This is a common question when trying to choose a drone. You might want to check out the weekly stickied thread at this forum where people share recommendations and answer questions about drones.
Your post hasn’t been removed, so don’t worry. It’s still visible in the feed.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please reach out to the forum moderators if you have any questions.
You should look into buying second hand. DJI has a lot of market dominance, which I don’t love, but it does mean you’ll get good long-term support and plenty of knowledge available. I think the 2 SE is a bit overpriced. It’s mostly just a rebranded original Mini. You might want to check out second hand options or look for better deals. I’ve seen deals for the Mini 3 that are pretty close to the price of the 2 SE, and the 3 is much better. I also recently picked up a Mini 4 with the better controller for not much more.
I’ve used both the Mini 2 (not SE) and the Potensic Atom 4K. Both are great, stable choices for first-time pilots. The Mini 2 is better at handling wind, and DJI’s signal transmission is much better. For camera quality, they’re similar, but I think the Mini 2 has a bit better dynamic range.
I’d recommend the Mini 4K. It costs about the same as the Mini 2 SE but has an upgraded sensor that supports 4K video.
This might not be what you’re asking for, but I just got the Potensic Atom last week. It’s my first drone, and I’m loving it. It’s so simple to set up and super fun to fly. I ran it into the house a couple of times, and it survived without any issues, lol. I got a bit overconfident on day one.
@Halston
Well, DJI drones wouldn’t let you crash that easily, haha. This one doesn’t have sensors, but they do help a lot. 
Lennon said:
@Halston
Well, DJI drones wouldn’t let you crash that easily, haha. This one doesn’t have sensors, but they do help a lot.
I’ll definitely get sensors for my next one. But I’m still having a blast. I even laminated my TRUST certificate like a complete geek and I’m here for it.
@Halston
I started with a cheaper Conico drone, and yes, I laminated my Trust certificate too. 
Lennon said:
@Halston
I started with a cheaper Conico drone, and yes, I laminated my Trust certificate too.
Haha, you guys are total geeks, but I love it.
Lennon said:
@Halston
I started with a cheaper Conico drone, and yes, I laminated my Trust certificate too.
Haha, you guys are total geeks, but I love it.
Geeks? Haha, I just don’t like dealing with the feds. Check out my car, I don’t mess around when it comes to that stuff.
@Lennon
Fair enough. I live my life one nautical mile at a time. 
Lennon said:
@Halston
Well, DJI drones wouldn’t let you crash that easily, haha. This one doesn’t have sensors, but they do help a lot.
You can crash a DJI even with omnidirectional sensors. Let me know if you need any tips on that. 
@Sai
Yeah, but you have to really try to crash it, haha. Or fly indoors with the sensors on. 
Lennon said:
@Sai
Yeah, but you have to really try to crash it, haha. Or fly indoors with the sensors on.
Is that how I wrecked my Mini 4 Pro? I took off in my apartment, and it flew straight into a wall at full speed. Did it three times. Had to change all the propellers.
@Taylor
Yep, the lower sensors try to lift the drone when they detect the ‘ground’ and the other sensors try to avoid collision. But indoors with furniture, they get confused and you lose control. It’s a mess and your drone gets wrecked.
@Lennon
But my ceiling is 20 feet high. It’s a really open space. Maybe the elevation was throwing it off? Still don’t get why it happened. I really wanted to fly it out my window to get some amazing range. Not sure now though.
@Taylor
Try taking off in sport mode next time, it turns off the sensors. Then take it outside and switch back to your normal mode. Elevation shouldn’t be a problem.
Lennon said:
@Taylor
Try taking off in sport mode next time, it turns off the sensors. Then take it outside and switch back to your normal mode. Elevation shouldn’t be a problem.
I always fly in sport mode. Done it before with no issues. But this time, it went wrong every time.
@Taylor
That’s strange. Sport mode disables the sensors. Looks like something else is causing the issue. 