Lately I've been having more interest in the drone hobby since the prices are coming down on these electronics, underwater drones are still expensive, even though they do have the new chasing dory that just came out. A lot of companies that make quality drones are coming down in prices and they're actually running right around what a new GoPro Black costs.

Two of the best drones I've spotted that are economically priced are the new DJI Mavic Mini and the Fimi X8 SE. It's hard to say which one is better, I've been watching a lot of reviews lately, but they both have their pros and cons. But what's nice about the DJI Mavic Mini is you don't have to register it due to being under the 250g weight limit, which is nice, however I expect the government will be changing the rules shortly just based on this ground breaking little drone.

The other features I'd say are groundbreaking are the 30 minute run time, which most drone owners say is around 27 minutes. It also has a range of 4k kilometers which is 2.5 miles. And it also comes with a gimbal and quality 2.7k camera, so the footage is super smooth and steady, remind you this is made by basically the top drone company in the world right now, well at least in the private sector that is.

On the flip side, the DJI Mavic Mini doesn't have a follow me mode, while the Fimi X8 SE does, and it seems to take a lot stronger winds than the Mavic Mini, which is a big plus if you plan on using a drone around a lake where there's a lot of open area. And of course you'll have to register the Fimi X8, other than that, both seem similar in features in the same price range. By no surprise that a lot of drone pilots on YouTube seem to be comparing these two drones head to head. The Fimi X8 also has a range of 5k kilometers, which translates to 3.1 miles.

If I end up getting a drone next year, it's hard to say which one I'll buy. You know black friday is coming up on November 29th, so that may also depict the verdict.

And by the way, a YouTuber by the name of Ed Ricker is giving away a free Mavic Mini off his YouTube channel, the winner will be announced in about 2 weeks. So even if you can't afford a Mavic Mini, it may still give you a chance to own one.

Out of all the review videos that are shown on YouTube and there's a lot of them already by the way, the one that stood out for me is where FunForLouis compared the Mavic Mini to the actual higher up models sold by DJI, and what's funny is, you get the runtime that Mavic 2 Pro has for a lot cheaper, lol. I mean the most important aspect for me, I would like a drone in decent price range that has a pretty long run time and is very stable for filming. Most drones in the price range are usually coming with a 2.7k or 4k camera which I could care less about, but it's just too bad the Mavic Mini doesn't have a follow me mode, but I know someone said on YouTube is that the company if they wanted to, could actually change that with the app and sofwatere upgrade, however, there's no facing sensors on the Mini to avoid objects.

I really liked Captain Drone's review of the Fimi X8 SE

And this was a pretty goo review of the Mavic Mini here

It would be nice to one day have a waterproof aerial drone, like the SwellPro, which can basically take off right from landing on the water, but that drone is pretty expensive and if you read reviews, there seems to be some bugs and it doesn't seem to have the smoothness and stability as same as the Fimi X8 SE or Mavic Mini.