Any drone operators on the forums?

[RedlandRanger]

We have a few schools close by and a huge park where they fly RC planes. The park is wide open with no power lines so I'd probably go there. The mini looks nice and not having to get a FCC license is a bonus. But I didn't know if the last one from Amazon was any good for the price? Besides traveling I doubt I'd use it much and hate to spend $500 (with tax) and have it just sitting most of the year.

I have a first gen DJI Mini and it works well with one caveat - you need to make sure the GPS is locked before taking off - if you are in a wide open area it probably isn't a big deal, but if you are in somewhat tight spaces and it doesn't have a good GPS lock, it is kind of jittery. The Mini3 now has obstacle avoidance which should (in theory) help with those kinds of issues. The 1 and 2 only have downward obstacle avoidance (probably for landing I'm guessing).

I've thought about getting a Mini3 for the obstacle avoidance but like you, I have a hard time spending the money when I don't use it terribly frequently. I take it hiking and get videos/photos from an alternate perspective.

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[RedlandRanger]

Another thing to consider - replacement parts - you will most likely ding some props at some point and being able to buy replacements will be important. Not sure how much you can buy for that no name Amazon one....