ISO values without noticeable loss of quality
To use a specific shutter speed value with different light conditions, ND filters are needed. Here you find a link to the ones I recommend using
Auto Exposure
In auto mode, the exposure is set by the software; we can only access the EV value to adjust the overall luminosity. When the camera moves, the exposure values are automatically adjusted to maintain a constant exposure, but the individual ISO and shutter speed values are not shown
With previous models of DJI lightweight line, I never used Auto exposure, for reasons explained earlier. However, the Mini 5 Pro boasts a Dual Native ISO mode
When using auto or semi-auto exposure, according to DJI, the Mini 5 Pro records footage at two different ISO values and blends them to achieve up to 14 stops of dynamic range, which is especially useful in high-dynamic-range and low-light situations. It works similarly to HDR photos, with highlights taken from the lowest exposure and shadows from the highest
Beginners can set the exposure to Auto to benefit from this feature; however, it is preferable to use the semi-auto mode to control the SS value
We can select Manual exposure, and then, in the exposure window, tap the Shutter speed icon. We can now specify the desired SS value, while the program will compute the optimal ISO
This method is very simple to use and delivers excellent results, maintaining plenty of detail in the shadows. The only downside is that some annoying shifts in brightness may appear when the light intensity varies. For this reason, it is suggested to maintain a constant flight direction during each move