DJI Mini 2 is a popular drone among the drone community for aerial photography and videography. Even though you are a beginner you can still get pro footage using DJI Mini 2 Auto camera settings. But if you have requirements for the footage according to your needs and post-production, you should use manual camera settings for that.
Almost every time aerial photographers and videographers use manual camera settings to full fill their expectations for professional footage. So in this article, we are going to talk about the best DJI Mini 2 camera settings and also how you can set them according to your needs.
Best DJI Mini 2 Camera Settings
Let’s talk about the best DJI Mini 2 camera settings and about some important camera settings in depth.
Aperture Camera Settings
Tap on the Auto camera icon at the right bottom corner to switch pro mode camera settings.
| Aperture Settings | Value |
| ISO | 100 (Night-time 100-400) |
| Shutter Speed | 1/(2 X frame rate) |
| M.M | 0 (can’t be set and varies with the ISO and shutter speed) |
| EV | 0 |
ISO
Simply, the ISO value controls the brightness of the footage. You should use ideal ISO value (most of the time, the lowest ISO), unless higher the ISO values would start introducing noises to the footage.
- The ideal value for ISO is 100 which is the lowest. For nught, choose ISO value 100-400.
Shutter Speed
Shutter speed means how many times the sensor exposed to light per second. In order to choose the suitable shutter speed for your footage, follow the 180° rule (which is used by professional videographers) to calculate the shutter speed that corresponds to the chosen frame rate. Calculate your shutter speed using the below formula.
Shutter speed = 2 X Frame rate.
- Then select the closest value to the calculation as the shutter speed.
M.M
- M.M value indicates the level of sensor exposure to the light. If the M.M value is negative the sensor is underexposed and for a positive M.M value, the sensor is overexposed. So keeps the M.M value close to 0.
EV
- If the EV value is negative the image would look dark and if the EV value is positive the image would look bright. So the optimum value for EV would be 0.
Video/Image settings.
| Settings | Value |
| Video Size | 4k| 25fps/ 30fps |
| Image Format | J+R |
Video Size
It’s good to choose video quality as high resolution as possible for detailed and high-quality production.
- Cinema 4k (4096 X 2016): You can choose 24fps and 30fps frame rate options if you choose this option. Choose 25 fps if you expect to have cinematic-look footage. If you need smooth footage, choose 30fps.
- 2.7K (2720 X 1530): Best video quality for DJI Mavic Mini. This would make it possible to film at 25 fps and 30 fps. Choose 25 fps if you expect to have cinematic look footage. If you need smooth footage, choose 30fps.
- 1080P (1920×1080): In this option, you would be able to film footage in higher frame rates such as 50fps and 60fps. Great for slow-motion aerial film production.
Image Format
- If you want to process the image and edit through editing software like photoshop, choose J+R. Because RAW file offers more details of the image and is best for post production.
- If you are not interested in post production and details, choose JPEG to save the storage.
Advanced Shooting Settings
Tap on the three dots at the right top corner. Then tap “Camera”> Advanced Shooting Settings.
| Advanced Shooting Settings | Value |
| Histogram | Enable |
| Over Exposure Warning | Enable |
| White Balance | Manual (Choose the color temperature that matches current weather) |
| Anti Flicker | Europe- 50Hz/ North American Standards- 60Hz |
Histogram
The Histogram shows the overall exposure of the footage.
- When the camera sensor is properly exposed, peaks would exist in the mid of the chart. If peaks exist on the left side of the histogram, the shot is underexposed. If peaks exist on the right side of the histogram, the shot is overexposed.
White Balance
You have two options to set the white balance which are Auto and Manual. In the Auto option, the drone set the proper white balance by itself. But in Auto settings, the drone continuously keeps setting the white balance as the sensor exposure varies. Therefore it causes an inconsistency white balance of the footage. So you should manually keep the same white balance throughout the whole footage.
- Choose “Manual”, and choose the choose color temperature that matches the current weather. For sunny days, it’s 5500K. Mess with the white balance and choose the proper white balance that matches the weather.
Anti-Flicker
You should choose suitable Anti-flicker values to get flicker-free footage when filming indoor lights, electrical lights, and street lights.
- Choose 50Hz if you are filming night drone shots in Europe.
- Choose 60Hz if you are filming night drone shots in North America.
- Or leave it Auto.
Important: Use the ND filter for your Mini 2.
If your Mini 2 camera sensor is overexposed to the light after applying camera settings according to your expectations, that means too much light is coming to the sensor. So in order to filter the proper amount of light you should install an ND filter (Neutral Density Filter) on the Mini 2 aircraft. If you are interested in professional aerial photography and videography, ND filters are compulsory to use.
