DJI’s New Mild-as-Hell Drone Has the F...

The U.S. authorities has successfully halted shipments of any of China-based drone maker DJI’s merchandise to the States. When you’re already irritated you may’t purchase the newest, best drones, you’ll be far more than miffed to study DJI lastly confirmed off particulars of its Mini 5 Professional, which may have an all-new massive CMOS sensor strapped to an upgraded gimbal, plus LIDAR sensing for higher impediment avoidance. Good luck trying to get it in the U.S. since you may’t even discover it on the corporate’s store page.

Whereas at IFA 2025, DJI invited me behind the scenes to take a look at the Mini 5 Professional. In fact, I wasn’t about to fly it within the confined workplace house they’d arrange. The pitch continues to be compelling sufficient. That is DJI’s first small-scale drone with a 50-megapixel 1-inch CMOS sensor. That’s in comparison with the 1/1.30-inch, 48-megapixel digicam on the Mini 4 Professional. It’s equal to the Air 3S, DJI’s older, much less compact drone from 2024. I’ve had loads of expertise flying the Air 3S round my mother and father’ home in North Carolina, and the image high quality you get with a bigger sensor simply makes up for its bulkier dimension. The Mini 5 Professional guarantees an analogous sensor with much less heft. 

Meet DJI Mini 5 Professional – All-In-One 1-Inch Giant CMOS Mini Digital camera Drone

DJI Mini 5 Professional incorporates a 1-inch CMOS digicam, nightscape omnidirectional impediment sensing, a gimbal with 225° of versatile rotation, and upgraded ActiveTrack 360°, all packed into its signature light-weight physique.… pic.twitter.com/TCaqMwLy2t

— DJI (@DJIGlobal) September 17, 2025

The brand new sensor ought to have 14 stops of dynamic vary, which implies the picture might seize a greater diversity of brightness ranges for correct video than DJI’s different small-scale drones. It additionally has an f/1.8 aperture for enhanced low-light efficiency, plus a novel telephoto digicam with a 48mm Med-Tele mode for digital zoom. The drone can seize 4K video at 60 and 120 fps. Most likely its most spectacular improve past the sensor is its 225-degree gimbal rotation (not so good as the 360-degree gimbal on the Mavic 4 Professional). DJI says this drone can now seize vertical video seamlessly with none want for fancy flying. Basically, the brand new Mini 5 Professional takes cues from each the Air and Mavic drone lineups to craft one thing that straddles the road between a newbie and professional-end drone.

DJI’s Mini 5 Professional can attain a max flight pace of 42 mph with a carry pace of 10 m/s, or 22 mph. The brand new drone additionally positive aspects the Air line’s forward-facing LIDAR for higher low-light impediment avoidance and a extra correct return-to-home operate. DJI has additionally positioned the brand new Mini 5 Professional alongside the strains of its extra compact drones, just like the DJI Neo and DJI Flip. It should robotically energy on whenever you unfold its wings, and it provides the identical QuickShots function for controller-free 360 pictures round a goal. The corporate claims its upgraded ActiveTrack 360 will assist it comply with customers higher with no need to fret about it crashing into any intervening tree limbs.

The drone nonetheless sits slightly below 250g in weight, that means you don’t want a allow with the Federal Aviation Administration in case you one way or the other convey one to the U.S. DJI additionally claims the Mini 5 Professional will get barely higher battery life with 36 minutes of flight time with out the prolonged battery. When you one way or the other handle to schmooze a reseller for that improved battery, you could possibly get nearer to 52 minutes of aerial taking pictures, longer than the Air 3S’s 45-minute max flight time, at the price of further weight.

The most recent Mini 5 Professional would be the excellent mixture of ultra-light drone and mid-range UAV, however after all, we U.S. patrons received’t get to comprehend it any extra intimately because of the ongoing gentle ban on DJI shipments. That is additionally the place we’d discuss worth, however it’s not out there on DJI’s website for U.S. clients. It prices 799 euros in Europe, or about $947 U.S., with out one of many combos that bundle in a controller. DJI’s merchandise are considered one of many manufacturers which are discovering it troublesome to navigate the U.S.’s international trade policies. The drone maker merely has it worse than most. In an e-mail assertion to Gizmodo, a DJI spokesperson mentioned, “The DJI Mini 5 Professional is not going to be out there formally in the USA upon its world launch on September 17. DJI stays devoted to the U.S. market and is optimizing our technique to greatest serve our clients amidst evolving native circumstances.”