DJI - Mini 4K

If you want collision-avoidance sensors the Mini4 Pro or Mini3 Pro are best in the sub-250g realm. Otherwise the Mini4k is a great value. Before 2025 tariffs went into effect, they could be found at around $250. I paid $430 for my Mini2 4 years ago. Essentially the same drone. I love my Mini2 (not the SE). I have taken it to Europe and UK 3 times now.

If you’re OK with learning to fly a quality drone together with your child, then you should consider buying one for the both of you. With that quality drone, you will always supervise the flights, and you will just snap your smartphone into the controller. The DJI “Mini” family of drones have several models in varying price points. I think the cheapest is still the DJI Mini 4K. I think it sells for about $239. This drone will be WAY easier for your child to learn to fly, because it syncs with up to 24 GPS satellites, and allows you to just push a button and it will fly back to you and land automatically. This is a hugely helpful feature for a new beginner! “Return To Home” (RTH). And takeoffs are super easy too. After it shows that you have good satellite coverage, you just push the takeoff button and the drone takes off to about 4-feet above ground and just hovers there until you start pushing the sticks. It will literally sit there until the battery runs down if you do nothing. And these drones all take awesome video and still photos. A fun thing to do after you go flying together, is to view your photos and video on a computer or big screen tv. They’re all stored on a microSD card. If the two of you spend a year together with one of these DJI Minis, your child could get quite skilled at flying. And it’s a great parent-child shared activity. And you could also buy a cheap sub-$50 drone for you child to play with on their own. And if the toy drone gets broken, it’s not a hardship. Your child will still look forward to your shared flights with the DJI Mini. Good Luck 😀🚁

DJI Mini4k for sure. Before the 2025 tariffs went into effect, you could find them on-sale for around $250. Excellent beginner DJI drone 😀

This 👏 I started flying on no-name sub-$100 drones, and crashed all of them in out-of-control fashion. Then I bought my DJI Mini2 four years ago. Everything changed after that. The drone takes off and hovers at about 5-feet off the ground waiting for you to start controlling it. And the RTH feature basically flies back to where you are and lands. The DJI Mini4k is the very same drone. But even with these amazing features, bad things can happen. There is always the possibility that a pilot can crash into something. So if you think that your child may be crashing, then you should consider buying them a cheap non-DJI drone to start learning to fly with. These no-name drones can be found for $100 or less. If you still want to get them a DJI, and you fear that they will crash, consider getting them a DJI Mini4 Pro. It has collision-avoidance sensors top, bottom front and rear. And so if you let them learn to fly with Sport Mode turned off, those sensors may prevent them from crashing into something. Bear in mind that the DJI Mini4 Pro sells for about $1000 brand new. So if you don’t want to spend that much to start out, then I think you should consider buying the no-name cheap drones and get them to fly in large open areas far away from people, homes and vehicles. Good Luck 🚁

Yep it's brilliant, it was my first drone. The lack of obstacle avoidance might be a good thing, as it will train you to have spatial awareness and not rely on OA while you are learning.

Mini 4K is in my opinion the best budget beginner drone, if you have more money get the mini 3 Fly more combo, in my opinion the RC isn’t worth $300, if you have way more money then the mini 4 pro Fly more is the best drone.

Mini 4k = no crash senors, no ai tracking, excellent image quailty, Mini 4k pro = crash senors, ai tracking, excellent image quailty with added dslr style changes/corrections can be applied, Mini 4k is a great starter drone, to get a feel for flying and get over the nerves, However the pro model, is so much more for not alot more money.

I'm not in Canada, I got my mini 4k combo for £399 I think new and the mini 4 pro combo new + 256gb sd card for £829. I appreciate howevver I may have gotten a good deal, The dji mini 4k combo is currently $579 on amazon.ca (it's a good price) but if you want more features and tracking etc, then the mini 4 pro is just on a different level. Another option would be dji mini 4 and the neo, but depending on price at that stage I'd still recommend the dji mini 4 pro. Maybe hold off on buying anything until the summer, their are rumours that a mini 5 pro is being released which in turn should reduce the price of the 4

Personally I don't really see a huge difference between Mini 3 and Mini 4K except for body. The mini 3 offers better camera in low light and some extra utility in terms of transferring files to your phone directly. And the camera can go vertical. It's why I am going for the mini 4K as well, because I couldn't see the 100$ difference worth as a beginner pilot.

I ordered the DJI Mini 4K, they shipped it, and US Customs returned it to the shipper. I phoned DJI and was given no reason, but they shipped it again, and it arrived yesterday, which is why I'm only now replying. Compared to the HolyStone, the DJI is much more stable in flight. However, out of doors the phone screen even on max brightness is so washed out it's hard to see. Can the DJI Mini 4K be flown without the phone? (I had the same problem with the phone using the HolyStone, and it turned out that could be flown without the phone. Obviously I don't have access to the camera that way, but I'm only using it to chase the birds off my roof.) Thanks.

Today I tried out the Return-to-Home function. It worked perfectly. It was very slow, and landed facing the wrong way, but that's all fine. Now I just wish that I could hang a grappling hook from it to remove the birds' nest from the roof. But I suspect that a drone with that capability would cost more than I want to spend.

YES!!! It worked. Thanks! I guess I should have tried it before bothering to ask. 😄 (I've ordered a sun shield now, too. Thanks for that suggestion.) I officially like the DJI Mini 4K now that I don't need the phone to fly it. 😄 😄

Huh! Amazon sells grappling hooks for small drones. No idea how well they work...

I'm in a similar situation. I started out with those cheap $50 drones to try the hobby, then I went to the DJI Mini4k (for the stability, with resistance, flight time and camera). Then my son got my old $50 one and he loves just flying around, eventually I'm gonna have to get him his own either he'll get mine or I'll get him a DJI Neo, I put everything in my cart (Neo Combo for batteries, FPV Goggles and motion controller) and it was around $500-600. Take a lot at this Neo and review and see how cool it can be. https://youtu.be/7OornhLskoA?si=GQ1hoKwEOezOaXMu

In my case, I wasn’t sure what I was actually looking for, so I figured I’d start cheap and learn in a little bit. I bought a Neo and control, has been fun, then a mini 4K, which is very fun in a different way. I suspected I’d want to go up to a fancier model from there, but the 4K actually does what I need. That said, I’m sure I’ll get something more expensive at some point, but I’m not yet sure what additional features will improve my life.

I have a Neo, a mini 4K, and a mini 4 pro. Would definitely recommend the mini 4K on your budget, unless your primary use is for taking videos of yourself and friends. A mini 4K with controller is the same price as a neo with controller, and the mini 4K flies much better, just doesn’t have some of the cool smart modes.

I am thoroughly enjoying my mini 4 pro, but I am really glad I had a mini 4K first to see how much I enjoyed the hobby. 4K is probably 80% of 4 pro for a lot less money. Camera is not quite as good, doesn’t have obstacle avoidance, but flies great. I also have a neo, which is a whole other thing. The Neo is pretty inferior when it comes to flying using sticks, it’s good for using its AI to take photos of groups, people walking, that kind of thing.

If you’re not wanting to do any FPV flying then the NEO isn’t the better option. If you want a drone that will give you good picture and video like the MINI 3 pro the closer to that is the DJI mini 4k. It has a 4k camera and just lacks the obstacle avoidance. It isn’t going to be as good as the Mini 4 pro but that’s a different budget range. I have the mini 2 we was my first and I loved it so much I bought the MP4 about 6 months later. I then wanted to have a tel zoom so went up to the upper side of my budget with the Air 3 S. I didn’t need it to honestly the MP4 does what I want. There’s advantages to the Air 3 s but a person could get but with just the MP4. I would snag the best DJI I could get. That’s on shelf somewhere or as mentioned adorns if bigger purchase. I think you’d be happy with the mini 4k. I was happy with mini 2 we which is only 2.7k max res but wanted some obstacle avoidance even though I rarely use it.

Mini 4k it's ad much a toy that's stable as for photography. The 300 cameras are good but usually like something with a better camera. I started fortune with the Mini 2 se. I found I like some of the pictures I got, which steered me into light cut and quick edits. I then bought a Mini 4 pro just for the extra Obstacle avoidance and increased camera. Learning how to fly even thoughbit sounds counter intuitive. Learning on the Mini 4k with stable readable connection with growing room built in if he's super young. I passed off my mini 4 to a 5 year old at my family get together and he got it instantly even some of the angles he understood for g lining up good shots in camera he got those basics and was part of why he wanted one. That's my advice if you buy anything else maybe a Specta or Potensic atom but I can't guarantee you'll get the same level of service with DJI. If your even considering DJI I'm future year I'd move now because once the Tariffs are in place that drone will be 500.

I'd even look at the mini 3 pro. I have seen them on Ebay real cheap, and that model does have forward and rear obstacle avoidance. Under 300 Mini 4k won't let you down view the Potensic Atom. Potensic doesn't GEO lock and has a few more follow modes if that's something you want.

For photos and video shots like those in TV documentary, get a fly more combo of the DJI Mini series - be it a 4k, a 3, a 3 pro, a 4 Pro - you'll get what you pay for. For beginner friendly low flying fpv action, get a Neo Motion Fly More Combo as the Avata 2 Fly More Combo is out of the budget. If he will be spending a lot of time with this new hobby, a real fpv drone might be the way to go. But prepare him to spend some hours with simulators before he takes off.