ok so ive been trying to research my first drone for like three weeks now and i feel more confused than when i started. every youtube video recommends something different and half of them are clearly just sponsored or affiliated with the thing theyre recommending

my situation - i want to take it on trips mostly, nothing crazy, just want nice aerial footage of landscapes and maybe some video of my kids playing outside. budget is somewhere around 400-500 dollars but i could maybe stretch to 600 if something is genuinely worth it. im not a photographer really, i shoot on my iphone and think it looks fine so i dont need raw files or anything like that

ive been looking at the mini 3 (not pro), the mini 4 pro, and somebody mentioned the holy stone hs720 which seems cheaper but i cant find many recent reviews. does the price jump from mini 3 to mini 4 pro actually make sense for someone like me or am i just gonna be paying for features i dont even use

also do i need to worry about the FAA registration stuff or is that only for commercial people? i really dont want to get in trouble accidentally

welcome, and yeah the research phase is genuinely overwhelming at first. short answer - skip the holy stone, it's not in the same category and you'll be frustrated with it pretty quickly if you compare the footage side by side with a DJI. for your use case the mini 3 (not pro) is honestly probably fine, it flies well, the footage looks great for casual use, and it comes in under your budget so you have money left for extra batteries which matter way more than people realize

the mini 4 pro jump is worth it mainly for the obstacle avoidance sensors which are on all four sides instead of just front and back. if youre flying around trees or in tighter spaces with your kids around it could matter. if youre mostly open landscapes its less critical

and yes register with the FAA, takes like 5 minutes and costs 5 bucks. its for recreational flyers too, any drone over 250 grams needs it. the mini series is under 250g so technically you dont have to but it's good habbit to know the rules either way

the mini 3 was my first drone and honestly i have zero regrets, the footage still makes me happy every time i watch it back. only thing i wish id known is to buy the fly more combo or at least a second battery right away because one battery goes fast and youll be annoyed waiting around to recharge