DJI drone photos and videos come out too bright when the camera lets in more light than the scene needs. Most DJI drones have a fixed aperture (f/1.7 on the Mini 4 Pro), so in bright sun the only ways to cut light are a faster shutter, a lower ISO, a lower EV setting or an ND filter. Turn on DJI Fly's histogram and overexposure warning, lower the EV in Auto mode, and use ND filters for video.
Turn on the exposure tools
In DJI Fly's camera settings, under the general settings, DJI's Mini 4 Pro manual lists two tools worth switching on:
- Histogram: shows whether the exposure is appropriate. If the graph is piled against the right edge, highlights are clipping.
- Overexposure Warning: marks overexposed areas with diagonal lines on the live view.
Use these instead of judging by eye. A phone or controller screen at full brightness can make a correct image look too bright, or the reverse.
Auto mode: lower the EV
In Auto mode, the camera picks shutter speed and ISO for you. If it's still too bright:
- Tap the bright area you care about, such as the sky or a white building. This sets spot metering there.
- Drag the EV control next to the box down to darken the shot.
- Press and hold the box to lock exposure, so it doesn't jump as you pan.
Dark scenes with a bright sky fool the meter, because the camera averages the frame and brightens the shadows until the sky blows out.
Pro mode: shutter and ISO
Tap the Auto/Pro switch to set exposure yourself.
- Set ISO to the minimum. On the Mini 4 Pro that's ISO 100 in normal video and photo modes.
- Raise the shutter speed for photos. The Mini 4 Pro reaches 1/16000 s in 12 MP mode and 1/8000 s in 48 MP mode, which handles almost any daylight scene.
- Check the histogram after each change.
Video: use ND filters
Video is where overexposure bites. For natural motion blur, filmmakers keep the shutter at about double the frame rate, such as 1/60 s at 30 fps. With a fixed f/1.7 lens and ISO 100, that shutter lets in far too much light on a sunny day. The only fix is a neutral density (ND) filter.
| Light | Starting ND |
|---|---|
| Overcast | ND8 |
| Bright day | ND16 to ND32 |
| Hard sun, snow, water or beach | ND64 or stronger |
These are starting points. Fit the filter, check the histogram, and step up or down. Every doubling of the ND number cuts one stop of light. More detail in what ND filters do and Mini 4 Pro ND filters.
Other causes
- White sky, correct ground. The scene has more contrast than one exposure can hold. Expose for the sky and lift shadows later, or shoot AEB brackets. The Mini 4 Pro shoots 3, 5 or 7 frames at 0.7 EV steps in 12 MP mode.
- Log footage looks washed out. D-Log M looks flat and pale until you color grade it. That's not overexposure. See D-Log M to Rec.709.
- Edited on a dim screen. Photos edited on a dark laptop screen can look too bright everywhere else. Check on a second device.
ND filter sets are available for several models, including the Mini 5 Pro ND filter set and the Air 3S ND filter set.
Related guides
- How to edit real estate drone photos and videos
- How to transfer DJI Mini 4 Pro photos and videos to your phone or computer
- How to transfer photos and videos from a DJI drone to your phone or computer
- How to edit drone photos in Lightroom (and make your own DJI presets)
- How to edit drone videos on iPhone (CapCut, iMovie and DJI apps)
- Do you need a license to sell drone photos or videos?
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