How to Recenter the Camera Gimbal on DJI Drone
Peter Leslie
22 May 2026
If your DJI drone camera has drifted off-axis after a line of proximity flying — or you just want a one-tap shortcut back to a known angle — the control you are after is Recenter Gimbal inside DJI Fly.
Drones this applies to
This walkthrough is generic for DJI drones that fly in DJI Fly. The Recenter Gimbal row sits in the same place on the DJI Neo 2, DJI Mini 5 Pro, DJI Avata 2, DJI Air 3 Pro, and DJI Mavic 4 Pro. When DJI Fly menus shuffle between firmware releases, the Control category is the one constant to look in.
Quick guide
To recenter the gimbal on a DJI drone, go to DJI Fly → Settings → Control → Recenter Gimbal. Tap once to point the camera straight down for a nadir shot; tap a second time to raise it back to level for forward flying.
Step-by-step: How to Recenter the Camera Gimbal on DJI Drone
Follow these top to bottom the first time, and you will know the path off by heart the second time.
Open the DJI Fly Settings menu from the camera view
With the drone powered on and the remote controller connected, tap the Settings icon in the top right of the camera view. The settings panel slides in from the right with the category tabs down the left-hand side.
Tap the Control category at the top of the Settings panel
Control is the first tab at the top of the left-hand column, above Safety and Camera. Tap it and the right-hand pane loads with every control and gimbal-related option the drone exposes — gain and expo settings, stick mode, gimbal mode, gimbal angle, and the Recenter Gimbal row further down.
Scroll down to the Recenter Gimbal row inside the Gimbal section
The top of the Control page is all drone-related rows. Scroll past Gain and Expo Settings, Stick Mode, and the flight-mode entries until the Gimbal sub-heading appears. Recenter Gimbal sits as a standalone tappable row below Gimbal Mode and Gimbal Angle.
Tap Recenter Gimbal once to point the camera straight down
The first tap snaps the gimbal to the nadir position — the lens swings to ninety degrees down so the camera is looking directly underneath the drone. This is the angle to reach for when you want a top-down map pass, a survey grid, or a vertical reveal away from a feature.
Tap Recenter Gimbal a second time to bring the camera back to level
A second tap on the same row raises the gimbal back to zero degrees, so the camera is pointing dead ahead and level with the horizon. This is the default look for standard forward flying, line shots, and anything cinematic. The row behaves as a two-position toggle — every fresh tap flips between straight-down and straight-ahead.
Bind Recenter Gimbal to a customizable button on the remote controller
Back in the Control category, scroll down to Button Customization and assign one of the customizable buttons to the recenter action. From that moment on, a single hardware press does the same job as the on-screen row, which is far faster than reaching for the screen mid-line. Drones flown with DJI Goggles plus a motion controller route the same action through a different button — check the controller layout for the exact one.
Close the Settings panel to return to the camera view
The gimbal moves the instant the row is tapped, so there is no confirm step to hunt for. Close the Settings panel and the camera view returns with the drone already on the new angle, ready for the next take-off or the next line.
Peter's tip
I never use the on-screen row in flight. I map Recenter Gimbal to one of the customizable buttons on the remote controller the day I unbox any new DJI drone, and from then on a single thumb press snaps the camera back to level after every proximity line or top-down pass. The only time I dive into the menu is at the bench between flights, when I am setting things up rather than flying.
Frequently asked questions
What does Recenter Gimbal actually do on a DJI drone?
Recenter Gimbal snaps the camera to one of two preset angles. The first tap sends the gimbal to ninety degrees down so the camera points straight below the drone; the second tap raises it back up to zero degrees so the camera looks dead ahead and level. It is a two-position toggle, not a continuous slider — for any angle in between, use the gimbal dial on the remote controller or the press-and-hold gesture on the camera view instead.
What is the difference between recentering and calibrating the gimbal on a DJI drone?
Recentering moves the gimbal to a preset angle and that is all it does — it is a flying-time convenience, not a fix. Gimbal calibration is the maintenance routine that corrects a tilted horizon, hunting motors, or a gimbal that will not hold its position. If the horizon looks crooked even after a recenter, the gimbal needs a calibration, not another recenter.
Can I recenter a DJI drone gimbal mid-flight?
Yes. Open Settings, tap Control, find Recenter Gimbal, and tap it — the camera moves immediately. Just keep a hand on the sticks while you reach for the screen, because the drone will keep flying its current line while you are in the menu. Recentering mid-line is also the quick way back to a known angle when the gimbal dial has been bumped during a shot.
Can I bind Recenter Gimbal to a button on the DJI remote controller?
Yes on most DJI drones that ship with a screen-based remote controller. Go to Settings, tap Control, scroll to Button Customization, and assign one of the customizable buttons to the recenter action. After that, a single press on the controller does the same job as the on-screen row — much faster than going into the menu mid-flight. The DJI Goggles plus motion controller pairing on FPV drones routes the same action through a different hardware button, so check the controller-specific layout when binding.
Why is my DJI drone horizon still tilted after I tap Recenter Gimbal?
Recenter Gimbal only sets the pitch angle — it does not fix a tilted horizon. A crooked picture after a recenter means the roll axis is off and the gimbal needs a calibration. Land the drone, open Settings, tap Control, scroll to the Gimbal section, and run Gimbal Auto Calibration. If the tilt comes back after a clean calibration, the gimbal has likely taken a knock and needs a proper inspection before flying again.
Does recentering the gimbal also reset the Gimbal Mode setting?
No. Recenter Gimbal only changes the angle the camera is pointing at — Follow Mode versus FPV Mode is a separate setting on the same Control page. A recenter while you are in FPV Mode still leaves the gimbal in FPV Mode, it just points the camera at the new angle. If the gimbal is rolling with the drone instead of staying level, it is the mode you want to change, not the centre point.
Does Recenter Gimbal work the same on every DJI drone?
The two-tap behaviour and the Control category location are consistent across current DJI drones in DJI Fly — Neo 2, Mini 5 Pro, Avata 2, Air 3 Pro, and Mavic 4 Pro all expose the row in the same place. The angles the gimbal can reach vary because Mini-class and Air-class drones use a three-axis gimbal while the Neo and Avata use a single-axis pitch gimbal, but the recenter row itself behaves the same way on every drone.
What if I cannot find the Recenter Gimbal row in DJI Fly?
Make sure you are on the Control category in the Settings panel, not Safety or Camera. The Recenter Gimbal row sits inside the Gimbal section on the Control page, which is below the drone-related rows — keep scrolling. If the row still is not there, update DJI Fly to the latest version and reconnect the drone; older app versions sometimes hide newer rows until the link to the drone refreshes.
Recenter Gimbal is one of those quiet DJI Fly controls that earns its keep the moment something goes sideways mid-shot. Bind it to a button, get into the habit of using it as the reset between takes, and any DJI drone will spend more of every flight on the angle you wanted and less of it on the angle the last input happened to leave it on.
If you would like a second opinion on which button to map it to, or whether the on-screen tap is enough for the kind of flying you do, drop the details to peter@hiredronepilot.uk and I will come back to you directly. The video version of this walkthrough is on YouTube and the comments are open.
References
Primary source material for this article is the official DJI documentation and DJI Fly. External links open in a new tab.
- DJI — UK product range · Hardware overview of the consumer DJI drones referenced in this article, including the gimbal specification per model.
- DJI Fly — App download and release notes · The app where the Control category and the Recenter Gimbal row live. Release notes record any menu reshuffles between versions.
- DJI Support — Per-model downloads and user manuals · Gimbal Angle and Customizable Button sections per drone, covering the recenter action and how to bind it to the remote controller.
Peter Leslie
Founder & GVC Drone Pilot
Peter is the founder of HireDronePilot. With thousands of logged commercial flight hours, he writes about drone technology, commercial surveying tactics, and UK aviation compliance.
Connect on LinkedIn