Amateur Photographer - UK (2021-01-16)

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 79

ignore them if you’re con dent of what you

are doing. Then it’s just a case of pushing

both control sticks diagonally down and

together to start the motors before pushing

the left stick up to take off.

Like its predecessor, the Mini 2 has a

12MP 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor, a sensitivity

rangeof ISO100-3200,a xedapertureof

f/2.8,anda shutterspeedrangeof

4-1/8000sec.Thanksto thataperture,the

sensitivitydoesn’tneedto ventureveryhigh

fordaylightying,whilethesmallsensor,

shortfocallengthlens(24mmin 35mm

terms)andlongsubjectdistancesmeans

thatthere’splentyof depthof eld.However,

thewideaperturealsomeansthatneutral

densityltersareusuallyrequiredto keepthe

shutterspeeddownto therecommended2x

thevideoframerate.

TheDJIMini2 is morestableandless

easilybuffetedby thewindthantheMavic

Minisothefootagelooksverysmoothwith

plentyof detailvisible.In addition,the

enhancedtransmissiontechnologyseems

to maketheconnectionbetweenthe

controlleranddronemorereliable.It’salso

veryeasyto y andis greatfunforanyone

lookingfortheirrstdroneor a small

easilyportabledroneto takeanywhere.

However, a set of magnetic ND  lters is

essential to anyone who wants the

best-quality video.

If you’reanexperiencedpilotit’seasyto

dismisstheMini2’sQuickShotsmodes

• Dronie,Helix,Rocket,Circleand
  Boomerang– butthey’reverygood.These
  setupthedroneto y andlm
  automaticallyto createsmoothvideo
  withouttheneedto movethesticks.Once
  themodeis selectedyoujustneedto set
  thesubjectof thelmwitha taponthe
  smartphonescreen,or draga boxaround
  it, andthentap‘Start’.TheMini2 ies
  aroundin a prescribedpatternbefore
  returningto itsstartingpointlikea
  faithfuldog.

Ourverdict

QuickShots

Although the Mini 2 has the same size and

resolution sensor as the Mavic Mini, it’s

capable of recording 4K footage (the Mini

maxes out at 2.7K) and the quality is

excellent, but you need to keep an eye on the

angle of the sun as  are can be problematic.

Sometimes this is attractive in video, but it

canalsocausehot-spots,lowcontrastareas

andcolourcasts.

UnliketheMavicMini,theMini2 canrecord

rawlesaswellasJPEGs.Thisgivesgreater

scopeforpost-captureadjustmentand

resultsin morenatural-lookingimages.

DJIquotesa batterylifeof 31minutes,but

I found23-26minutesmorerealisticin a

slightbreeze.Thatmakesthetwoadditional

batteriesandtriple-chargerof theFlyMore

Combo(£549)moreappealingthanthe

singlebatterykit.

Recommended

Folding

arms

Foldingarmsmake

theMini2 easyto

transport.

DJI has used the same RC231 controller

unit as employed by the Mavic Air 2

© ANGELA NICHOLSON

Best results are

obtained from

processing raw files

DJI Mini 2, 1/60sec at f/2.8, IS0 100

+Veryeasyto fly

+ Great 4K video

+ Raw stills shooting

• Prone to flare


• No object avoidance
  sensors

For and against