so i asked my buddy who flies drones what to get for my first one and he went on this whole rant about how i shouldnt buy DJI because of data privacy stuff and the company being chinese owned and all that. now im confused because literally everything i read online points to DJI as the obvious choice for beginners. hes not like a tech person or anything so i dont know how seriously to take it. is there actually a good non-DJI option in the beginner range or is that just not really a thing yet. i was looking at the mini 4 pro but now im second guessing everything

your friend isnt totally wrong but its also kind of overblown for most people. theres been some government stuff about DJI being restricted for federal use and certain law enforcement agencies but for a regular person flying over their backyard making hiking videos its pretty hard to make the case that it meaningfully matters. the alternative options in that price range honestly arent competitive right now. Autel makes some decent stuff but they're more expensive and the ecosystem isnt as polished. Skydio is good but its way pricey and designed more for autonomous tracking than general videography. if the data thing genuinely bothers you theres settings in the app to limit data sharing but beyond that i'd say the mini 4 pro is still probably the right call for what you want to do

i mean ive heard this argument a hundred times and most people who make it are also posting their entire lives on instagram so like, make it make sense. the mini 4 pro is a great first drone, the obstacle avoidance alone makes it way more forgiving when youre still figuring out orientation and stuff. get it