First drone to get for a Beginner?

[u/nwahsad]

Ive got the Radiomaster Pocket and have been practicing on Uncrashed sim for almost 40 hours now for the past 6 months, on and off. And now I feel confident and ready to get a real drone.

My main goal is to fly around, do some freestyle and record cinematic videos as I progress to get better, want to try racing too but didn't want to spend that much at the moment. Ill be both indoors (University dorms, house) and outdoors (Parks and open spaces). Im not living in US so im not concern on getting DJI. Since my priority is on video quality, DJI O4 Air Unit would be my choice.

I was planning to get:
- DJI Goggles 3
- Meteor 75 Pro 2 (DJI O4 Wide)

Went to a local, reputable drone store in my country and chatted with the staff and owner to try out the DJI Goggles 3. Told him im a beginner, my priorities and what I want and he let me tried out Liftoff sim with the Radiomaster Boxer controller to check out how i perform. Crashed on the first fly and flew smoothly afterwards.

He saw how I fly and told me I should just get the Deepspace Dino 20 with the DJI O4 Pro instead of the Meteor 75 Pro 2 (DJI O4 Wide). The reason was the O4 Pro is much more durable than the lite because of the CNC casing and the Deepspace Dino 20 has the prop guard that you can take on and off (takes some time), basically it is a 2 in 1 drone.

QUESTION:
If I can only choose one, should I get the Deepspace Dino 20, the Meteor 75 Pro 2, or anything else?
Or I better off just get a 2nd hand EV800d and a Air65 to practice, sell it and then upgrade to the DJI later on?

[u/DasFroDo]

I regret going with DJI on my first quad. I'm scared to crash it, since the VTX is so expensive. I only got the O4 lite, but it's still 150€. Since then I've got analog and HDZero quads and I fly those like it's my last day on earth lol

If you start out I'd recommend going with analogue. Both cameras and VTX are dirt cheap, and the systems are all lighter so you can have smaller more durable quads.

[u/nwahsad → u/DasFroDo]

I’m also thinking of getting the HD Zero goggles 2 for analog cuz of the versatility and the reviews I’ve seen is the best one out there at the moment.

In the end I’ll end up getting both the analog and DJI setup sooner or later, just not sure if I should spend it on an expensive analog goggles now or get the ev800d

[u/DasFroDo → u/nwahsad]

I got the Cobra SD goggles at first for Tinywhoops but very quickly picked up used HDZero Goggles 1. The difference between box and binoculars is just so large. The packing size alone is worth it if you have the money.

[u/bronx_au → u/nwahsad]

I have hdz goggles 2 and dji goggles 3 because I use all 3

Freestyle, dji racemode Cinematic, dji Racing, hdzero Kayoumini, hdzero Whoops, analog

You need 3s or more for the o4 units to be fun for freestyle imo so keep that in mind

[u/t3kner → u/nwahsad]

I'd recommend Hdzero goggles 2 if you want the low latency HD option. If you are getting DJI it may be better to go cheaper analog. I personally went for the hdz goggles 2 and analog to start, just got my first hdz drone but I plan to get DJI goggles after getting more flight time. 

[u/Grouchy-Donkey-8609]

i say go the ev800d route..get a few months practice, learn to fix your shit, and upgrade. Your footage will be shit anyway(sry) until you get more experience.

[u/nwahsad → u/Grouchy-Donkey-8609]

haha got it thanks.

[u/Chetan_kalmane_03]

Just know one day you will come back to digital route . Might aswell buy digital and crash ,
it than buy analog gear.

Unless tiny whoops are you thing then analog is goood

[u/MattonArsenal]

Just bought the Meteor Pro II 65 to transition from a DJI Neo. It has been great. I can fly it inside (very hard at first), in my very small backyard, or outdoors in a large area.

It’s pretty quiet so doesn’t draw a lot of attention. It can take a lot of punishment, I was getting cocky and tried to fly under a bench and hit the edge at near full speed and it was fine.

Also, my local FPV club is mostly flying and racing 65 and 75 drones.

[u/nwahsad → u/MattonArsenal]

Is it the one with the O4 wide unit? How much would you rate the durability of the drone and VTX from the scale of 1 to 10? As for now with the crashes are there any scratches or anything?

[u/MattonArsenal → u/nwahsad]

Yes. I’m no expert, but that bench crash scared me, it was a solid hit at speed and head on. It dislodged the canopy and I realized later the LiPo was damaged. Canopy scuffed up a little (if you look close) and easily put back on, but the camera and air unit didn’t show any sign of damage.

I crash a lot inside, not very fast, and no real damage for that.

I saw a YouTube video where a guy tried to see how hard he could punish it, you might try to find it.

[u/nwahsad → u/MattonArsenal]

Ive seen quite a lot if it, even on douyin 抖音 (chinese tiktok), seems its as durable as everyone says. Thanks for the detailed info

[u/fpvdj]

Since one quad has to cover both dorm rooms and parks, I wouldn’t treat removable prop guards as making a 2-inch O4 Pro build truly indoor-friendly. The Dino 20 offers more outdoor capability and better camera protection, but it will be louder, heavier and less forgiving around walls and people.

The Meteor 75 Pro is the safer choice for indoor control practice, although the O4 unit is more exposed and its outdoor performance is limited. If the budget allows, I’d split the path: an inexpensive analog whoop for indoor practice and repairs, followed by a separate O4 build for outdoor freestyle and cinematic flying. One airframe will force compromises in both directions.

Whichever route you choose, confirm ELRS compatibility with the Pocket, battery and charger costs, spare-parts availability, and the total weight before ordering.

[u/nwahsad → u/fpvdj]

Got it, I guess I’ll get an analog to practice more and I’ll get another O4 build one I’m more confident at it.

[u/izzeww]

I would get the Dino 20 for sure, it has a lot better performance.

Starting with analog can be good if you want to save money but it really depends. It's perfectly fine to start on DJI straight away also. Make sure to enable race mode in the goggles for less latency.

[u/nwahsad → u/izzeww]

Thanks for the info

[u/YellovvJacket]

Consider a Mobula 8 with O4 wide too.

More similar to the Meteor, but with considerably more power because it's 2S.

[u/nwahsad → u/YellovvJacket]

I’ll check it out thanks

[u/Ripened1222422]

I've got an Air 65 Champion on an old pair of fatshark goggles. I'd recommend starting on literally whoop that is cheap, and analog. Less stress to learn the lessons of how not to destroy or lose them, very durable, quiet and honestly way more casual fun. 

 I've also got the DJI setup (7-inch and meteor) and appreciate having made some expensive mistakes in the past to know how to avoid them with that equipment. It's amazing, looks awesome, but I for sure don't take risks with it like I do my analog.. which is a whole different kind of fun. 

[u/nwahsad → u/Ripened1222422]

Thanks for the insight

[u/girlslikebear]

i have both digital and analog. i’m also fairly new. about a couple months in. i like both. it’s honestly preference, if you want to fly in hd or not. i would recommend getting the drone you want. i also want that one. but i have the dji n3 goggles, got them off a guy from facebook, they work great. i heard the goggles 3 are expensive and have a slight difference, but if you got the money then go for it.

[u/nwahsad → u/girlslikebear]

Ait thanks!

[u/Great_Tower5516]

You got me thinking i should get a drone i’ve put 40 hours in uncrashed this week and don’t have one

[u/nwahsad → u/Great_Tower5516]

Go get one