This Mount Turns a DJI Mini Into a Handheld Camera

Sometimes innovation is born in a lab. Sometimes it’s born in a muddy field when you are tired of carrying too much gear and the FAA is telling you “nope, not today.”

That second category is where aerospace engineering student Tyler Staub lives.

Alongside his brother Calvin, Staub runs a drone service business shooting aerial content for local companies. That hands-on work sparked a simple but clever idea.

Why carry a separate handheld camera when the DJI Mini 4 Pro already has a stabilized, high-quality camera attached to it? PetaPixel interviewed him and wrote about his invention.

Enter Dronebal, a small mount that turns a DJI Mini 4 Pro into a handheld camera rig, and yes, it looks exactly like something an aerospace student would invent after staring at a drone for too long.

Turning a Flying Camera Into a Ground One

Staub’s frustration was familiar to anyone who works solo. There were plenty of moments where a quick ground-level shot would finish a sequence, but flying was either restricted or just inefficient. Swapping to a separate camera rig meant more gear, more weight, and more time wasted.

The Mini 4 Pro already checked most of the boxes. It has strong stabilization, a solid sensor, and good color profiles. Staub just needed a way to hold it without doing something reckless or awkward.

Early ideas did not survive reality.

His first attempt involved a sort of flying leash that would let the drone hover while being physically guided. The drone’s intelligent flight systems immediately disagreed and fought back like a very polite but stubborn robot. That concept died quickly.

The winning approach was far simpler. A physical mount that connects the drone to its controller, keeping everything stable and familiar.

After several cardboard prototypes and roughly ten versions in SOLIDWORKS, the final design emerged.

The Dronebal uses a tray secured with a Velcro strap for the drone, an arm that screws into the back of the DJI controller, and a variable joint that lets you adjust angles while keeping the drone level. You can raise it, lower it, and still use the controller wheel to pitch the camera smoothly.

In other words, it feels like using a camera, not like wrestling a confused quadcopter.

Why the Mini 4 Pro Makes Sense

From a specs standpoint, the Mini 4 Pro is already overqualified for ground work.

You get a 48 megapixel 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor, a 24mm equivalent f/1.4 lens, 48 megapixel RAW photos, and 4K video up to 100 frames per second with 10-bit D-Log M and HLG. That is more than enough for social content, commercial work, and even some narrative projects.

For creators on tight budgets, the appeal is obvious. One device. Two jobs. Less gear. Fewer excuses to leave things in the car.

Staub’s goal is not to replace cinema cameras. It is to lower the barrier to entry and make filmmaking feel less like a financial hostage situation.

That said, there is an important reality check here.

DJI Mini drones do not have internal cooling fans. They rely heavily on airflow from flight and altitude to stay cool. When you turn one into a handheld camera, that cooling disappears.

Record long enough, especially in warm conditions, and overheating becomes a very real possibility. The drone will let you know, and it will not be polite about it.

This is not a design flaw of the Dronebal. It is simply physics and DJI’s design choices colliding.

If overheating anxiety keeps you awake at night, a larger drone like the Air 3, Air 3S, or a future Mavic 4 with active cooling would likely handle this use case much better. More airflow management, more thermal headroom, fewer warning messages.

Still, for short takes, controlled shoots, and smart usage, the Mini 4 Pro can absolutely pull double duty.

A Small Batch With Big Potential

Right now, Dronebal is very much a small operation. Staub is producing an initial batch of 30 units, focusing on getting real-world feedback rather than chasing scale too early.

The early response has been positive, even if sales growth has not quite broken the laws of mathematics yet. Community interest is there, and that matters more at this stage.

Staub plans to refine the design based on user feedback and expand the concept to other drone models. The Mini 4 Pro was simply the obvious starting point thanks to its massive user base and unusually strong feature set for its size.

The Dronebal for the DJI Mini 4 Pro is available now for $30 through ROC Shop.

DroneXL’s Take

This is one of those ideas that feels obvious in hindsight, which is usually a good sign. Dronebal does not pretend your Mini is suddenly a cinema camera, and it does not ignore the thermal limits that come with sub-250 gram drones.

It simply gives creators another option, another angle, and another reason to get more out of gear they already own. Just keep an eye on temperatures, use it intelligently, and remember that even clever inventions cannot bully physics into submission.

Photo credit: Rocshop

Last update on 2026-01-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API