DJI Mini 5 Pro – Change This Settings for Cinematic Video

The DJI Mini 5 Pro introduces some new, powerful filming features compared to previous lightweight models, the most important being the larger 1″ sensor, the rotating gimbal, and the med tele mode

In this article, I will walk you through all the settings you must change to capture cinematic footage and make the most of its outstanding capabilities

Other related articles you may find interesting:

Safety Settings

In DJI Fly app, there are three main areas to access the video options:

The Settings, via the three-dot icon at the top left of the screen
The area around the shutter
The exposure values at the bottom right of the screen

I will focus only on the important ones for filming

There are two main options to select in the Safety tab of Settings

The first one is the Obstacle Avoidance Action. The Mini 5 Pro has omnidirectional sensing, and we want to keep it on at all times for peace of mind. On most occasions, I select Bypass to avoid obstacles on the way

Scrolling down, we select Advanced Safety Settings to choose the action to be taken in case of Signal Loss. Descend should never be applied, as the drone may land on bushes or water. The safest choice is Hover

Control Settings

In Gain and Expo Tuning, we can control the movements of the aircraft and the camera. We can set the values independently for each of the three speed modes:

Cine
Normal
Sport

Max Horizontal, Ascend, and Descend Speed are self-explanatory

Max Angular Velocity is the speed of the camera’s rotation when panning using the left stick of the remote control. I suggest setting it to a low value. Yaw Smoothness controls the behavior when releasing the stick after panning: I prefer a value just above the midpoint for a smoother release. Brake Sensitivity controls the distance traveled after releasing the right stick

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 comes to a halt after a move. I prefer a value slightly above the midpoint

In Expo there are three sliders to adjust the sensitivity of the control sticks. I like to set them at very low values for a smoother response

The last two sliders of Gain and Expo Tuning control the behaviour of a new feature, the Gimbal Roll. Max Roll Speed affects the rotation speed when using the gimbal dial. Roll Smoothness should be set at a high value for a smoother rotation

Further down in the Control menu, we access the Button Customization window to assign specific actions to the two buttons on the back of the controller, to the scroll wheel, or a combination of wheel and button

I like to set the C1 button to Recenter/Tilt Down Gimbal and the C2 to Cruise Control

In Cruise Control, we can start a movement, in this case, advancing diagonally to the left. When we tap the button, the aircraft will continue to fly in the same direction and at the same speed, and we can concentrate on adding other movements like ascending and descending, and tilting or rotating the gimbal

The Scroll wheel can be used to tilt the gimbal up and down, while the combination of the button and wheel can control the Gimbal Rotation

Camera Settings

In the Camera tab of Settings, the menu is context-sensitive. Since we have selected video in the video/photo menu, all the items in the Camera tab will relate to filming

The Histogram is the only tool I use for exposure; therefore, I have it on all the time. I always leave some space between the last bar to the right and the right edge of the histogram to prevent burning the highlights

If the bars are bunched up against the left edge with plenty of space to the right, the image is underexposed, and we should increase the luminosity; however, there is more tolerance for underexposed shadows, as they can be recovered while editing, while overexposed highlights should be avoided at all costs. If bars are touching both the left and right edge, we are in a high dynamic range situation

Further down, we can Overlay Gridlines. I find it useful to add the one in the middle to apply the rule of thirds. When filming with drones, we often have the horizon line in the frame. Rather than placing it in the middle, it is more interesting to divide the scene into thirds and place it in either the upper 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

The option Style presents two sliders to adjust Sharpness and Noise. I set them to -1 or -2, as I find the standard setting to oversharpen the image and apply too much noise reduction.

To reduce noise, I use the excellent denoiser Neat Video when needed. You will find info about it in the description below. Here you can watch my article about Neat Video

Exposure Window

The window for exposure is at the bottom right of the screen. The icon to the right toggles between Auto and Manual, labeled Pro. The aperture is fixed, therefore we have only two values to set when exposing: ISO and Shutter Speed

In Auto mode, the only control on exposure is through the overall exposure value (EV), the first icon to the right. I find that this model tends to overexpose, so I prefer to lower the EV value by about 0.3 or 0.7

With all other drones or cameras, I avoid filming with Auto exposure, as the software compensates for the differences in luminosity with a small lag, a clear indicator of amateur footage. But with the Mini 5 Pro, it can be worth using it in a specific situation, as we will see later

In Manual Exposure mode, we can set the ISO value and Shutter Speed independently 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

With the next icon, we can set the Resolution and Frame Rate. There are two resolution options: 4k and 1080p. 4k is the standard and is the one I suggest using, although 1080p can still be used for social media if file size is an issue

Below the resolution, there are options for different frame rates. The most widely used are 24 and 30 fps. It is recommended to use a consistent frame rate across all clips in the same project. The higher frame rates can be used to apply slow motion while editing

In videography, the 180-degree rule is widely applied. The idea is to set a shutter speed value double the frame rate to achieve the correct amount of motion blur. With a frame rate of 24 fps, the ideal shutter speed is 1/50”, at 30 fps, 1/60”, and so on

This rule is particularly important when flying close to the ground or when the scene contain moving elements, when flying at a high altitude these is more tolerance; however, very high shutter speed values should always be avoided

To control the shutter speed in all light conditions, a set of ND filters is needed

I use the Frewell all-day six pack with values from ND16 to ND1000, suitable for all light conditions, not only for video, but also for hyperlapses and long exposure photography

As I said earlier, there is a situation when using Auto exposure can be a good choice. The specs of the Mini 5 Pro claim a whopping 14 stops of dynamic range using the Dual ISO Fusion

This technique can only be applied when filming in Auto exposure. Another possibility is to use manual exposure, setting the ISO value to Auto. In high dynamic range situations, it is worth using this technique for improved results

White Balance Window

In the same window, we can click on the icon on the bottom left to access other video settings. At the top, we select the White Balance value, expressed in Kelvins

Auto WB should be avoided, as it leads to unwanted color shifts when the luminosity changes. A quick way to find the correct value is to tap the Auto button on the left to get the app’s suggested value, then tap it again to switch back to manual mode and adjust it to your taste if needed

Below the Resolution and Frame rate areas, we can select one of the three color profiles.

Normal
HLG
D Log M

Normal is the most widely used. It is a pre-processed profile and can be used just out of the camera, although a touch of extra contrast and saturation is often beneficial

Normal has constantly improved over the years. It is now a true 10-bit mode, capable of displaying over 1 billion colors with excellent quality in most light conditions. It is an excellent choice for users who don’t rely on computer post-processing or when editing is not an option

D Log M is a flat profile and is widely used by professionals for two reasons: it performs better in high dynamic situations, and it responds extremely well to post-processing to adapt a clip to the color scheme of a specific project

Around the Shutter

We access Video mode via the icon above the shutter

A menu on the left offers a Slow-Motion option. It is meant for extreme slow motion, at a frame rate of 120fps, which is very interesting for scenes with moving elements. With this mode, there is no need to slow down the footage while editing, as the slow motion is automatically applied

To the left of the shutter, an icon toggles between horizontal and vertical camera orientation to take footage in portrait mode

Just below we find another important new feature of the Mini 5 Pro, the Med Tele mode. By tapping on the icon 2, we get a 2 times zoom with image quality close to a true 48mm optical lens. It works by cropping the central part of the image, taking advantage of the higher resolution of the 1” sensor

I find this feature extremely useful for filming subjects that we cannot reach, or to increase the parallax effect in scenes with elements on different layers. By sliding on the icon, we get variable zoom levels up to 3x, but in this case, there is a noticeable loss of resolution