DJI - Mavic 3E

M350/M400/ Matrice 4E are the ways to go in my eyes. Mavic 3E shortly behind them, most affordable but least robust platform.

If you want accurate maps, you need the Mavic 3 enterprise with it's mechanical shutter. For basic mapping for fun, you can go as low as a Mini 3 pro, but the rolling shutter will reduce accuracy and resolution. I work with the Mavic 3 Enterprise with RTK at work, and does incredibly accurate and detailed maps, but really no better than my old personal Phantom 4 Pro I have at home. With RTK and GCP's you can get accuracy within a cm or two. I'm trying trying to get our non-profit to get a Matrice 350 RTK with all the goodies to increase functionality as the Mavic 3E is great for maps, but not much else.

We have M350 with L2,P1, H30, Mavic 3E. The Mavic gets a lot of use when we can fly high enough because of flight restrictions. It ended up being our main workhorse and is a bit more less intrusive and noticed in urban locations. The M350 with the P1 have done quite a bit of inspections. All depends on budget and deliverables you need and want. The L2 gets used on a lot of topo flights for cut fill projects.

Well, "do the same thing" is a very very broad statement. I can transport people in a Honda civic and fit it in my garage. I can also transport people in a tour bus. That's doing the same thing right? For more direct context. I own a mini 4 pro, with access to a m3e and a m300/l1. Yes, I can get some nice looking photos from them. M4p to m3e gets me true mission planning (IYKYK) RTK, optics and sensor that supports higher altitude and faster flight time. M300 still larger supports the lidar payload for a completely different league of mapping abilities, RTK and mission planning. These are gross over simplifications of comparing them but gives you the 100' AGL overview. And yes, I do use all 3. The m4p lives in my truck and if I have a loan survey type property to map, small (1/4-1/2 acre) lot and interference from tree cover, I'm going to send it. I'm flying my photo mission freestyle vs your standard nadir/oblique. Compared to the m3e it's much cheaper in the worst case catastrophic damage or loss and more agile for this like the civic running grubhub etc. I'd be delighted to help comparing other scenarios and which craft would be most suitable for each.

What I would recommend… DJI mini 4k for the cheapest entry. It will let you get a feel for things and find out if you want more. DJI mini 5. If you’re going to spend money, then just go with the newest option. It has a lot of the nice features and it’s portable. DJI Air 3s. If portability isn’t an issue, then the air 3s is a little better. - Although there a couple of drones between the 4k and 5 pro, but the quality up grades are minor and don’t have many better features. Mainly obstacle avoidance, which the mini 3 is missing. You could spend money on a mini 4, but for a little more just get the mini 5p. After the air 3s, you would want to make bigger upgrades to the Mavic 3 and Mavic 3 enterprise series. Which is way more than you need IMO

I’ve used a mini pro and a mavic 3 but my favorite to shoot with is still my air3. The 3x zoom seem perfect fP those nice compressed shots while still shooting 4k 60 in all the tracking modes.

Hard to answer. Fpv I have seen good ones custom made. If you like brand consistency I would say DJI with avata 2 FOR FPV perhaps… but not excellent in camera if you want videography. If you want quality in video I would say mavic 3 or wait a bit I heard mavic 4 is coming. The choice maybe depends on what you want the most while bit of sacrifices on the secondary usage. Curious to hear what others advice tho

A Mavic 3 Enterprise is your best option. That budget should get you the drone plus a bunch of batteries. Depending on what accuracy you need, you could add on an RTK module as well.

Fly it a lot, remember the limitations of the obstacle avoidance, learn the flight characteristics, and above all, have fun.  I had the Air2S, then went to the Mavic 3 and Mavic 3E and now the Mavic 3T. Skipped the Mavic 2pro to get newer, as I use these for my small business side job.