so my brother got a DJI something or other and it looked really fun when we were out camping last summer. i dont remember which one it was, the one that folds up small. anyway i been thinking about getting one for myself but honestly im not trying to get into photography or anything like that, i just want to fly it around and have fun. maybe take some video here and there but its not like im gonna be selling footage or whatever

is there a point where spending more money actually makes it easier to fly or is it all pretty much the same once you get past the really cheap toy ones. also does anyone know if the cheaper DJI models are harder to fly than the more expensive ones or is it just about the camera quality

the one your brother had was probably the Mini 3 or Mini 4 Pro based on your description. and yeah honestly flying difficulty across the DJI lineup is pretty similar, they all use the same stabilization tech more or less. the more expensive ones have better obstacle avoidance which can save you from some crashes but it also makes people lazy and then they get cocky and hit something the sensors didnt catch. the camera quality and range is really where the price difference shows up.

if youre just wanting to mess around and have fun the Mini 2 SE is genuinely a solid choice. you can pick one up refurbished sometimes too if you keep an eye out. fly care mode on DJI is also super helpful when youre learning, slows everything down and limits how far you can go so you dont just immediately send it into a tree

tbh if you really just want to mess around and dont care about footage that much id almost suggest starting with something even cheaper just to get the feel for the controls first. broke my first drone within like 3 days, was not ready for how fast those things move. but thats just me, some people pick it up way faster