Neo 2

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.

My issue with Neo is that because the propellers are smaller than the average drones, it struggles to keep up in wind and often ends up recording jittery footage because it constantly tries to stabilise against the wind.

Love my neo 2 as a beginner

Video quality is amazing. Editing video in the dji app amazing. Flight performance amazing. Battery life is not so good right now. But I flew it in minus 10 degrees celcius 🤣🙈 my ev was struggling as well. I got the neo 2 fly more combo. Very satisfied. Got the controller but often prefer just to use the app and voice or gesture control. Its very easy to make custom profiles for when you want to do a dronie or something. I can send you my first shots if you like. Then you can se what first time footage looks like.

Yeah for that I would recommend some DJI product like the neo 2 and rc-n3 controller for the cheapest price

I would do neo 2 for price point and functionality. That's the drone you should look at. Better then both significantly and the price is cheap too.

The LiDAR and 360 obstacle sensing abilities plus the ability to fly in so many different ways also.

I might have used the wrong choice of words. I guess I meant that Neo 2 is more flexible with different ways to fly. The video quality is actually significantly better than the Neo 1 which was horrible and not usable. I have an air 3s which I love and the neos. The Neo 2 I fly more then the air 3s based on portability. But the video isn’t that much different but I think it’s on par or above.

Absolutely. Get a DJI; I recommend the Neo 2, it's really great.

Get DJI Care Refresh, you'll crash at least a dozen times and you don't want to have to worry too much about damaging the drone. It's an excellent drone, possibly the best advanced beginner drone on the market. The DJI Neo 2 is a better beginner drone, but only due to it's smaller price and size. You definitely need to check regulations before flying. I've heard that China is quite restrictive with where you are able to fly drones.

Personally, I'd go for the Neo 2. I was excited about the Flip until I found that there'd be no FPV support. The Neo (1 & 2) have great support for many control options. Also more durable than the Flip. And a bargain! Also, it's always worth keeping an eye on the official refurbished stock. I got my Avata 2 that way. Full combo for the price of drone-only.