The Mini 5 Pro has several new functionalities. Most of them are useful mainly for filming
I will focus on photography with a walk through all the settings and features for still images, including several interesting new ones. I will keep things easy for beginners, but experienced users will find several useful pieces of information
You can check here the updated prices of the different configurations of the Mini 5 Pro. It is an affiliate link, so I get a small commission when a purchase is made, which helps this blog
There are three main locations where we can control the behavior of the Mini 5 Pro for still images
- In the Settings
- In the Exposure window
- Around the main Photo/Video menu next to the shutter
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Settings – Safety Tab
The menu is context-sensitive, meaning the settings differ between video and photo modes. Before tapping the three dots at the top right of the screen, we choose “Photo” from the Photo/Video menu. Now the menu relates to Photo
The first tab, Safety, does not directly relate to photos, but there are a couple of options to choose for peace of mind during your photo shooting sessions
I always set Obstacle Avoidance Action to bypass or break, as it is easy to get distracted when searching for the best target to frame, and the obstacle detection system has saved my drones on many occasions
Scrolling down, we can turn on or off a powerful Auxiliary LED. It is useful when bringing the aircraft back home in low light
To the bottom, open the Advanced Safety Settings to specify the behavior in case of signal loss. Descend must be avoided, as we don’t want our drone to land on someone’s property, into bushes, or on a lake
In most cases, I set it to Return to Home, but when flying indoors, under trees, or in other tight spaces, it is preferable to choose Hover
Settings – Control Tab
Let’s move to the Control tab. The Gimbal Roll Rotation is a major new feature. It is mostly used for filming, but it can occasionally be useful for creative photos with an unusual orientation while retaining the full resolution
In the control tab, scroll down to Button Customisation to check to which button combination Gimbal Roll is assigned, according to the remote controller you use
Further down, we find Gimbal Calibration. Here, we can automatically calibrate it if prompted by the app, but we can also access Manual if the horizon is slightly slanted
Settings – Camera Tab
Most functionalities for photography are located in the Camera tab
The first option is the File Format. We can choose to save the photos in JPEG, RAW, or both formats.
Then we can select the Images Size. With 4:3 we get the full resolution of the sensor, 4032×3024 pixels, slightly more than 12MP. If we choose 16:9, we get a version cropped to fit the traditional 4k landscape video format. I prefer 4:3 to take advantage of the full resolution for reframing or cropping.
Further down, we can select the Resolution between 12 MP and the 50MP mode
The next item turns the Histogram on and off. I keep it always on, as it is the main tool I use for exposure. I leave some room between the last bar to the right and the right edge to avoid overexposure.
Peaking Level is a tool for focusing. It outlines in red the elements in focus, but only when using manual focus. I only use it when focusing manually on a subject close to the camera. With drones, on most occasions, we leave it off, as it is distracting and not needed
The next option, Overexposure Warning, is another tool for exposure. It overlays white stripes on the overexposed areas. I never use it, as I find it distracting
Further down, we can Overlay Gridlines. I generally use 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 place it either on 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
Like in the Mini 4 Pro, the function Style to adjust Sharpness and Noise Reduction is not available for photos, as it is supplied only for video
I don’t really miss it, as the program I use for editing and organizing photos, Luminar Neo, has excellent tools for sharpness control and noise reduction.
Here you find the updated prices for the different offers for Luminar Neo, together with a discount coupon (code: Vicvideopic). It is an affiliate link, so I get a small commission when a purchase is made, which helps this blog
Exposure Window
We find the exposure settings in the lower part of the screen to the right
In Auto mode, the exposure is set by the software, and we can only access the exposure value to adjust the overall luminosity. Since the app tends to overexpose slightly, I prefer to set the value at -0.3 or -0.7
By tapping on the icon to the right, we access manual mode, labeled as Pro. Then, tapping on the area of the values slightly to the left, we access the window for exposure
In photography, there are three parameters for exposure:
- ISO
- Aperture
- Shutter Speed
but with the Mini 5 Pro, like with most other prosumer drones, we have only two values to deal with, as the aperture is fixed
We can set the values for ISO and Shutter Speed 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
In this window, one of the two values, ISO or Shutter Speed, can be set as Auto
Let’s say we want a fixed value for ISO, 100, to get the best possible image quality. We set ISO to 100 and Sutter Speed to Auto. When the luminosity varies, only the value for Shutter Speed changes to maintain the correct luminosity, leaving the ISO at 100
Notice that the value mm has now turned into EV, for Exposure Value, and it can be modified
On other occasions, we might want a constant value for shutter speed. We select the desired value for SS and set the ISO to Auto, and this time, as the luminosity increases or decreases, only the ISO varies
By tapping on the icon at the lower left, we access another window where we can adjust the White Balance, select the File Format and Image Size, and check the Storage Space remaining in the SD disk and internal memory
Photo/Video Menu
We access the Photo/Video menu via the button above the shutter, on the right of the screen
On the menu on the left, after Single Shot, there is an icon for Automatic Exposure Bracketing with a choice of 3, 5, or 7 images
This is useful in high-dynamic-range situations, to merge the photos in HDR and reduce the difference in luminosity between the highlights and the shadows. I use the Merge To HDR functionality in Luminar Neo with excellent results
Then, Timed Shot, to take several images at a specific interval in seconds, which is useful for selfies after hiding the remote controller. Finally Burst, with a choice of up to 7 shots, for sports and action
In the right part of the menu, we access different shooting modes, including Panorama and Hyperlapse
To the left of the shutter, there are 3 buttons. The one at the top is to rotate the camera from landscape to Portrait orientation to take vertical photos at full resolution, a big plus for social media users
The button below enables one of the main new features of the Mini 5 Pro: the 48mm Med Tele Mode. Thanks to the larger sensor, the camera can produce images at 2x zoom with minimal loss of detail and resolution, close to the quality of a second dedicated lens
We can also drag on the icon to get a progressive zoom up to 3x. There will be a loss of resolution, but I find it useful for inspections
Further down, there is a button to toggle between Auto and Manual focus, to be used only when the target is very close