DJI's Mini Pro 5 drone is the first in the series with a 1-inch sensor

DJI's flagship Mini 5 Pro consumer drone has arrived and it's the first in the series with a 1-inch sensor camera for improved low-light video. Nearly every other feature has been updated as well, including the obstacle detection, range, subject tracking and more — all for around the same price as its predecessor, the Mini 4 Pro. I've had the drone for just enough time to give some quick thoughts (stay tuned for a full review later), but so far it looks like DJI has outdone itself again.

The Mini 5 Pro is a bit bigger and sits higher than the Mini 4 Pro, but it's still under 250 grams (249.9 to be exact) so you don't need a permit to fly it. A key new feature is the LiDAR sensors installed in the nose to detect and avoid obstacles when flying at night in light as low as 1 lux, while allowing RTH (return to home) in low light, even without a GPS signal. It also has six omni sensors to detect obstacles in every direction to keep the drone safe during ActiveTrack 360 and other types of flying in tight quarters.

The camera nacelle is noticeably larger to accommodate the 1-inch 50MP sensor that's a big step up from the 1/1.3-inch sensor on the Mini 4 Pro. It's the same size as the sensor on the Air 3S, bringing improved low light capability and finer detail to a lower priced drone. However, video resolution is only slightly up from the Mini 4 Pro to 4K at 120 fps max, up from 100 fps before.

With 10-bit D-LogM capture, it promises dynamic range up to 14 stops for easier grading. The extra resolution also allowed DJI to boost zoom to 2x without any noticeable loss in resolution. The company also added an enhanced portrait mode that optimizes brightness, contrast and skin tone performance to the level of the company's best-selling Pocket 3 gimbal cam.

The gimbal now rolls up to 225 degrees to allow true vertical video and let users capture rotating footage, while offering support for intelligent modes like QuickShot Rotate, Timelapse, Spotlight and Waypoint Flight. DJI also upgraded its ActiveTrack 360 function for tracking subjects while doing camera moves, making it safer and more stable while balancing speed and agility. Specifically, DJI says that during cycling it offers a "more agile response and keeps the target firmly locked."

Battery life has improved to 36 minutes or 52 minutes with the Intelligent Flight Battery Plus (available in the US but not Europe and elsewhere). However, it offers a noticeably shorter charging time of just 115 minutes for three batteries (38.3 minutes per battery) with the two-way charging hub and DJI 65W portable charger. The maximum transmission distance via DJI's O4+ system is unchanged at 20 km in the US (12.4 miles) or 10 km in Europe.

The Mini 5 Pro ships with either the standard RC-N3 controller or the RC-2 screen controller that first appeared with the DJI Air 3 mid-sized drone. I'd recommend the RC-2 if you can afford it (it adds $129 to the price), as it's far more convenient and the screen is bright enough to use on sunny days.

I received a Mini 5 Pro in the Fly More combo with three batteries, a charger and the RC-2 screen controller, along with with extra propellers and the ND filter kit, and flew it a few times to briefly test the video quality and ActiveTrack 360 capabilities. So far, I'm impressed. Video and photo quality has noticeably improved with lower noise, sharper detail and more accurate color rendering. Dynamic range is also higher in sunny conditions when shooting with the D-LogM setting.

So far, the biggest difference appears to be shooting at dusk. Where the Mini 4 Pro delivered video with excessive noise or splotchy colors due to the aggressive noise reduction, the Mini 5 Pro offers relatively clean video up to ISO 3200 or even ISO 6400. While grain is very noticeable at the new highest ISO setting of 12,800, video is certainly usable with enough available light. Most importantly for many shooters, cityscapes at night are much cleaner than before with higher detail, lower noise and more saturated colors than the last model.

My brief tests of DJI's new LiDAR and ActiveTrack 360 capabilities were also successful. The Mini 5 Pro did a better job of avoiding fine branches than before and its algorithms took it on smooth and safe trajectories when I manually set the camera angles. The result was smoother and more interesting footage of someone walking and running around trees. At night, the LiDAR did do a good job of keeping the drone away from obstacles, however I found it to be a bit too conservative. For instance, one time with no obstacles around it except a wall, it refused to move in any direction.

Battery life, noise levels and other factors still require testing, but so far the Mini 5 Pro looks like a solid successor to the Mini 4 Pro, which sold like hotcakes. Once again, DJI hasn't officially released the drone in the US but like DJI's Mic 3, it could be available later at major retailers like Amazon. It's on sale in Europe for €799/£689 with a battery, €999/£869 in the fly More Combo with the DJI RC-N3 controller and €1,129/£979 in the same combo with the RC-2 controller. More information about US pricing will be released as soon as it's available.