DJI Mini 2: How to Adjust Camera Settings

So, you’ve purchased one of DJI’s most popular drones for 2021 and 2022.  Excellent choice.  Like its larger cousins the Air 2/2S and Mavic Pro line, the Mini 2 allows you to take both pictures and videos.    

There are some drone photographers that like to leave everything in auto and let the drone do all the work, but then there are others that like to tweak camera settings to pull every iota of potential out of the drone for images and video.

You can easily use the DJI Fly app to change your picture and video settings (ISO, Shutter, Resolution (4K), and Framerates). There are also many features you can enable that will aid in composing better photographs and videos.

DJI Mini 2 Photo Settings #

The Mini 2 comes equipped with a camera that is capable of shooting 12MP still photos, which is the same megapixel count as in most modern cell phones, the iPhone 13 included.  Like high-end smartphones, you can get superb photos from the Mini 2.   

If, after you read this article, you would like to know more about drone photography in general and some of the terminology used in this article, feel free to head over to our article Drone Photography: Beginner’s Guide to Getting Started.

Photo mode #

This is where you can take still images (as opposed to video). To access Photo Mode:

1. Press the icon above the shutter button on the right.  
2. Here you’ll see Photo, Video, Quickshot, and Panorama.  
3. Choose the Photo option/icon.

After going into Photo Mode, generally, you will be in Auto (automatic) mode.  Along the bottom, you will see Storage, Format, EV, and Auto.

Note: To get the most out of your photos, you’ll essentially want to be in manual mode, which in the case of the Mini 2, is called Pro mode (more on this shortly).

While in Auto Mode #

StorageUnlike the Mini 2’s bigger cousins, the Mini 2 does not have internal storage.  The storage label here shows you how many pictures you can take with your current photo settings and that is all.

FormatThis tells you whether you are shooting JPGs, RAW, or both JPGs and RAW, simultaneously.  This is an option that can be changed.  Press Format and you’ll then be able to choose, again, JPG, RAW, or J+R (JPG and RAW).

Which format should you choose?  That’s entirely your choice.  Many photographers shoot in J+R, allowing them to decide which format they’ll use to process their photos.  

Without going into too much detail and complicated explanations here, JPG is a lower quality, smaller file sized format that can be modified some and then shared (the drone camera pretty much handles all the processing), whereas RAW files are much higher quality and record all the information about the image, thus enabling you to modify them to your liking in photo editing software.  These files are normally 5 times (or more) the size of JPG files. 

**EV (Exposure Value)******When shooting in Auto, EV is the Exposure Value or, in layman’s terms, how bright or dark the image is. This can be adjusted to lighter or darker, when in Auto mode, only.

Switching over to Pro Mode (Recommended) #

To switch over to Pro Mode (Manual), tap the icon that says Auto and you’ll automatically switch to Pro Mode. 

Here in Pro Mode, you’ll see that there are now many more options available for you to adjust.  This may be frightening for some at first, as after switching into Pro Mode the screen may go dark, looking nothing like the bright and clear screen seen in Auto Mode.

On the bottom of the Pro Mode screen, you’ll see J+R, 16:9 or 4:3, WB, S, F, ISO, and MM.  All these options are adjustable.  These options are explained below.

J+RAs mentioned above, this is your picture file format.  If you tap J+R you will be able to switch back to either JPG or RAW or keep the format at J+R.

**16:9 (or 4:3)**This is the aspect ratio of the picture you’ll take.  Depending on the option you choose, that format will show here.  You can change the ratio by tapping on this number.  Currently, the aspect ratios or image sizes are 4:3 (4000×3000) and 16:9 (4000×2250).

Pro tip: To get the most out of your camera, shoot in the 4:3 aspect ratio, as this uses the entire image sensor, and then crop the picture to your framing needs in your editing software.

**WB (White Balance)******This is another one of those settings that can be discussed for quite a while.  The Droneblog article mentioned above goes into white balance a little more.  

White balance simply evens out the color temperature in a photo to make the image’s color look more natural and truer.  This is done by making the image Cooler or Warmer, from 3000k (kelvin) to 8000k.

Unlike previous DJI flight apps, the White Balance is not represented by Sunny, Cloudy, Incandescent, and Custom in the DJI Fly app.  White Balance is now adjusted using the White Balance slider.  The slider is in numerical values (seen above).  

You can also forgo manually changing the kelvin (k) values and just choose Auto.  In Auto, the Mini 2 will try to best decide what White Balance values are best for the current shooting conditions.

**S (Shutter)**This controls how short or how long the shutter is open.  Lower numbers let in more light, while Higher numbers minimize the light allowed into the camera.  The shutter also controls how much motion blur there is in an image.  Lower shutter speeds show more motion blur, while higher shutter speeds stop the action in an image.  

An example of motion blur would be a line of trailing taillights in a picture with moving traffic.  An example of stopped action would be an athlete running and the picture would be of them frozen in place, with no blur whatsoever.

**F (F-Stop)******Since the Mini 2 has a fixed aperture, the F-number will remain 2.8.  There is no way to change this number in a fixed aperture drone.  The Mavic 2 and 3 family, however, do have adjustable apertures.

ISO****ISO is the value of measure for a camera’s sensitivity to light.  As you increase the ISO number (lowest being 100) the brighter your image will be.  Also, the higher you raise your ISO, the more noise or grain is introduced into the image.  The Mini 2’s ISO range is between 100 and 3200, for both photos and videos.

**MM (Manual Metering)**This is similar to the Exposure Value (EV) in Auto mode.  However, unlike the EV in Auto Mode, you cannot change the Manual Metering value in Pro mode.  This basically tells you when your exposure is correct based on the ISO and Shutter (2/3rds of the Exposure Triangle).

DJI Mini 2 Video Settings #

The Mini 2’s camera is capable of shooting 4k video at up to 30fps (frames per second), which is quite impressive for a drone of this size and price.  It can also shoot 2.7k and 1080P video at up to 60fps (for those that would like to slow the footage down quite a bit in post).

Now let’s get into the camera settings and options you can change for videos.

Video Mode #

To access Video Mode:

1. Once again, press the icon above the shutter button on the right.  
2. You’ll see Photo, Video, Quickshot, and Panorama.  
3. Choose the Video icon.

After going into Video Mode, you will most likely be in Auto mode.  Along the bottom, you will see Storage, RES&FPS, EV, and Auto.  

While in Auto Mode #

Storage****This will show you how many minutes of footage (video) you’ll be able to take with your current resolution and FPS (frames per second) settings.

**RES & FPS (Resolution and Frames Per Second)******This is where you’ll set your video resolution and the frames per second that you’d like that video to be.  Higher resolution video eats up more storage space, but the footage looks better, whereas lower resolution footage is not as sharp, but saves a bit more space.  

The Resolution options are 4K, 2.7K, and 1080P.  Choose the best option for your shooting preference and SD card.

**The frames per second options on the DJI Mini 2 are 24, 25, 30, and 60  **

• 24fps is the shooting standard for films in the US
• 25fps is the European standard
• 30fps can be slowed 40% in post on a 24fps timeline giving a smoother, slightly dreamer flow to drone video
• 60fps can be slowed 80% in post, on a 24fps timeline, and is great for more of a slow-motion effect (this option is not available when shooting in 4K)

**EV (Exposure Value)******Just like when taking pictures, the Exposure Value or, how bright or dark the image is, can be adjusted to lighten or darken your video, when shooting in Auto mode, only.

Switching over to Pro Mode #

To switch over to Pro Mode when shooting video, tap the icon that says Auto and you’ll automatically switch to Pro Mode. 

Here in Pro Mode, like when taking pictures, there are more options available for you to adjust to ensure your video looks exactly as you want it.

On the bottom of the Pro Mode screen, you’ll see 4K 30 (or whatever your RES&FPS is), an icon of an SD Card with numbers on it, WB, S, F, ISO, and MM.  All these options are adjustable.  These options are explained below.

**4K 30 (or whatever your RES&FPS is)******Tapping this option will allow you to set your video resolution and the frames per second that you’d like that video to be.  These **Resolution options are 4K, 2.7K, and 1080P. ** The framerates are 24, 25, 30, and 60 (60 is NOT available when shooting in 4K).

The icon of an SD Card with numbers on it****Like in auto mode, this will show you how many minutes of video you’ll be able to take with your current resolution and frames per second settings, based on the available space left in the SD card.

**WB (White Balance)******White balance evens out the color temperature in a video to make the image’s color look more natural and truer.  This is done by making the image Cooler or Warmer, from 3000k (kelvin) to 8000k.

Here, as with Photo Mode, the White Balance is not represented by Sunny, Cloudy, Incandescent, and Custom.  White Balance is adjusted using the White Balance slider.  The slider is in numerical values.  

You can also forgo manually changing the kelvin (k) values and just choosing Auto.  Auto will try to decide what White Balance values are best for the current shooting conditions.

**S (Shutter)******This controls how fast or slow the shutter speed is.  Lower numbers let in more light, while Higher numbers minimize the light allowed into the camera.  The shutter also controls how much motion blur there is in an image.  Lower shutter speeds show more motion blur, while higher shutter speeds stop the action in an image.  

Pro tip: For video, you will want to use the 180-degree rule to get the correct amount of motion blur for the frames per second you are using.

These values are below:

• 24 frames per second – set the shutter to 1/50s
• 25 frames per second – set the shutter to 1/50s
• 30 frames per second – set the shutter to 1/60s
• 60 frames per second (not in 4K) – set the shutter to 1/120s

**F (F-Stop)******As mentioned earlier, the Mini 2 has a fixed aperture, of 2.8.  There is no way to change this number.

ISO****ISO is the value of measure for a camera’s sensitivity to light.  As you increase the ISO number (lowest being 100) the brighter your image will be.  Also, the higher you raise your ISO, the more noise or grain is introduced into the image.  

The Mini 2’s ISO range is between 100 and 3200, for both photos and videos.

**MM (Manual Metering)******This is like the Exposure Value (EV) above in Auto mode.  You cannot change the Manual Metering value in Pro mode.  This gives you a visual representation of when your exposure is correct based on the ISO and Shutter.

Additional tools and settings #

To help in getting better-composed shots and videos, the DJI Flight app includes a variety of tools, including Gridlines, Histogram, and Over-Exposure Warning.

These options are gone over in a bit more detail in our article on Drone Photography: Beginner’s Guide to Getting Started, however, we’ll quickly discuss changing them here.

Gridlines #

To turn the gridlines on, from your main screen, press the 3 dots in the upper right, then go to the CAMERA tab then over to Gridlines.  Here you can turn on any or all of the following gridlines:

• Rule of Thirds
• **Diagonal **
• Center Target

Histogram #

This gives you a visual representation of the exposure in your photo or video, in a bar graph of sorts.  For a well-exposed photo or video, the center of the histogram should appear like a mountain, without peaks on the right or left extremities of the histogram.

To turn on your histogram, from your main screen, press the 3 dots in the upper right, then go to the CAMERA tab then turn on the slider for Histogram.

Once the histogram has been activated and appears on your screen, you can then move it to wherever best suits you.

Overexposure warning #

When activated, this will overlay the brightest parts of your onscreen image with zebra stripes of sorts, warning you where the image or video is way too bright.

Note: The overlay will not actually record onto your video or show up in the pictures you take.

To turn on your Overexposure Warning, from your main screen, press the 3 dots in the upper right, then go to the CAMERA tab then turn on the slider for Overexposure Warning.

Conclusion #

Although the Mini 2 is a very small drone, there are many Pro-options that can be accessed and utilized to give you the best pictures and videos possible.  All these options are likewise available on DJI’s larger drones.  If you ever upgrade from the Mini 2, you will feel quite comfortable taking videos and pictures on your newly upgraded model.

Credits:Photo by ÇAĞIN KARGIPhoto by Ralph (Ravi) Kayden