Mini 2 low-light performance, RAW, and auto-exposure bracketing

Did you wonder what the DJI Mini 2 low-light performance, RAW, and auto-exposure bracketing (AEB) would be like? So, did I. Monday night, I took the Mini 2 out to see how well this latest DJI drone would do. You can download the videos, RAW, and JPEG files right here.

Mini 2 low-light performance, RAW, and auto-exposure bracketing

To me, the difference between 4K video at 100Mbps and 2.7K video at 40Mbps when it comes to low-light performance isn’t as drastic as I would have expected. The fact that both the DJI Mini 2 and DJI Mavic Mini are working with very small sensors limits these drones’ capabilities in low-light conditions. You can see that the Mini 2 has a slightly better dynamic range and the colors are richer than those from the Mavic Mini. Both the improved dynamic range and richer colors are the result of the 100Mbps video bitrate that the Mini 2 features.

For low-light performance, a large sensor with large pixels is far more important than increased resolution. The Sony A7SIII camera with its full-frame 12MP sensor is a great example of that.

If you’re planning to do a lot of low-light photography and videography with your drone, you really should look at the DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 and the DJI Mavic 2 Pro, both of which have 1-inch sensors. These drones will do a much better job in low-light conditions.

As far as the DJI Mini 2 versus the DJI Mavic Mini goes, the increase in resolution is less of a selling point, to me at least. Especially when you consider that most footage will be viewed on smartphones with small screens with less than 4K resolution, combined with the compression that is applied to video footage by social media platforms.

Other features that set the new DJI Mini 2 apart from the original Mavic Mini are the ability to shoot auto-exposure bracketing photos that you can later merge for HDR photos. The fact that the Mini 2 allows you to shoot RAW (or DNG) photos is another big one. You can now manually change settings such as ISO and white balance, which is really nice as well. But, the biggest selling points for the DJI Mini 2, are its size, weight, the fact that you have fewer drone regulations to deal with, and that it now features OcuSync 2.0! Especially the addition of OcuSync 2.0 is a game-changer in my opinion.

Mini 2 low-light performance in photography

Here are some low-light photos. I will link to the original files as well so that you can see what they’re like.

Sunset shot with the new DJI Mini 2. Download RAW and JPEG.

Here’s the same shot at the same time from the original Mavic Mini. Download JPEG.

Mini 2 low-light performance in videography

And here are videos of the same scene. Be sure to select the highest possible resolution on YouTube. Or download the original files for the best results.

The video is straight from the DJI Mini 2, trimmed in Final Cut, and exported in 4K. I did not change any colors, reduce noise, etc. Download the file here.

The video is straight from the DJI Mavic Mini, trimmed in Final Cut, and exported in 4K. I did not change any colors, reduce noise, etc. Download the file here.

Auto-exposure bracketing (AEB) with the DJI Mini 2

Here are three bracketed shots from the new DJI Mini 2.

AEB on the Mini 2: Normal exposure (download JPEG).

AEB on the Mini 2: Dark exposure (download JPEG).

AEB on the Mini 2: Light exposure (download JPEG).

Here are three other examples

AEB on the Mini 2: Normal exposure (download JPEG).

AEB on the Mini 2: Dark exposure (download JPEG).

AEB on the Mini 2: Light exposure (download JPEG).

Let me know what you think about the low-light performance of the DJI Mini 2 in the comments below.

Stay in touch!

If you’d like to stay up to date with all the latest drone news, scoops, rumors, and reviews, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, or…

Subscribe to our Daily Drone News email.*

Submit tips If you have information or tips that you would like to share with us, feel free to submit them here. Support DroneXL.co: You can support DroneXL.co by using these links when you make your next drone purchase: Adorama, Amazon, B&H, BestBuy, eBay, DJI, Parrot, and Yuneec. We make a small commission when you do so at no additional expense to you. Thank you for helping DroneXL grow! FTC: DroneXL.co uses affiliate links that generate income.

* We do not sell, share, rent out or spam your email, ever. Our email goes out on weekdays around 5:30 p.m.