DJI - Mini 2 SE

Get what ever is the cheapest mini series drone you can find. Depends on the time or you local second hand market, this can be mini 1, mini 2, 2SE, or mini 4K. At sub $300, you always get a full size controller, and long range FPV stream and fully gimbaled camera, perfect for practicing your skills. I would say the early version camera isn't the best, and you will notice it. If you really want good video, spring for mini 3 I guess

I have the Mini 2SE which I think is the cheapest drone DJI ever sold. I have used the hell out of it and thought that I was going to upgrade but now I find it's cheapness and discretion are it's best features. Sub 250g gets me out of almost all drone regulations in Canada. I can launch it and recover it from the roof of my car. I just took it with me on a 5000 mile roadtrip to the Labrador Highway and Newfoundland and got some of the best photos of my life. I'm comfortable taking risks with this thing that I may not be with a $1000+ drone. That leads to better photos for me. In Newfoundland, I even flew it out to an island to take photos of a shipwreck and only barely made it back. That being said, I think I'm going to buy an Arvata this winter. More for fun than photography.

Honestly before even buying a drone, I would just play with the simulator. There's a free DJI simulator on their website that they don't update any more that is pretty good and also there's some drone games on steam like Liftoff I believe. You can get an actual feel how it is flying a drone and their different modes. Secondly, you should narrow what your goals are with the drone. Are you trying to film and take photos? Go with DJI Mini series or the Flip. Do you want to feel more like a pilot and would like to fly it with goggles? Look into DJI drones that give an FPV experience. If you are filming/photos, can you not tell the difference between the different resolutions/quality of shots... Is everything going to be viewed on your phone... Are you posting to social media websites that really compress content? If so then you don't need a latest drone in the series and would be even satisfied with the DJI Mini 2 SE. You also don't want to get too old of a drone because their battery quality may have deteriorated too much (I don't know how legit of a problem this is but I have seen enough posts on here where drones just literally drop from the sky). You really can get into the hobby without spending a whole lot especially if you stalk Facebook marketplace or craiglist, sometimes you can run into people who are just trying to pawn off their drone ASAP (never pay upfront to anyone on these platforms, have the drone be flown in person before buying, in the app check to see battery quality or if there are any errors, have them delink the drone from their account, may want to link before to your DJI account)... honestly typing all that out I think you should just buy new so you don't have to worry about these things and get to have more peace of mind. Now I also was an exact boat as yourself and went with DJI Mini 2 SE. I have had no regrets. Though now that I have a really better understanding about the hobby, there's QoL features that I wish I had and I can now spot/know things about photos/films that if I had a drone with a better camera, my shots would look 100x better, having a battery last longer (less landing/replacing battery), controller where I can keep the sticks in and also drone where I can easily pop up... I'm still not a complete nerd, I generally fly with Auto settings because at the moment I'm focused more on controlling/flying but hopefully soon I can focus more on exposure/frame rate/ND filters. OVERALL, I'm essentially trying to say that I dream of such features but at the absolute same time, besides the camera, these features are absolutely not needed and aren't deal breakers when choosing a drone (things that make it nice but not needed). One thing I never really realized is that drones typically all fly the same (in very general sense) BESIDES when you are in different modes than obviously completely different ball game. I didn't know this so I focused more on the lowest end, beginnerest drone was my thought process but honestly I could had went with something slightly more expensive and been completely fine. I also would prefer to have two drones (not at once in the beginning but obviously buying second down the road). One being less than 249g and one greater than 249g. One drone mainly for FPV and one made for photos/videos mainly in mind. Now photos/videos are more a priority for me but I'd rather have a cheap FPV drone that I could dink around with and spending okayish money on a drone with a good camera and shoots okayish in the dark. So I do wonder if I should had went with something like DJI Neo then went with something like Mini 4 Pro, Air 3/3S, or Mavic 3/4... Or very in-between and go with Neo and Flip. Avata 2 and Mini 4 Pro (obviously not at the same time but you know)... Even the DJI Flip is a really great option between being a basic drone and also having a decent camera (I believe it is the same camera as the Mini 4 Pro). Somethings you really got to think about is where you are flying, how loud do you want the drone to be (from what I have seen on youtube videos is DJI Neo/Avata series are "louder" than Mini series drones (from what I can tell I could be wrong; no idea how loud Flip is)). Hard to explain because I don't really understand the science, but essentially some drones have a higher pitch whine than others (they'll have a lower whine sound). Bringing this up because higher pitch seems louder to humans compared to things with lower pitch are much more doable. How long are you going to fly for? Battery life may or may not matter as much, though I'd suggest getting package with 3 batteries and charging hub that charges multiple at same time (better bang for your buck than buying these things separately). Say you do plan on getting FPV drone and camera drone, you can try to get a controller that works for both (controllers are only compatible with certain drones). So you could get a controller with a screen that works for drone you get now and a drone you want to get later, so that when you get the second drone you don't need to buy another controller if that makes sense. What often happens too is some people under estimate the power and crash pretty early on. What I would do if I were you is obviously fly the simulator (get your TRUST certification (need before flying); 249g+ drones need to be registered with FAA FYI; fly commercially need Part 107) and set flight rules for yourself. Don't fly directly over crowd/ or even people if you are worried. Don't fly in rain/windy conditions. If over water don't go below 10m. Don't attempt to fly when it is too dark. Don't fly near wires or in-between trees with thin branches. Don't ever let battery go below 20% (land and replace); alarm will go off. Fly in open spaces. Don't fly under things (make sure you have the right RTH, return to home). Look up the regulations in your area/where you are going to fly before flying... Obviously when you get more comfortable and understand situations you are in, then you can obviously adjust the rules. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L73w5N0SLbw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPpWdimKmcI I'd say majority of my videos suck and have some gems when filming so take my advice with grain of salt.

Can't go wrong with Mini 2 SE or Mini 4k imo. Though once you get hooked you'll want to spend some money on drone with an even better camera.

That's a really good plan. I went Mini 2 SE to Mavic 4 Pro and felt like it was a great transition. Crazy though how much easier it is to fly M4P compared to M2SE. You'd think it would be harder since it is bigger but complete opposite. Its like a hot knife to butter. Things would be impossible or make the shot totally crap is easy, peasey with M4P. Dipping your toes in before yoloing is a good idea. I'd even recommend that before even flying anything is to play the simulator! Can learn a lot.

I went from Mini 2 SE to Mavic 4 Pro and honestly the Mavic 4 Pro is so much easier to fly than the Mini 2 SE. M4P just cuts through the air like hot knife to butter while the M2SE gets it done but not in every case. I'm sure you'll have a similar experience with the Air 3S.

In my case, I don't have a M4P. I have a mini 2 se (my first drone), so it's definitely a good upgrade lol For m4p owners, maybe not so much unless you got spare money and you really care about every pixel.

You're 100% right. Unfortunately, those options should be thought of as a last resort. Though many think it's a guaranteed avoidance. Like the ground sensor, yeah, it senses the ground.. but you can still nose smash em into it, lol. I used the Mini 2 SE, and i learned pretty quickly. I have since moved on :).

Not much reason not to pick the mini 2 se fly more combo. Why would you even think about the mini 1 in that case? The phantom 3 pro is ancient.

Get the Mini 2 (used) or a Mini 4k. These drones are identical. You won’t need obstacles detection or the enhanced transmission range on the beach/sea. This generation is inexpensive and easy to replace. If you feel like you want more you can always upgrade to a Mini 5 Pro next year. Don’t get the Mini 2 SE.

If you're going with mini series the Mini 3, 4k or the 2 SE (depending on camera quality you want) should be perfectly fine for you over the ocean there isn't much you need obstacle avoidance for imo, just birds which the sensors can't really help with. However, since you're worried about wind, you may find the Air 3s better suited high wind speeds, unfortunately that is also more expensive than the Mini 4 Pro

Similar feedback. I got into rc planes. I started with a simple $75 trainer. You can spend quite a bit of money on a drone, find out it’s not your thing and it sits in a closet most of the time. Maybe fine a mini2 or mini2 se on eBay. Spend a lot more when you know how to use it and will continue to do so.

The DJI Mini series drones are designed for cinematic purposes rather than FPV (first-person view) flying. FPV drones require goggles for piloting. If you're considering an entry-level option for cinematic drones, the DJI Mini 2 SE is a great choice to explore and is a lot cheaper than the Mini 3.