DJI Mini 3 Pro – How to Change Photo Settings (Video)

Released almost a year ago, the Mini 3 Pro continues to be a very popular Mini drone. As such, it is easy to fly and perfect for beginners. It is lightweight, portable, and perfect for travel bloggers and social media content creators alike.

Also, for more experienced operators, it has a few “pro” features that make it a great backup for professional work.

The “Pro’ in the Mini 3 Pro, in part, is due to its 1/1.3-inch CMOS camera being able to take 48 MP pictures as well as shoot video in resolutions up to 4k 60 FPS, amongst other things.

In this article and the included YouTube video, we will go over how to change the various photo settings within the DJI Fly app, by getting out of Auto and into Manual Mode, using the camera to its fullest potential.

DJI Mini 3 Pro Photo Settings #

The Mini 3 Pro comes with a camera that, out of the box, shoots 12MP still photos, which is the same megapixel count as the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. 

Digging deeper into the settings, you’ll see that the Mini 3 Pro can also shoot 48MP stills, like the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. We’ll discuss how to access this shooting mode, shortly.

If you would like to know more about drone photography in general and a more in-depth discussion of 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 #

For this article and video, we’ll make our settings changes in Photo Mode.

To access Photo Mode, while in the DJI Fly app:

STEP 1: Press the icon above the shutter button on the right. 

Here you’ll see Photo, Video, Mastershots, Quickshots, Hyperlapse, and Pano.

STEP 2: Choose the Photo option/icon.

Still Photography Modes #

When choosing Photo Mode, you’ll see that there are various still photography modes that can be set on the left side of the Photo Mode area, similar to some found on standard DSLR and Mirrorless cameras.

These modes are:

• Single – a single-shot photo
• 48 MP – Using Quad-Bayer Technology, 48MP are produced on the 12MP sensor, creating sharper images
• AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) – shoots 3 or 5 bracketed frames at 2 exposure values. Used in HDR photo merging 
• Burst – takes up to 7 shots within a few seconds
• Timed Shot – set a timer (between 2 and 60 seconds) and the Mini 3 Pro will take a photo when the timer expires

To change between these still photography modes, simply choose the one you’d like to use.

Pro (Manual) Mode #

To get the most out of your photos, you’ll want to take control back from the Mini 3 Pro (Auto Mode) and go into Pro Mode.

To switch to Pro Mode:

On the bottom right of the Live View screen, you will see an area where the camera settings are located.

In Auto Mode, you will only see the following camera settings available: Format (J, J+R) and EV (Exposure Value).

STEP: Tap the camera icon that says Auto and it will then automatically switch to Pro Mode. 

After entering Pro Mode, you’ll see that there are now quite a few options available for you to adjust. 

Note: After switching into Pro Mode the screen may go dark, as the settings will not be adjusted for the current lighting conditions.

On the bottom of the Pro Mode screen, you’ll see** J+R, 16:9 or 4:3, WB, S, F, ISO,** and MM.  Except for MM (manual metering) and F (the fixed aperture of 1.7), all the options are adjustable and aid in getting the correct exposure and the best picture possible. 

To change these values, simply press the area at the bottom of the screen.

J+RAW #

J+RAW denotes JPEG and RAW, this is your picture file format.  If you tap J+RAW you will be able to switch to either JPEG only or keep the format as both J+RAW (JPEG and RAW), with the Mini 3 Pro shooting and saving both formats simultaneously to the SD card.

16:9 or 4:3 #

This is the aspect ratio of the picture you’ll be taking.  Depending on your option (16:9 or 4:3), that format will show here.  You can change the ratio by tapping on this number. 

Although the 4:3 ratio image doesn’t take up the entire Live View screen if you are looking to get the most out of the Mini 3 Pros image sensor, choose the 4:3 option.

You can crop the image to the dimensions you’d like to use in photo editing software.

W (White Balance) #

White balance 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 2000k (kelvin) to 10000k.

In the DJI Fly app, the White Balance is not represented by Sunny, Cloudy, Incandescent, and Custom, as it was in the Go4 app.

White Balance is now adjusted using a White Balance slider.  The slider is in numerical kelvin values.  

Tip: You can also forgo manually changing the kelvin (k) values and just choose Auto.  In Auto, the Mini 3 Pro will try to decide what White Balance values are best for the current shooting conditions.

S (Shutter) #

This controls how long or how short the shutter is open**.  Lower numbers let in more light**, while Higher numbers minimize the light allowed into the camera.

When taking pictures, you can use the shutter speed to control the brightness of the light in the image.

The shutter is also used to regulate motion blur in videos, something we will discuss in our video article.

ISO #

ISO is the value of measure for a camera’s sensitivity to light.  As you increase the ISO number (the lowest being 100) the brighter your image will be. 

Be aware that the higher the ISO is raised, the more noise or grain is introduced into the image.  The Mini 3 Pros ISO range is between 100 and 6400, for both photos and videos.

When possible, keep the ISO at 100 and, as mentioned prior, use the camera’s shutter speed to adjust image brightness.

**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. 

Manual Metering is a value-based guide that tells you when your exposure is correct based on the ISO and Shutter.