The DJI Mini 2 SE is presently top-of-the-line customary GPS drones round this worth level.
It’s a budget-friendly drone that’s inexpensive to many, and it’s a low barrier for many individuals simply entering into the drone interest.
This stated, as a result of the Mini 2 SE is a less expensive drone, there are lower-quality parts inside it, together with the digital camera, which isn’t the very best within the class.
Nonetheless, picture and video high quality will be drastically improved in the event you don’t shoot with the Mini 2 SE in auto mode.
For this function, I wish to share with you the very best handbook settings for capturing pictures with this drone that may make a dramatic distinction.
DJI Mini 2 SE digital camera – what do we all know?
The digital camera discovered behind the DJI Mini 2 SE shouldn’t be a high-end one with massive CMOS and excessive video or picture decision. The truth is, it’s the reverse – it’s one of the crucial budget-level cameras present in a DJI drone these days.
With a CMOS dimension of only one/2.3 inch, that is the equal of the sensors discovered behind DJI FPV and DJI Mini 2 drones. And that’s not lots.
The truth is, it’s fairly small, and the photographs and movies taken with DJI Mini 2 SE are under common for immediately’s extra trendy drones.
With the bigger CMOS of a digital camera, whether or not we’re speaking about drones, telephones, or skilled DSLR cameras, the extra gentle the sensor can seize in a shorter interval, the higher the picture dynamic vary, much less noise (grain) on low-light or night time pictures, and general, pictures of a better high quality.
On high of that, the DJI Mini 2 SE has a low ISO higher restrict of 3200 for each images and movies. With ISO, you enhance the sensor sensitivity to gentle and digitally brighten the picture at the price of inducing picture noise, which helps seize low-light and night time pictures.
The intense facet is that the DJI Mini 2 SE digital camera is mounted on a 3-axis mechanical gimbal, leading to easy video footage and sharper pictures, particularly in greater wind circumstances.
» MORE: DJI Mini 2 SE Digital camera High quality (With Footage)
Finest picture settings for DJI Mini 2 SE
Let’s take a deeper have a look at the Mini 2 SE digital camera high quality for images. We understand that the sensor dimension and ISO should not the one downsides; this drone can seize pictures at solely 12 Megapixels.
As I discussed, it’s a bit under common however respectable sufficient for social media. Nonetheless, it’s not good in the event you’re seeking to seize skilled pictures, particularly to print.
So, let’s take a look at what we are able to change by way of picture settings to seize the very best pictures throughout a selected time of the day.
Daylight Pictures
In case you wish to catch some images together with your DJI Mini 2 SE through the daytime, we’ve got the benefit of the sunshine being at its peak, so the photographs shouldn’t be grainy so long as we preserve the ISO at 100.
Even with this, the shutter pace is quick sufficient to snap clear pictures even in greater winds.
However we shouldn’t go away these settings on auto. Due to this fact, right here’s what we advocate to vary by way of digital camera settings.
Full Solar & Overcast
- ISO: Locked at 100
- White Stability: Auto or 5600K
- Shutter Velocity: Auto
The solar shall be vibrant sufficient to flood the sensor with daylight, and we’ve got to lock the ISO at its minimal worth, which is 100. On this case, the pictures may have the bottom noise because the sensor received’t want to reinforce its sensitivity to assemble extra gentle.
If we go away the white steadiness on Auto Mode, that’s okay, however remember that this digital camera’s white steadiness received’t be as correct to supply the precise colours you’re seeing with your individual eyes.
Throughout sunny days and even when overcast, the picture temperature must be set at about 5600K for greatest replica. However in the event you really feel your pictures are colder or hotter than the surroundings you seize, then alter the “Kelvin” temperature accordingly.
The upper this goes, the hotter the picture will look (orangey), however the decrease you set it, then the colder the picture will look (blue-ish).
The shutter pace must be left on auto as you seize pictures, and there’s no want to regulate it for any purpose.
» MORE: Drone Pictures Final Information
Mornings and Evenings (low-light)
- ISO: Lock it between 100 and 400. Go greater provided that wanted.
- Shutter Velocity: Go away it to auto
- White Stability: 3500K to 4500K for dawn or 5600K for an overcast morning.
Pictures captured throughout dawn and sundown will endure a bit due to the small dimension of the picture sensor and poor dynamic vary, which is the distinction between highlights and shadows and the way a lot element the digital camera drone can seize.
Whereas the dawn solar will look okay, the bushes and buildings’ shadows and blacks will principally look washed-out and present a little bit of noise.
This may be mounted in post-processing, and naturally, relying on the surroundings, many morning or night pictures taken with the DJI Mini 2 SE could possibly be epic.
Nonetheless, not all of them. And right here’s what you need to do to enhance your images taken with this digital camera drone throughout mornings and evenings.
Firstly, attempt to preserve the ISO at its lowest worth.
This will not be the very best strategy if it’s an overcast morning or it is rather early and there’s not sufficient gentle. On this case, you’ll have to manually alter it, however I say not more than ISO 400, or your picture may have an excessive amount of noise to be usable.
When you set ISO to the bottom worth, then the shutter pace must be left on auto mode. The shutter pace will drop considerably (in all probability to values between 1 second and 1/100 seconds, however can fluctuate) to let extra gentle come into the digital camera sensor.
You can too create HDR pictures in Lightroom by capturing three photos of the very same surroundings however with totally different publicity values – underexposed, usually uncovered, and overexposed; that could possibly be the reply when you have a big distinction in dynamic vary in your pictures (shadows too darkish and highlights too vibrant).
As for the white steadiness, that’s a bit difficult. Throughout sunrises and sunsets, you could have a really heat picture that will be tougher to duplicate. Generally, the auto mode will do exactly advantageous, however you’ll have to seek out the right values relying on the surroundings perspective (hotter, colder).
» MORE: DJI Mini 3 Professional in Low Gentle (Defined for Rookies)
Evening images
- ISO: Lowest worth to get a correctly uncovered picture
- Shutter Velocity: Slowest shutter pace to get a pointy picture
- White Stability: Auto
In the course of the night time, the digital camera behind your DJI Mini 2 SE poses an actual problem to truly {photograph} one thing good.
I imply that as a result of the picture sensor is so small it would fail to assemble sufficient gentle to seize photos with little or no noise. And that’s an unlucky reality.
Your greatest strategy right here is to closely edit the photographs you took throughout night time flights with this drone in applications like Lightroom or Photoshop. That may take advantage of distinction in mentioning the picture high quality.
As for the RAW pictures captured, they may principally look noisy. Will probably be tough to seize something of top of the range.
Nonetheless, let’s see what we are able to do to at the very least enhance a little bit the digital camera high quality when capturing pictures with this drone through the night time.
The ISO will go haywire if set on auto. The truth is, it would go to its most worth to compensate for lack of sunshine. Let’s attempt to keep away from that.
Truly, it will be greatest to experiment with totally different values like ISO 400, 800, 1600, and so forth and see which might be the very best to seize a picture (on the lowest worth) the place the shutter pace shouldn’t be so sluggish that it’s getting you blurry pictures.
So, the shutter pace will decelerate lots. This drone digital camera is ready to take long-exposure pictures of as much as 4 seconds with its digital shutter pace.
Meaning if the circumstances are okay and no wind is current, your drone ought to have the ability to hover stably, and the picture you are taking must be crisp. But it surely’s not all the time the case.
Due to this fact, shutter pace must be adjusted manually on this case. Begin with half a second, 1 second, and drop down and see if, altogether, with the handbook ISO, you’re capable of get any respectable uncovered picture.
Nonetheless, do not forget that the digital camera behind the DJI Mini 2 SE shouldn’t be meant for use for night time images, and also you’ll wrestle to get any respectable ones, at the very least not ok for skilled use.
» MORE: Can You Fly the DJI Mini 2 SE at Evening? (Defined for Rookies)
Finest video settings for DJI Mini 2 SE
Now, we’re principally wanting right here for the very best picture settings to your Mini 2 SE. However possibly on the identical time, you wish to seize some B-rolls for a YouTube video or gorgeous surroundings.
On this case, the values it would be best to use for capturing movies with this drone could differ from nonetheless images.
So, what do you could have to remember?
The identical guidelines apply while you wish to file movies with the Mini 2 SE – preserve your ISO on the lowest worth to keep away from getting picture noise.
Nonetheless, the ISO additionally must be adjusted (if wanted) to be able to set the right shutter pace.
For cinematic content material and the very best video settings, you’ll all the time must set the Shutter Velocity to double the framerate you’re filming with this drone (or the closest worth).
As an illustration, in the event you’re seeking to movie in 2.7k at 30 frames per second, your shutter pace must be 1/60. In FullHD at 60 frames per second, the shutter pace have to be across the 1/120 worth.
Now, as a result of through the daytime, there shall be quite a lot of gentle coming into the picture sensor, even with ISO at minimal, the video shall be overexposed – that’s why it’s essential to make use of ND filters to scale back the quantity of sunshine that comes into the Mini 2 SE digital camera sensor.
If, through the daybreak or nightfall, and even at night time, you don’t get a correctly uncovered video when setting the shutter pace to double the framerate, then you need to alter your ISO manually to match the scene’s brightness.
In videography, you need to by no means go away all of the settings on auto, it doesn’t matter what drone you’re filming with.
» MORE: Finest Photograph/Video Enhancing Apps for DJI Drones
The way to enhance your DJI Mini 2 SE images
As an expert photographer, I’ve captured tens of hundreds {of professional} pictures utilizing my DSLRs, drones, and telephone.
Drone images shouldn’t be that tough. Though capturing pictures in numerous circumstances with the digital camera behind DJI Mini 2 SE could also be difficult, typically, if a number of guidelines are adopted, then you possibly can count on to see fast enchancment.
Attempt to preserve the ISO on the lowest values
The very first thing could be to NEVER elevate the ISO until you should.
All the time preserve it on the minimal worth for this drone, which is 100.
If the shutter pace shouldn’t be quick sufficient to seize low-light pictures and also you’re struggling to get both correctly uncovered pictures or sharp pictures due to extended publicity values, then it’s time to enhance the ISO little by little.
However by no means earlier than.
» MORE: What Is Drone Pictures? (Defined for Rookies)
Publish-processing your pictures is essential
Seize in RAW and never JPEG. You’ll have to edit your pictures in post-processing software program like Lightroom.
With RAW, the picture information shouldn’t be burned into the image and can can help you tweak a number of settings, similar to decreasing noise, rising the sharpness if wanted, exposing the picture accurately (brightness and publicity), including or eradicating shadows, colours, and a lot extra.
Consider me after I say that there shall be a big distinction between an edited and a non-edited {photograph} taken with the DJI Mini 2 SE – and the above pictures are good examples.
» MORE: Finest Enhancing Software program for the DJI Mini 2 SE
Selecting the correct climate circumstances
It could solely be logical to imagine that you simply aren’t flying your drone in unhealthy climate circumstances, as this may have an effect on the drone’s flight and might even injury the drone if it rains.
But when it’s windy, your pictures will endure lots, particularly in the event you’re capturing pictures in low-light circumstances. And right here’s why.
All drones have a wind resistance degree. As an illustration, the DJI Mini 2 SE has a degree 5 wind resistance with most winds of 10.7 m/s. Even decrease winds will be troubling if you wish to seize pictures.
Throughout windy instances, the drone will try and self-stabilize lots, and it will be unable to hover altogether easily. Even with the 3-axis gimbal straining to stabilize the digital camera when captured in low-light circumstances, it isn’t sufficient to maintain the digital camera in precisely the identical place for a second or two.
Because of this your pictures shall be blurry and never sharp in any respect.
If it’s a bit windy and also you wish to seize pictures throughout full daylight, that must be okay as a result of the shutter pace shall be instantaneous, and it’ll take just a few microseconds to seize the picture.
» MORE: Finest Climate Apps for Drones (You Have to Set up)
Shutter Velocity values
When capturing pictures together with your DJI Mini 2 SE, until you’re on the lookout for nighttime pictures, the shutter pace received’t matter that a lot to set it manually.
That’s why auto mode must be advantageous.
Simply in case you wrestle to seize any sharp pictures (due to the long-exposure values we talked about earlier and wind), then enhance the ISO a bit for the shutter pace to develop into quick sufficient to seize clearer images.
Apart from that, auto mode is okay in images – however not when filming with this drone.
White steadiness
The white steadiness is a posh setting, and it’ll take a while to grasp it absolutely. That’s why the auto white steadiness must be okay in the event you’re a really newbie in images and also you’re merely seeking to seize a number of pictures together with your brand-new Mini 2 SE.
The colour temperature, which is measured in Kelvin, goes from decrease values, which replicate very chilly pictures, to greater values, that are hotter pictures.
If the ambient coloration you observe outdoor is colder (e.g., sunny day, overcast through the day), then you should enhance the white steadiness to greater values for the photographs to develop into barely hotter, or they may look approach too chilly (blue-ish).
If it’s morning or night and also you observe a surprising orange sundown, you should lower the white steadiness values (to colder) for the picture to have a correct coloration. In any other case, the pictures shall be approach too heat.
The auto mode isn’t a foul factor on this case. The truth is, I’d advocate conserving the white steadiness on auto more often than not and manually modifying it provided that your Mini 2 SE pictures are too heat or too chilly.
However bear in mind, you may as well readjust this in post-processing.
» MORE: Drone Pictures: Newbie’s Information to Getting Began
Conclusion
The DJI Mini 2 SE is a improbable drone. Don’t get me mistaken, for its worth, it is among the greatest in the marketplace by way of images and filming.
However you do must do not forget that the digital camera has a small sensor and isn’t meant for skilled images or filming.
That’s why adjusting a number of settings manually will enhance your pictures drastically. Furthermore, post-processing your RAW pictures will take these to the subsequent degree, nearer to professional-grade pictures.
However in the event you haven’t bought this drone but and are on the lookout for one to seize the very best pictures, I counsel you choose a drone with a a lot bigger digital camera sensor.
» MORE: DJI Mini 2 SE vs. Mini 3 vs. Mini 3 Professional (Right here’s My Selection)
