The DJI Mini 5 Pro. Wow. What a drone. It's been out for less than a month and it's already made headlines as one of the best drones money can buy right now. I flew it for three weeks before publishing my full DJI Mini 5 Pro review, and my verdict? Well, I gave it a full 5/5 star rating, so that itself says a lot about its aerial prowess. It is now one of only two drones that has a 100% rating at Tom's Guide — the other being the DJI Mavic 4 Pro.
Packing a powerful 1-inch sensor for improved low-light performance and 4K/60fps HDR video, the Mini 5 Pro is DJI's finest mini drone yet. Scratch that; it is the best mini quadcopter right now, and that's not even down to its imaging quality. Beginners, enthusiasts or even experienced pilots will appreciate the Mini 5 Pro's plethora of safety features, and these are something you won't find on any other sub-250g drone.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro is currently not available in the U.S. This is similar to the Mavic 4 Pro, the Osmo 360 and the Osmo Nano's state at launch. They weren't available to buy immediately when they came out, but they became available on third-party retailers (such as Walmart and Amazon) a few weeks later. Our best guess is that this will also be the case with the Mini 5 Pro, and we expect third-party sellers to stock it in the near future.
The Mini 5 Pro has received significant safety upgrades over its predecessor, the DJI Mini 4 Pro. Its advanced obstacle avoidance and braking capabilities give a lot of reassurance and peace of mind to pilots. It didn't take long for this drone to become one of my favorites — it honestly feels like flying a tiny DJI Air 3S or a Mavic 4 Pro. Without further ado, here's what makes the Mini 5 Pro a force to be reckoned with.
A mini that thinks big
In my DJI Mini 5 Pro review, I said that the brand's latest drone feels like the lovechild of the DJI Mavic 4 Pro and the DJI Air 3S — and that's not just down to the dark gray coat of paint. Even in terms of specs, the Mini 5 Pro bears resemblance to the Air 3S. For instance, both quadcopters can film 4K/60fps footage, capture 50MP photos, remain stable in windy conditions up to 12 m/s or 26.8mph.
Not just that, but the Mini 5 Pro has also inherited omnidirectional obstacle avoidance supplemented with forward-facing LiDAR and an infrared sensor at the bottom of the aircraft. What exactly does that mean, you ask? The drone can detect obstacles all around it and it can either brake in front of or bypass them.
Having LiDAR (which was missing from its predecessor) means the drone can sense objects more reliably, even in low-light environments. This makes flying at night safer. I can't overstate just how rare this level of obstacle avoidance is in mini drones — the Mini 5 Pro is the only sub-250g drone offering this tech right now.
Crawling back to you
Safety is paramount when flying a drone, and when you can't always keep an eye on it at nighttime, that's where LiDAR comes in clutch. The DJI Mini 5 Pro's return-to-home function has received a significant upgrade too, and thanks to LiDAR, the drone can now return to its last takeoff position even if it loses its GPS signal. Nifty!
Not only is this fantastic (and reassuring) for beginners, but it's useful for more experience pilots too. Even though I fly drones for a living, I have had my fair share of close calls while testing when I've suddenly lost the GPS signal and have waited with bated breath to miraculously get it back. Not with the Mini 5 Pro. I've never felt as confident flying a mini drone as I have with the Mini 5 Pro.
A stacked feature set
Aside from its top-notch safety features, the DJI Mini 5 Pro is also packed with best-in-class imaging capabilities. It features a 1-inch sensor for improved low-light performance with a high dynamic range, a 225° gimbal which enables flexible and dynamic camera movement as well as wide-angle rotation, a 36-minute flight time, and lots more. All of this while maintaining a compact body? Sign me up!
Playing with the Mini 5 Pro's gimbal rotation is some of the most fun I've had testing a product. Well, tied with testing the free-moving gimbal on the Mavic 4 Pro, of course. You can combine gimbal rotation with the Mini 5 Pro's short-form QuickShot videos too, giving you more creative freedom and flexibility.
4K/60fps HDR is in play, as is 10-bit D-Log M video that captures a wide dynamic range of up to 14-stops for more flexibility while color grading in post. The Mini 5 Pro is the ideal drone for beginners, experienced pilots, and everyone in between. It enables you to get creative without worrying about weight restrictions or whether the drone will return safely to you.
You can check out more video footage and sample images I took with the drone in my full DJI Mini 5 Pro review here, and check out the differences between the DJI Mini 5 Pro vs the DJI Mini 4 Pro here.
If you're in the U.S...
As I mentioned up top, the DJI Mini 5 Pro, at the time of writing, isn't available in the U.S. but we expect third-party retailers to stock it in the coming weeks or months. But for now, what are your alternatives? Are there any other drones you can buy? The good news is that there are a plethora of quadcopters out there, ripe for the picking.
Here are my top three picks if you need a drone to tide you over until you can get your hands on the Mini 5 Pro:
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