basically the title. i want to get into drone photography just as a hobby, mostly landscapes and maybe some travel stuff. the mini 2 se is like $300 right now which fits my budget but i keep reading that its "outdated" which makes me nervous about spending money on something thats already old. but then the mini 4 pro is like $760 which is a lot for something i might just crash lol

i dont really understand the difference between all the obstacle avoidance stuff and whether i actually need it as a beginner. any advice would be helpful, i really dont know where to start

honestly the mini 2 se is fine for learning. people overthink this stuff way too much. yeah the camera isnt as good as the newer ones and theres no obstacle avoidance but when youre starting out youre not going to be flying in situations where obstacle avoidance saves you anyway, youre going to be in open fields figuring out the basics. get the se, learn to fly, and if you get serious about it in a year you'll know exactly what you want to upgrade to by then

I'm kind of in the same boat as you honestly, I went with the mini 3 as a middle ground a few months ago and I think that was a good call for me personally. The 2 SE doesnt have the vertical shooting mode which sounds like a small thing but if you ever want to post to instagram or reels its actually kind of annoying to not have it. Might be worth looking at refurbished mini 3 prices if the 4 pro is too much, sometimes they pop up for decent prices. Either way dont stress too much about crashing, the first few flights feel terrifying but its more intuitive than you'd expect