DJI Mini 5 Pro Review – BIG IMPROVEMENTS in ALL The Right Places!

The DJI Mini series has always been about extreme portability without compromise, but with the DJI Mini 5 Pro, DJI has taken things to the next level. For the first time ever, we have a 1-inch sensor on a Mini drone, and that completely changes everything. This is no longer just a pocket-friendly drone anymore—it’s competing with bigger, more expensive drones and matches their quality. After weeks of flying the Mini 5 Pro, in this video, I’ll break down the design, camera, obstacle avoidance, gimbal features, flight performance, battery life, and everything else you might want to know about the Mini 5 Pro, so you know whether you should buy one or not.

Continuing with tradition, the Mini 5 Pro still has a weight under 250g, meaning it’s C0 certified in Europe. The design remains super compact and the drone folds easily. Something I love seeing here is that they’ve introduced some of my favorite features from the Mavic 4 Pro to the Mini 5 Pro. One of them is the unfold-to-power-on feature. The really convenient thing is to just unfold it—the drone powers on and it’s ready to go. This is a game changer if you’re flying frequently or switching between different locations. This will save you so much time and it’s incredibly convenient. I just don’t want to fly drones that don’t have these features anymore.

Alternatively, if you want to close it and fold it while powering it off, it will do that automatically. “Will power off in 5 seconds. Press any button on aircraft to cancel.“

When comparing the DJI Mini 4 Pro and DJI Mini 5 Pro, you’ll notice some major differences. First, the Mini 5 Pro is significantly larger and longer than the Mini 4 Pro. The major change is that the camera is much bigger—the Mini 4 Pro’s camera definitely looks like a toy in comparison. The Mini 5 Pro has a much bigger sensor that takes up considerably more space. Honestly, I don’t know how DJI keeps cramming all this technology into sub-250-gram drones. This one is bigger with many more features and a much larger camera, yet it’s still the same weight as the Mini 4 Pro. I don’t know how that’s actually possible.

When you unfold both drones, you’ll see that the Mini 5 Pro has a more aggressive stance and sits slightly higher than the Mini 4 Pro. This accommodates the camera and larger sensor size, as well as the gimbal rotation, which we’ll discuss shortly.

New Features and Sensors

Something new on the Mini 5 Pro’s front is the LIDAR sensor, which will help tremendously when flying in low-light situations. Of course, we have omnidirectional obstacle avoidance, so you don’t have to worry about potentially hitting obstacles. We have sensors in all directions, making it nearly impossible to hit something—though it’s still possible.

When talking about design, we have a new propeller design. Previously, on the Mini 4 Pro, we had screw-on propellers that required a screwdriver to install and remove. Now we have a much easier way to attach and detach propellers. You simply push down and twist, and they come off.

I really have no idea how they managed it, but this drone is now even quieter than before. You can see how close I am to the drone—this is insanely quiet, and it’s like 1 meter away from me. At about 10 meters altitude, the drone is almost silent. It’s definitely the most enjoyable drone to fly if you’re close to people or don’t want to attract too much attention. This drone is completely silent once it goes up about 5-10 meters in the air, and even when it’s next to you—especially if there are road noises or any ambient sounds—you can’t even hear it.

Camera Performance: The Headline Feature

Let’s continue with the headline feature of the Mini 5 Pro: the camera. We have a 1-inch sensor capable of shooting 4K 60fps HDR video in 10-bit D-LOG M, slow motion video in 4K 120fps, and 50-megapixel photos. On paper, that’s really impressive, but what it really means is that we have 14 stops of dynamic range, which will help tremendously to preserve highlights and shadows when shooting in tricky situations like sunset or sunrise.

The bigger sensor also means more light coming in, so even when flying at nighttime, this drone will give you great results. This footage was shot at ISO 3200, and as you can see, the noise isn’t that bad. If you apply mild noise reduction, you get great results straight away.

DJI has also introduced a new 2x 48mm medium telephoto mode on the Mini 5 Pro, which really surprised me. This mode lets you zoom in and focus on a specific area, similar to bigger drones in DJI’s lineup, such as the Air 3S and Mavic 4 Pro. It essentially simulates having a second lens on this drone, using digital zoom to give you that 48mm look. I wouldn’t say the quality is bad—it’s actually quite good and retains all the different settings you can use with the main camera.

You can really take advantage of this new mode to focus on a specific subject and achieve a slightly different look from the wide-angle shots people have become accustomed to. With this, you can crop in, emphasize a specific subject or object, and really utilize this new feature effectively.

ND Filters and Accessories

When talking about the camera, if you get the Fly More Combo of the Mini 5 Pro, you’ll also get ND filters, which was a big surprise for me. The case holds three ND filters: ND8, ND32, and ND128. I’m not the biggest fan of this exact selection because I definitely need ND64 on this drone. For bright and sunny scenarios, ND32 isn’t enough because the Mini 5 Pro’s aperture, which obviously isn’t adjustable, is f/1.8. So ND32 doesn’t really cut it in every scenario when it’s really bright outside, and you have to bump up the shutter speed. But for the most part, this is a great way to start shooting cinematic footage straight away after getting the Mini 5 Pro.

These filters are also different from previous versions. Previously, you had to unscrew a section on the front to screw on the filter. Now this is a clip-on filter that simply clips onto the camera from the front. You just need to adjust it so it sits horizontally, then clip it on and it’s good to go. You need to make sure it clicks so you know it’s installed properly from both the top and bottom portions so it doesn’t fall off.

Overall, I think the camera parameters and functionality on the Mini 5 Pro set it apart from any previous Mini drone. This is a huge leap forward in terms of camera specs, quality, and how you can incorporate it into your workflow when shooting with this drone.

Gimbal Redesign and Rotation

I want to talk about the gimbal redesign, which now uses a rotating gimbal similar to the Mavic 4 Pro. This drone can now rotate its gimbal 225°, exactly the same as the Mavic 4 Pro, and it’s not limited in any way for vertical shooting. For me, those horizontal rotating shots that create that trippy effect are definitely overplayed. I’m not a fan and don’t use them in my videos, but this allows the gimbal to rotate freely and give you exactly the angle you want to shoot from.

Now, if you want to shoot vertically, you’re not limited in any way, unlike the Mavic 4 Pro, which had a very small range of movement when shooting in vertical mode.

Safety Features and Smart Technology

I already mentioned the LIDAR sensor on the front, which is a big deal for safer flying, especially at night. But the Mini 5 Pro also has the feature of remembering the drone’s position and path during takeoff. So if it loses signal or you completely shut off the remote, it will return following the exact same path, going around obstacles and returning exactly the same way it went out.

This is significant for safety when you potentially lose signal and have to rely on the drone to come back to its home point by itself. The drone is much smarter now and can remember the full path it took and return safely on its own, even without GPS signal.

Because of all these new features, tracking is now much smarter as well. You now get custom modes for cycling, standard following, and more agile response modes depending on the subject. DJI has increased the maximum follow speed to 50 km/h in open areas, and I think the tracking feels much smarter and more reliable in complex environments.

One thing I noticed is that wind stability must have been improved somehow. Don’t quote me on the exact details, but this drone hasn’t even shown strong wind warnings when flying in 50 km/h wind gusts that were incredibly strong—conditions where I expected not to even be able to fly. It was flying perfectly fine, super smooth, and didn’t give me any strong wind warnings, which was incredibly surprising.

Battery Life and Performance

The battery of the Mini 5 Pro is an interesting topic. On the outside, it looks exactly the same as the Mini 4 Pro’s battery. However, this one has different capacity and flies for a maximum of 36 minutes. This isn’t exactly the case in reality, as you all know, because “up to 36 minutes” is what you’d get in perfect scenarios, which never happen in real life.

In reality, I’m getting between 25 and 30 minutes of flight time with each battery. This is the regular battery, because DJI has also introduced the Plus battery with flight time up to 54 minutes, but unfortunately, it’s not available in Europe. I think it will only be available in certain regions. I’m not even sure which ones because, as we all know, the regulatory situation is complex right now. I’m not even sure if it will be available in the US, let alone other regions. But they will have a bigger capacity battery, which will make this drone go over 250g but give you longer flight time.

With these regular batteries, I’m getting between 25 and 30 minutes per pack, as I mentioned. For some reason—maybe I’m spoiled because I’ve been flying the Mavic 4 Pro for so long—it never feels like enough. It always goes down very quickly. Once I measured it, it turned out to be really the case: between 25 and 30 minutes with each battery. This is what you should expect with the Mini 5 Pro.

One thing to note: once you put the battery in, it will power on automatically. This is another feature that’s sometimes a little annoying. I like the usability of being able to just swap batteries and get back in the air, but sometimes for reviews like this, it’s a bit inconvenient.

Data Transfer and Storage

Let’s talk about data transfer and built-in memory. The Mini 5 Pro has 43GB of built-in storage, which is great because you don’t have to worry if you forget your SD card. You can just rely on the built-in storage and still capture plenty of footage.

Data transfer has also been improved because we have Wi-Fi 6 transfer speeds on the Mini 5 Pro. All you need to do is keep it powered on, grab a high-quality USB-C cable, connect it to your computer, and it will appear as USB storage. You’ll be able to transfer all your footage in seconds because the transfer speeds are incredibly fast. This is something we saw on the Mavic 4 Pro, and I’m super happy to see these convenient features trickling down to a smaller, cheaper drone that improves quality of life significantly.

Controller Compatibility

Something I forgot to mention earlier is that we can use this drone with the RC2 or the RC-N3 (the one without the screen), which for me represents old technology nowadays. It should be discontinued in my opinion, and this remote should be the standard. But I understand it might keep costs down, so for people who want to spend as little as possible, the RC-N3 might still be a good option. I just prefer the RC2.

But the best thing is that I was told the RC Pro 2, which we have on the Mavic 4 Pro, will also work with the Mini 5 Pro. So if you have a big drone like the Mavic 4 Pro and want to get this one as well, you’ll be able to fly with the RC Pro 2 very soon.

Final Verdict

I think if you’re a professional or semi-professional creator who wants the best image quality in a very compact body, this is the drone for you. You’re getting a 1-inch sensor, very reliable nighttime obstacle sensing, and a gimbal system that rotates and gives you more flexibility, even for vertical shooting. If you’re just starting out or you’re a beginner, the safety features and ease of use make this the one to get and start with, even if you don’t always fly in perfect conditions.

There are some limitations to the Mini 5 Pro, of course, which I believe are mostly due to its weight constraints, such as the battery life (which I wish was longer) and the lack of extra lenses. They did something to mitigate this by introducing the 48mm medium telephoto mode, which works great to some extent but doesn’t fully replace having a second lens that you can constantly switch between.

But we need to remember this is a sub-250g drone. This is still a C0-labeled drone in Europe, which is absolutely insane when you consider the quality we can extract from this 1-inch sensor, the wind resistance we get, and all the different features—the safety, complexity of ActiveTrack, and LIDAR features. It’s a no-brainer if you’re looking to upgrade from pretty much any other drone in the Mini lineup, or even coming from the Air 2S, Air 3, or maybe even the Air 3S. If you’re looking for a more portable drone that won’t feel like a downgrade, this is definitely the way to go.

I’m really curious to hear your opinion on the Mini 5 Pro. Would you buy this? Let me know in the comments below. If you do want to buy this, consider using my affiliate link in the description—it helps me tremendously to keep making these videos for you. I really appreciate it, and thank you for watching all the way through. This is Mike from Drone Supremacy. Never stop flying. I’ll catch you in the next one tomorrow. Ciao.

Photos courtesy of Mike from Drone Supremacy.