(Update: HERE'S THE LINK TO THE MINI'S 360 PANORAMA, SO YOU CAN FIND IT EASIER).
I have to admit, when the MM was released, I was disappointed that it lacked several advanced features found on higher end Mavics, like RAW, HDR, AEB, Burst, 4K, and automatic panorama modes. A shame, since the Mini is so capable in everything else, has excellent image quality, stable, and very lightweight and portable. If it had those more advanced features, surely it will be a real hit and home run!
Unfortunately, it seems there are some hardware limitations that prevent having those advanced features, as they apparently require more powerful processors that run hotter and require a cooling fan like the other Mavics have, and that will add to the weight and make it impossible to keep the drone's weight under 250g. And even if it's technically possible, maybe DJI doesn't want the Mini to cannibalize sales of higher models like the Air 2, etc.
However.. experts and enthusiasts always find workarounds with limitations, and the MM's capabilities are no exception. Recently Litchi released a Beta app that allows the MM to do a full panorama automatically, like the other Mavics; in this YouTube video somebody tested the Litchi Beta in the MM and did an auto panorama successfully.
BUT.. it's actually possible to do a full 360 panorama manually with the MM, without additional software! Just set the exposure a bit darker (like -1EV), so bright parts of the scene are not overexposed and therefore rendering highlight details unrecoverable. (Unlike overexposure, underexposed -darker- details can be brightened and recovered better). Then, lock the exposure with AE lock, or use manual exposure mode to maintain the same exposure through all the panorama. Now take overlapping shots all around and up & down to the bottom so it covers the entire surroundings like a sphere.
I tested doing a full 360 spherical panorama manually with the MM, and here are the results!
It worked very well, stitched perfectly with very few stitching artifacts that were fixable in editing software, and despite the fact that there was even a good amount of wind, the Mini kept stable enough to not cause stitching problems!
Next up?... how to do an HDR image manually!
I have to admit, when the MM was released, I was disappointed that it lacked several advanced features found on higher end Mavics, like RAW, HDR, AEB, Burst, 4K, and automatic panorama modes. A shame, since the Mini is so capable in everything else, has excellent image quality, stable, and very lightweight and portable. If it had those more advanced features, surely it will be a real hit and home run!
Unfortunately, it seems there are some hardware limitations that prevent having those advanced features, as they apparently require more powerful processors that run hotter and require a cooling fan like the other Mavics have, and that will add to the weight and make it impossible to keep the drone's weight under 250g. And even if it's technically possible, maybe DJI doesn't want the Mini to cannibalize sales of higher models like the Air 2, etc.
However.. experts and enthusiasts always find workarounds with limitations, and the MM's capabilities are no exception. Recently Litchi released a Beta app that allows the MM to do a full panorama automatically, like the other Mavics; in this YouTube video somebody tested the Litchi Beta in the MM and did an auto panorama successfully.
BUT.. it's actually possible to do a full 360 panorama manually with the MM, without additional software! Just set the exposure a bit darker (like -1EV), so bright parts of the scene are not overexposed and therefore rendering highlight details unrecoverable. (Unlike overexposure, underexposed -darker- details can be brightened and recovered better). Then, lock the exposure with AE lock, or use manual exposure mode to maintain the same exposure through all the panorama. Now take overlapping shots all around and up & down to the bottom so it covers the entire surroundings like a sphere.
I tested doing a full 360 spherical panorama manually with the MM, and here are the results!
It worked very well, stitched perfectly with very few stitching artifacts that were fixable in editing software, and despite the fact that there was even a good amount of wind, the Mini kept stable enough to not cause stitching problems!
Next up?... how to do an HDR image manually!
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