Tello or Mini SE?

[j727s]

Hi everybody.
I made an account just to post this, so sorry if I'm doing something wrong.
I make money by doing chores around the house (lol) so I get very little, like probably 60-120 usd a month, just as an example to show a financial view. I've been wanting to get better drones for a while, and I bought some cheap Holy Stone drones for under 100 and almost all of them are bad. And DJI drones have always seemed to cost a lot, so I never bothered. But I guess its ok now, so I have been thinking about saving for the Mini SE because I saw some videos and man are they cool. But I have also seen the Tello, and I'm a complete noob who quit drones for a year and is now getting back in. So I have also been thinking about the Tello because people say its a good beginner drone. I came here because I want to ask you guys which is better, with all pros and cons you can think of. Money(no refurbished), camera quality, app features and everything. Thanks!

 

[TruGreen]

Mink se over tello. Tello is like a toy with bad camera quality and range and mainly for inside use.

Check around on Facebook market and offerup can usually find good deals on the mini 1, se, 2

 

[MA2 317]

Yep.

Mini se is better than Tello.

Good luck.

.

 

[SethB]

Tello is fine for indoors flying. It does not have a gimbal on the camera, and the cam position is fixed, pointing straight ahead. Image quality is very poor.

If you have any interest at all in photos or video the Tello is not a good choice at all.

 

[j727s]

For beginners though, do you think the Tello is good enough? Or should I hold out and get the Mini SE?

 

[vindibona1]

SE, hands down. It's very much like the Mini 1 which was a terrific little drone before the Mini 2 and Mini 3 hit the scene.

 

[Robert Prior]

They fly very differently. I have a Tello and its ability to hover in place is limited (works by optics not GPS). It also has almost no ability to fly outside as even a light breeze bats it around. 720p video with a fixed camera, so any video skills you learn on it won't transfer very well to a drone with a gimbal.

You might want to consider a used drone. A used Mini 1 (Mavic Mini) should be pretty cheap. My local drone shop sells used drones with a warranty, so you know it's functional when you buy one.

If you were local I'd offer you my old Phantom that I never use, but it's not worth the hassle of international shipping (plus the hassle of trying to ship batteries).

 

[Saladshooter]

Get the Mini SE.... Tello is a toy with bad range, no controller, no GPS, short battery life. If you have owned a Holy Stone drone then you are in for more of the same with the Tello.

 

[Macinfo]

For beginners though, do you think the Tello is good enough? Or should I hold out and get the Mini SE?

A Tello as noted is more of a Toy, has very limited range, the camera is low resolution, and has no real stability.. While its of course relatively inexpensive, its debatable whether its worth the cost, if you could find someone that's selling a used for cheap, that would expose you to flying a drone, but your phone, using an app is your controller, there is no separate controller.. so your using on screen controls to fly.

Buy you can learn how to fly with a Mini SE that your looking at, which will cost more than a Tello, but the photos and videos will be of good quality and a much more stable drone. You have a controller, uses your phone to run the Fly App.

 

[LoudThunder]

Buy a tello drone and you will always regret wasting your money when you could wait a bit and get the SE. Enjoy YouTube, watching all the videos on the SE. Learn all its capabilities and you'll never look back.

 

[j727s]

Yeah, wasting money is the last thing I want to do right now...

I think I'm pretty convinced to get the SE. Is DJI Refurbished a good idea? And will it come back in stock for the SE? I think I can sell an old cello I have around for over 300, but I'm also thinking about the Fly More combo, which is only around 330 for refurbished. But it isn't in stock, so I think I will wait until it is or until some sale.

 

[LoudThunder]

Is DJI Refurbished a good idea?

When you buy a refurbished Drone from DJI or one of the DJI Stores, it comes with the same warranty as a brand new one and it's very possible you could not tell it was anything other than a brand new drone…

If you go for a DJI drone, also but the Care Fresh Insurance. When you crash your drone and notice that I did not write "if" but "when," you can return it and get a new one. Oh there is a deductible, it is not free, but it's a lot cheaper than having to buy another new one… Don't waste your money on any of the other companies policies (All State, Square Trade, etc…), they are Great policies, but they are written for cameras, TVs, computers, Tablets, etc…) and if your drone flies away and you cannot recover it, they can't help you, but your DJI policy covers this…

Now, do your "Due-diligence" and get smart on all the other members and I have written. Go to the DJI web site, get smart on the Care Refresh, the warranty, the capabilities, and the limitations…

 

[scro]

I have a Tello and had a DJI mini 1 (sold it to a friend when I upgraded to a Mini3). The Mini 1 is in a different league to the Tello. The Tello is a fine little drone for what it is (I've had a lot of enjoyment out of mine) but a mini 1, 2 or SE is far far better at everything it does:

• Much longer flight time: 20-25mins vs 10min, real world timings
• Much longer range: 500m and well beyond, vs 50-100m
• Higher flights: Tello is limited to 30m, whereas DJI Minis can fly much higher, 120m legally, 500m technically.
• GPS positioning. The tello isn't great for position holding in darker environments, over water, over snow, smooth grass etc.
• Gimbal stabilised camera - Tello is stuck with a fixed slight downwards view
• Recording to SD card. The tello records the live video feed, which is prone to glitches, interference and general jumpiness
• Far superior stills and video (resolution, colour accuracy, dynamic range).
• Physical controller: actual sticks are much easier to fly with than sliding around on a touchscreen. I got a Gamesir controller for the Tello, which was a big improvement, but started to push the overall cost much closer to a DJI Mini.

In short, save up and get a drone from the DJI Mini lineup. The extra cost over a Tello is well worth it!

 

[karlblessing]

Mini SE or better yet Mini 2 if you have to keep it within that range. Avoid the Mini 1, it just doesn't have the same wind resistance (the Mini SE is basically a mini 1 internal, but with the mini 2 body, so it can handle the same wind resistance as the Mini 2).

And if you can really save the coins up, the Mini 3 Pro, but you're looking at roughly twice what you originally set out to do.