To shoot a panorama on the DJI Mini 3, tap the Shooting Modes icon in DJI Fly, choose Panorama, pick Sphere, 180° or Wide Angle, and tap the shutter. The drone hovers, takes a set of photos and stitches them into one image. For the best results, lock exposure in Pro mode, fly in calm air and keep nearby objects out of the frame. The Mini 3 has no Vertical pano preset, so make tall panoramas by hand.
The three Pano types
- Sphere: a full 360° view. Share it as an interactive sphere or turn it into a "tiny planet."
- 180°: a wide sweep across the horizon. Great for beaches, lakes and city skylines.
- Wide Angle: a frame wider than the 24 mm lens can capture alone, for big subjects when you can't back away.
DJI added Panorama to the Mini 3 in a December 2022 firmware update. If you don't see it, update the aircraft firmware and DJI Fly.
Step by step
- Fly to a height where nothing is close to the drone, often 30 m or more.
- Open Shooting Modes, Panorama, and pick the type.
- Switch to Pro mode if you want manual exposure (recommended).
- Frame the main subject in the center.
- Tap the shutter and don't touch the sticks until the app says it's done.
- Wait for the stitch to finish before flying on.
Best settings
- ISO 100 in daylight.
- Fixed shutter and white balance so every frame matches. Auto exposure can create bands of different brightness.
- Expose for the bright part of the scene, usually the sky near the sun.
- Panorama photo setting: if your app offers an option to keep the original frames, turn it on so you can restitch on a computer.
Tips for clean stitching
- Height prevents parallax. Trees, roofs or poles close to the drone don't line up between frames.
- Calm air matters. The Mini 3 is light, and drift shows as misaligned seams.
- Avoid moving subjects like cars, boats and people.
- Mind the sun. Shooting with the sun to the side or behind you limits flare.
- Shoot a backup. Panoramas take less than a minute, so take two.
Making a vertical or custom panorama
For a tall scene like a waterfall or lighthouse, use Portrait mode or take single photos manually, tilting the gimbal in steps and overlapping each frame by about a third. Then merge in Lightroom (Photo Merge, Panorama) or PTGui. The same manual method works for odd shapes the presets don't cover. The Mini 3's true vertical camera rotation helps here; see Mini 3 vertical shooting.
Stitching on a computer
- Lightroom: select frames, then Photo Merge, Panorama. Use RAW files if you shot them.
- PTGui and similar tools: better for 360° spheres and stubborn seams.
- Tiny planets: start from a stitched Sphere panorama and use an editor that handles 360° (equirectangular) images.
Panoramas for work
Sphere and 180° shots are popular for real estate and tourism. Any paid work needs a Part 107 certificate, even with a sub-250 g drone like the Mini 3. See how to shoot real estate with a drone.
For more camera settings, see best Mini 3 settings, or shop the DJI Mini 3.
Related guides
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