I have been flying since the Spark came out and a 1-inch sensor on a mini is a pretty massive tall order. DJI is magic sometimes, but physics is still physics. If they actually cram a 1-inch sensor in there, they gotta deal with some serious hurdles:

• Glass weight. A bigger sensor needs bigger lenses to cover that surface area. Glass is heavy, and staying under 249g is the whole reason people buy these.
• Heat management. Larger sensors generate way more heat. Without a dedicated fan or a bigger body for airflow, the drone might just overheat and shut down mid-air.
• Power draw. Processing all that extra data from a 1-inch chip eats battery fast. Youd likely see a drop from the flight times we get on the DJI Mini 4 Pro. tbh I think it is more likely they keep the current sensor size and just improve the processing or aperture. Reliability is key when you are 400 feet up, and a 1-inch sensor in that tiny frame feels like a recipe for thermal issues. Id love to be wrong tho!

Honestly I am crossing every finger and toe for this! A 1-inch sensor in a sub-250g body would be straight up wizardry. Look at what the Autel Robotics EVO Nano+ did with that 1/1.28-inch sensor... it was a huge wake-up call for DJI. If they want to stay king of the mini market, they gotta push past the current DJI Mini 4 Pro hardware. The jump in dynamic range would be insane! We are talking about pro-level footage from a drone that fits in a jacket pocket. The main hurdle is the lens glass weight vs that 249g limit, but dji usually finds a way. I would happily pay a premium to get that 1-inch sensor low-light performance without needing to register a heavier rig. Imagine shooting golden hour with basically zero noise... ugh, a guy can dream! Really hoping they go big or go home with the Mini 5 specs.

If the rumors are true, and DJI does indeed equip the Mini 5 Pro with a 1-inch sensor, it would be a game-changer for the mini drone market. The improved low-light performance and overall image quality would make it an attractive option for photographers and videographers looking for a compact, yet capable drone.

However, I'm concerned about how this upgrade might affect the drone's size, weight, and price. The current DJI Mini series is popular because of its sub-250g weight, which allows it to bypass many regulations. If the 1-inch sensor adds significant weight, it could lose that advantage. Additionally, a larger sensor might require a bigger lens, which could increase the drone's size. Lastly, the improved hardware could drive up the price, making it less accessible to entry-level users.

Saved for later, ty!

tbh it drives me crazy how we keep falling for this marketing hype every year. I seriously doubt theyll pull off a true 1-inch sensor without stripping the drone of everything that actually makes it fly well.

• Every time a new pro mini comes out the price jumps another hundred bucks and for what? incremental sensor tweaks that barely show up unless you pixel peep. its honestly ridiculous.
• dji has been phoning it in lately with build quality... my last two units had gimbal jitters right out of the box and customer support basically told me to kick rocks.
• it feels like a total scam where they hold back features just to sell us the next model later down the road.
• ive actually gone back to soldering my own sub-250 rigs because i can get better optics for half the price without the corporate headache. sad to say but the golden era of these drones feels like it is over and we are just getting milked now...

Wish price will not go up if they use the 1 inch sensor.