DJI - Avata

As most others have said the Neo 2 is a more VERSATILE drone for a beginner... Here's why - you mentioned you want a drone for casual and general use, that's the neo 2 - it's first and foremost a traditional drone with a gimbal and flight stabilization , that's Avata series is not it's an fpv drone . - it has good tracking which is awesome especially for capturing action sports - pair it with a rc and you now have basically a pretty functional classic cinematic DJI drone. The biggest difference is Avata is really more about getting that FPv (flying inside) experience which is certainly fun, but not very cinematic since it's more About adding specific shots like (chase scenes , cliff dives, low flying ridge shots) , most creators that have avata also have other DJI drones, and use Avata for special scenes.. So if your on a family vacation it's like 30s to pull out your neo 2 , get in the air take an orbit or selfie photo of your group ,all done , you would likely still be booting up Avata and it's Fpv goggles... Avata is like having a sports car, lots of fun on the weekends in a twisty road, but Neo2 is like having a daily driver way more practical for most use cases.

Avata is the easiest way, I do these often they definitely take some practice to make them look good.

Yes, avata has bottom cameras that help with position hold and it's super stable even with zero satellites. No other brand is really interested in competing with dji in stabilized drones so dji is years ahead in this kind of flight modes

Too late! Put my Avata into a powerline and mashed it.

I wouldn't advise getting into the FPV hobby with the Avata, better to use a DJI Air Unit video system with another drone with better flight controller/escs than the Avata's. It's kind of like an entirely different hobby than DJI's mode of "aerial photography."

I’m aware. I have an Avata. Only like 1% of my real estate jobs ask for FPV.

My Avata fly more combo brand new was like $950 and that was almost 2 years ago.

i kinda did the same started of with sim training on liftoff with an xbox controller then got a used avata 1 combo with goggles 2 + fpv controller 2 + 4 batts, now im ripping the avata in manual i get frequent tumbles and i get a power cut at about 50% batt, i dont regret it i like the avata but after 4 flights im already looking for a more powerful quad, i mainly bought this combo for the goggles and controller and think of the avata as a plus for the price that i got it

Hey, the answer is really dependent on your needs. As a hobbyist just getting into drones, you really should decide whether or not you want to go the FPV route or if you want to just send a consumer drone up to take pictures. If your answer is just take pictures and have some automated flight and video capture capabilities, I'd go w/ DJI consumer platform that best fits your budget and needs,while it's still available. assuming no audit will be performed triggering no new ccp drones come January. If you want to go the FPV route which I strongly urge you to do; although it's more involved you will have a lot more fun, and gain a lot more knowledge than your average consumer drone line user. I suggest starting with an analog tiny whoop, maybe until January when we know more about the fate of DJI in America. Purchase a radio transmitter first and learn to fly in a simulator. It will save you a lot of time and headache and potentially a lot of money in drone parts. You WILL crash a pretty good amount early on. Better to get it out of the way in a sim. Start learning how to build an fpv drone, what all the components do and how they communicate with your ground equipment (goggles and transmitter) You can get an fpv experience with DJI avata, but eventually you will probably crash that sucker eventually and there is no care refresh/ replacements in the USA anymore. I almost bought a DJI FPV when I first go into drones, I'm so happy I just learned to build instead.

Getting back into it those are the three I’d go for. Have some diy quads, Mavic 2 Pro, and original Avata. Picked up a Mini 5 Pro and Neo 2 for ~$1500 with extra batteries and the RC2 controller and I’d be tempted by the 360 lol.

Nice cameras. Docile flight that's easy to learn. Terrible ability to repair them if you crash. Opinion - You're better off learning on a simulator and building your own if you want to try FPV. Betaflight home built FPV is harder to fly. But once you build the skills, you can do things faster than Avata and repair the quad if you miss a gap. You're human. You are going to crash. Best to have a quad you can repair and keep going.