ok so i just got a mini 2 se a few weeks ago, its my first drone ever and im really happy with it so far. i keep seeing people talk about nd filters and i kind of understand the concept from photography but im not sure which ones to get for this specific drone or even if they matter that much for casual flying. i mostly just fly at the beach and around my neighborhood on weekends, nothing professional.

theres so many brands on amazon and the price range is all over the place, some are like 15 dollars and some are close to 100. is there actually a difference or is this one of those things where the cheap ones are fine? and which set of numbers do i even need, theres like nd4 nd8 nd16 nd64 and i dont really know what combination makes sense

honestly for casual flying at the beach the cheap sets are probably fine to start with, i used a freewell set for ages on my mini 2 and it was totally decent. the really expensive ones are more for people who are selling footage or doing paid work where color grading becomes more critical.

for what you described id probably just get an nd8/nd16/nd32 set to cover you in different light conditions. nd4 is rarely that useful in my experience unless its really overcast. the 180 degree shutter rule is what youre trying to hit basically, so if youre shooting 30fps you want your shutter speed around 1/60 and you pick the filter that gets you there in the current lighting. beach midday sun youll probably want the nd16 or nd32

ngl i flew without nd filters for a long time and my videos were fine, people kinda oversell how necessary they are for a beginner. if your goal is just to have fun and share clips with friends or family i wouldnt stress about it right away. learn to fly well first then worry about the cinematography stuff imo