DJI has just announced its latest drone designed for aerial photography and recording, with the Mini 5 Pro.
Considering the DJI Mini 4 Pro made its way into our best drones list, how do the specs of the DJI Mini 5 Pro appear to be shaping up?
Although we’re yet to review the DJI Mini 5 Pro, we have compared its features to the DJI Mini 4 Pro and highlighted the key differences between them. Keep reading to see what’s new with the drone and whether or not an upgrade is needed.
Price and Availability
At the time of writing, the DJI Mini 5 Pro is only available in the UK and Europe but not in the US. However, considering the Mini 4 Pro also landed across Europe months before arriving in the US, this isn’t necessarily surprising. While DJI is yet to confirm the US price for the Mini 5 Pro, the Mini 4 Pro is available at $759.
Both the DJI Mini 5 Pro and Mini 4 Pro currently have the same RRP of £689, however we would expect the Mini 4 Pro to drop in price in the coming weeks.
DJI Mini 5 Pro has a 50MP camera
Although the difference might sound negligible, the DJI Mini 5 Pro boasts a slightly higher quality camera compared to the Mini 4 Pro with 50MP compared to 48MP. DJI promises that this sensor should provide sharper images and offer better performance when light starts to drop.
Considering that although the Mini 4 Pro’s images were of generally good quality, even akin to a higher-end smartphone, but snaps captured in low light tended to be hit and miss, the upgrade in the Mini 5 Pro is a promising prospect.
DJI Mini 5 Pro offers up to 36 minutes of flight time as standard
Battery life has seen a slight improvement with the DJI Mini 5 Pro, with up to 36 minutes of flight time promised with the Intelligent Flight battery. Alternatively if you choose to upgrade to the Intelligent Flight Battery Plus then you should see up to a whopping 52 minutes of flight time.
That’s not to say the Mini 4 Pro doesn’t offer a decent battery life. Instead, we found the drone pumped out around up to 34 minutes of flight time, which is akin to DJI’s promise. Not only that but with the Plus battery you can expect up to 45 minutes, which although may not be as much as its successor, is still a solid amount of time.
DJI Mini 5 Pro has front-facing LiDAR sensors
The Mini 5 Pro is fitted with forward-facing LiDAR alongside vision sensors which promises to detect and avoid obstacles like tall buildings, even in low-lighting conditions. This, DJI promises, ensures that the drone will return to its take-off location safely.
Not only that but the sensor also enables the Mini 5 Pro to memorise flight routes without a satellite signal too, although it’s worth noting that this requires some lighting to work efficiently. In fact, DJI promises that this non-GNSS RTH ensures a safe return even when taking off from locations with satellite signals, like balconies.
DJI Mini 5 Pro has a 225° gimbal
New with the Mini 5 Pro’s gimbal is 225° roll rotation which promises to enable flexible and more dynamic camera movement for rotating footage.
In addition, with the Mini 5 Pro’s True Vertical Shooting mode, you can easily capture trickier scenes like skyscrapers, waterfalls and more without needing to crop the image or video after.
DJI Mini 5 Pro has up to 42GB internal storage
One of the biggest updates comes in the seemingly unglamorous but necessary storage capacity. Although both sport a MicroSD card slot, the DJI Mini 5 Pro benefits from up to 42GB of internal storage whereas the Mini 4 Pro is only fitted with 2GB.
This means that, in theory, while a microSD card isn’t a huge necessity for the Mini 5 Pro it’s an important addition for the Mini 4 Pro as its 2GB isn’t enough for anything more than a few minutes of 4K footage.
Early Verdict
Although we’re yet to review the DJI Mini 5 Pro, with a higher-res camera, 225° roll rotation and up to 42GB of internal storage, the drone is a promising option for those looking to enhance their aerial photography.
However, if you’re already sporting the DJI Mini 4 Pro then there’s arguably little reason to upgrade as the drone remains a great option for most users.
We’ll be sure to update this versus once we’ve reviewed the DJI Mini 5 Pro.
