ok so ive been lurking here for a while and finally decided to just ask because ive been going in circles reading stuff online for like two weeks. my budget is around 300 maybe a tiny bit more if its really worth it. mainly want to do some landscape photography and maybe some video of hiking trips, nothing super professional just want good enough quality that it doesnt look like garbage

ive been looking at the DJI Mini 2 SE mostly because its cheap but also saw some people saying the Mini 2 is better and worth paying a bit more for. theres also the Holy Stone HS720 which keeps showing up in lists but i genuinely cant tell if those are real recommendations or just affiliate link stuff

i dont really know anything about specs so i cant evaluate half of what im reading. any help from people who actually own these things would be great

honestly skip the Holy Stone, im not trying to be a snob about brands but for hiking and landscape stuff youre going to want proper GPS hold and reliable return-to-home and those cheaper non-DJI drones just dont have the same level of reliability in my experience. lost a Holy Stone in a lake two years ago because RTH just didnt trigger properly. the Mini 2 SE vs Mini 2 question is real though ? the SE shoots 2.7k instead of 4k and honestly for sharing on social or even watching on a TV it probably doesnt matter much but if you ever think you might want to print photos or do anything serious with the footage go Mini 2

i was in almost the exact same spot last spring and ended up going with the mini 2 refurbished from the DJI store for like 259 and its been really solid. the refurbs come with a warranty and mine looked brand new. probably the move if youre budget conscious, that extra 40 bucks over the SE felt worth it once i started actually using it and wanted the better video