yeah so ive been looking at drones for a few weeks now and i keep going back and forth. every time i think ive made a decision i watch another youtube video and change my mind. im not a kid or anything, im 34, just never flown anything like this before. i keep seeing people say start cheap in case you crash but then other people say start with something decent so you dont learn bad habits or whatever. genuinely confused. do i get something like a 80 dollar thing first or just go for it with something in the 300-400 range. also does it matter if i want to eventually do some real photography or is that a whole different conversation

the whole "start cheap" advice made more sense years ago when entry level drones were terrible across the board. these days the gap between a 80 dollar toy and a 300 dollar mini drone is enormous. the cheap stuff doesnt have GPS hold, no real stabilization, flies like a leaf in the wind. you spend more time fighting the drone than actually learning to fly. id say skip straight to a DJI Mini 3 if photography matters to you, or the Mini 2 SE if you want to save a bit. youll actually enjoy it instead of getting frustrated and quitting.

i mean i sort of disagree a little, i started on a tiny whoop indoors just to get the feel for the sticks before i touched anything with a camera and i think that actually helped a lot. but thats more of a freestyle path and if you want aerial photos its probably not relevant. for what your describing yeah just get the mini SE and dont overthink it. also yes photography is kind of a whole separate rabbit hole if you want to get serious about it, but for hiking trips and casual stuff any of the mini lineup will be more than good enough