DJI Mini 5 Pro Debuts World’s First 1-Inch Sensor in Mini Drone

DJI today unveiled the DJI Mini 5 Pro, the world’s first mini camera drone featuring a 1-inch sensor, alongside advanced nighttime obstacle avoidance and up to 36 minutes of flight time. The palm-sized, lightweight, sub-250g drone launches globally on September 17, 2025, at 8:00 AM EDT, though it will NOT be available in the US market via the official DJI store.

The Mini 5 Pro represents a significant leap in compact drone imaging capabilities. We have been told that is is comparable to the results you can get from a DJI Air 3S. The new DJI mini drone combines professional-grade camera technology with enhanced safety features in a lightweight foldable package that deliveres cinema-quality performance for capturing life’s beautiful moments and preserves treasured memories in stunning detail.

Revolutionary 50MP 1-Inch Sensor Breaks Mini Drone Barriers

The Mini 5 Pro’s standout feature is its 50MP 1-inch large sensor, marking the first time such imaging hardware has been integrated into a sub-250g mini camera drone format. This large CMOS sensor preserves even minute details in challenging low-light conditions including sunsets and nightscapes, while a new 48mm Med-Tele mode delivers higher digital zoom resolution than previous models to make subjects stand out with greater texture and adds depth.

DJI’s portrait optimization technology automatically enhances portraits’ brightness, contrast and skin tones to make them look naturally radiant with more vivid expressions. The larger sensor enables 4K/60fps HDR video capture with up to 14 stops of dynamic range, allowing pilots to capture cinematic footage in high-contrast scenes such as detailed views of cloud textures and other elements during sunrise and sunset.

For creative post-production flexibility, the Mini 5 Pro supports slow-motion video recording at 4K/120fps. The drone can record 10-bit video using H.265 encoding, delivering refined color performance with maximum ISO raised to 12,800. In D-Log M and HLG color modes, the maximum ISO is raised to 3,200, allowing for greater brightness and more details in urban night scenes.

Advanced Gimbal System Enables 225° Rotation and True Vertical Shooting

The Mini 5 Pro introduces wide-angle 225° roll rotation capability and true vertical shooting, bringing greater freedom and possibilities to camera movement. This flexible gimbal system works seamlessly with intelligent modes including QuickShot Rotate, Timelapse, Spotlight, and Waypoint Flight to make capturing creative rotating footage easier than ever before.

True Vertical Shooting instantly captures skyscrapers, waterfalls and vibrant city scenes with the camera oriented vertically. No cropping is needed, with every photo and video ready for social media immediately upon capture.

Comprehensive Nightscape Omnidirectional Sensing Sets New Safety Standards

The Mini 5 Pro features confident flight capabilities even in low light through its forward-facing LiDAR and multiple vision sensors for nightscape omnidirectional obstacle sensing, making return-to-home safer. In city nightscapes, the system actively detects and avoids obstacles along flight and return paths for worry-free night flying. With sufficient light, the drone can memorize flight routes, enabling safe takeoff and return even without a satellite signal.

The DJI Mini 5 Pro’s sensing package includes:

• Omnidirectional Vision Sensing System: Forward-facing LiDAR, fisheye lenses on the front and rear, binocular lenses and a 3D infrared sensor on the bottom achieve omnidirectional obstacle sensing for safer flights
• Nightscape Omnidirectional Obstacle Sensing: Provides robust safety for night photography, allowing users to create with confidence and efficiency
• Nighttime RTH: With the forward-facing LiDAR, Mini 5 Pro detects obstacles like tall buildings even in low-light conditions and intelligently maneuvers upward, ensuring safer returns during nighttime flights
• Non-GNSS RTH: Powered by real-time vision positioning and map construction technologies, Mini 5 Pro memorizes flight paths when adequate lighting is available, ensuring safe return even when taking off from locations without satellite signals, such as balconies
• Dual-Band GNSS: With L1 + L5 dual-band GNSS, Mini 5 Pro connects to more satellites for improved signal stability and precise positioning

Enhanced ActiveTrack 360° with Intelligent Scenario Detection

The upgraded ActiveTrack 360° offers customizable tracking for various scenarios and features more stable and safer tracking performance than previous models. Whether filming a stroll by the beach or a bike ride on a weaving road, the DJI Mini 5 Pro detects sports scenarios and will select the right mode for optimal framing and tracking. Tracking performance has been enhanced to balance speed, agility, and safety.

Extended Flight Time with Intelligent Battery Options

Flight endurance receives significant improvements with the standard Intelligent Flight Battery providing up to 36 minutes of operation. The optional DJI Intelligent Flight Battery Plus extends flight time by up to 16 minutes from the standard battery’s 36 minutes to up to 52 minutes of total flight time.

Professional Features and Seamless File Transfer Capabilities

The Mini 5 Pro offers DJI’s complete suite of intelligent features which enable users to achieve professional-level results with every flight:

• MasterShots: Provides high-level camera movement templates according to portrait, close-up, and long-distance shooting needs
• QuickShots: Supports various modes such as QuickShot Rotate, Dronie, Circle, Helix, Rocket, Boomerang, and Asteroid, allowing users to easily shoot stylish short films
• Free Panorama: Enables users to create seamless panoramic shots by stitching together multiple images with a manually selected subject or area

Off-State QuickTransfer represents a major convenience upgrade – Mini 5 Pro supports remote wake-up via the DJI Fly app within Bluetooth range. Without taking out the drone or remote controller, files can be transferred at up to 100 MB/s via Wi-Fi 6. Even when switching to other apps, the DJI Fly app continues downloading in the background.

Pricing and Availability Details

The DJI Mini 5 Pro launches globally on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, at 8:00 AM ET, but will NOT be officially available in the US market via store.dji.com. All named accessories mentioned are sold separately.

DroneXL’s Take

The Mini 5 Pro represents DJI’s most ambitious mini drone to date, finally bridging the gap between compact portability and professional imaging capabilities that pilots have long demanded. The integration of a 1-inch sensor into the sub-250g mini form factor addresses a critical limitation that has kept many serious aerial photographers and videographers looking toward larger, less convenient platforms.

However, several questions remain unanswered. The conspicuous absence of US market availability through DJI’s official store raises concerns about geo-political challenges that could significantly impact American drone pilots’ access to this technology.

The nightscape omnidirectional sensing system could be a game-changer for pilots who frequently operate in challenging low-light conditions. The 52-minute maximum flight time with the Battery Plus represents an incremental improvement, but real-world performance will depend heavily on how power-hungry the new 1-inch sensor and advanced sensing systems prove to be during active operation.

What aspects of the Mini 5 Pro’s feature set do you think will prove most valuable for your drone operations? Are you concerned about the US availability limitations, and how might this affect DJI’s competitive position in the American market? Share your thoughts on whether the DJI Mini 5 Pro 1-inch sensor breakthrough will make the DJI Air 3S obsolete.

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Photo credits: DJI