The Must-Have Accessories For Your DJI Mini 2

If you are buying the DJI Mini 2 drone by itself, or even with the Fly More Combo, it is worth noting the extra accessories you will need (or at least consider) before you start flying.

Fly More Combo

First, let’s consider the Fly More Combo as it is a bundle that includes the DJI Mini 2 and is a worthwhile investment as you can get most of what you need in one purchase. The additional bundle cost of £130 also works out cheaper than if you bought all of the accessories separately.

Included in the bundle is a Two-Way Charging Hub, a Propeller Holder, an 18W USB Charger and a shoulder bag to carry the drone. As extras in the bundle, you would also receive two extra Intelligent Flight Batteries, two spare pairs of propellers and 12 additional screws.

I want to quickly emphasise the importance of the extra batteries and the charging hub.

Each Mini 2 battery has a life of ~31 minutes. Although that sounds like more than enough to capture footage, you never know when you might want to grab the extra shot or squeeze in an extra location, so taking extra batteries is always a bonus. The charging hub also enables you to charge up to three batteries in sequence, and is a great place to store the batteries.

The batteries individually cost an extra £55, so included spares are truly handy.

Furthermore, having spare propellers and screws on hand proves to be incredibly useful in case of any unexpected drone issues, eliminating the need to wait for delivery.

Finally, the shoulder bag is worth a mention – as someone that didn’t purchase the bundle (hindsight is 20/20) – I quickly came to realise I had no way of carrying the drone. You can always purchase a case/bag for the drone at a later time but having a bag included means you can start flying once you receive your delivery.

All in all, I believe the Fly More Combo is worth the investment even just for the convenience of extra batteries, a drone-carrier bag, and the immediate availability of spare equipment. 

SD Card

I cannot stress the importance of the SD card (and a good one at that!)

There is no internal storage in the Mini 2 so all recorded footage and images will be stored in your phone at a lower resolution of 720p, in the absence of an SD card.

To emphasise the importance of an SD card, let me just say…

Without an SD card, you cannot:

• Record or take pictures in 4K.
• Perform any of its intelligent flight controls such as orbit, or tracking. 

Hopefully, that was enough to convince you to get an SD card. In terms of choosing the right one for your Mini 2, there are a few criteria your SD card must meet in terms of write speed.

What is the difference between read and write speed?

In short, writing is recording and saving data, and reading is transferring data. 

A faster write speed means that you can save photos and videos to the card more quickly, and a faster read speed means that you can access both of these more quickly (i.e. transferring data to storage).

When it comes to SD cards, faster read and write speeds can be especially useful when you’re taking many photos or videos, or when you’re transferring large files to or from the card.

In essence, the write speed is more important when choosing an SD card for your drone. As a lot of drones standardise 4K recording, an SD card with a fast write speed is essential. 

In relation to the DJI Mini 2, the DJI website states that the drone requires an SD card of UHS-I Speed Class 3 or above.

Although there is so much choice when it comes to SD cards, I find it always best to stick to reputable brands such as; Samsung, SanDisk, and Lexar. The Mini 2 is capable of storing up to 256 GB.  

Here are a few recommendations based on the DJI website:

Check out the guide for choosing the best micro SD cards for your drone.

The prices of these cards go relatively cheap, however they do also tend to fluctuate so sometimes it can work out a better deal to pay for more storage at a cheaper price.

Filters

Drone camera filters are accessories that can be attached to the drone’s gimbal to adjust the incoming light and enhance the quality of the captured footage or images.

Filters may not be an essential purchase when you first start flying your drone, but once you get used to snapping photos and recording footage, you will start to notice the impact of light on quality.

Neutral Density (ND) filters can control the amount of light that enters your drone’s lens, allowing you to achieve better exposure in different lighting conditions. They come in different strengths, such as ND4, ND8, ND16, etc., each reducing the light by a specific factor. 

ND filters are particularly useful in naturally bright environments or when shooting long exposures.

Here are a few benefits of using ND filters on your drone:

• Exposure control: Filtering the amount of light entering the lens to reduce the amount of exposure. This is especially useful when shooting in midday sunlight or snowy landscapes, where the natural light is intense.
• Shutter speed manipulation: Reducing the amount of light reaching the camera sensor, which in turn allows you to decrease the shutter speed. Slower shutter speeds create motion blur, making moving objects or water appear smoother.
• Glare elimination: ND filters are effective in reducing reflections and glare from shiny surfaces, such as water bodies or glass windows. 

These are the ND filters that I recommend for the DJI Mini 2:

This set of six includes CPL, UV, PL filters and ND strengths of 8, 16, 32 and 64.

Here’s a quick rundown of the terms:

• The ND (Neutral Density) filters slow down the camera’s shutter speed, reducing the amount of light let into the camera lens.
• The PL (Polarizing Lens) filter removes unwanted glare from natural reflective surfaces.
• The UV filter can reduce some of the ultraviolet rays in the light, allowing the capture of more clear images and footage.
• The CPL filter helps to slow down the shutter speed by 1 or 2 f-stops, increasing colour saturation.

Charger

The DJI Mini 2 does not come with its own power charging cable. However, both the drone and the charging hub use a standard USB-C charging cable. This is the standard lead cable for current Samsung mobile phone models and PS5 controllers.

DJI do recommend using the DJI 18W USB charger for fast 90-minute charging, however, any USB wall plug that has at least 12 W output works perfectly fine.

Carrying bag

If you purchase the drone without the bundle, or looking for something that is more suitable for your drone lifestyle, it is worth looking into a drone case, bag or backpack.

Depending on where you will usually be flying the drone, you can choose a case that provides protection, organisation, or both.

A drone carrying case provides a secure and padded enclosure to protect your drone during transport. Drones are delicate devices with sensitive components, such as the camera, gimbal, and propellers. A dedicated case shields your drone from potential damage caused by bumps, impacts, or external elements like dust and moisture.

A drone case I recommend purchasing is the Lekufee Portable Waterproof Hard Case. It comes with compartments for the drone, remote controller, accessories and battery pack. It’s a waterproof, hard case so I’m not worried about any damage during travel journeys. And the case fits nicely into a backpack so it’s easy for portability purposes. 

Finally, the case is ideal for long-term storage. When you’re not actively using your drone, a carrying case provides a safe and dust-free storage solution. This is especially important when it comes to battery storage. The DJI intelligent batteries work best when they can self-discharge, which increases their overall longevity. With the battery pack, the batteries can be safely stored and kept in the case, under the controller. 

These are just a few accessories for beginner drone enthusiasts to consider when purchasing their drones. By having the necessary equipment readily available, beginners can enhance their footage and make the process of droning simpler and more enjoyable.