so ive been watching fpv videos for like 6 months now and i finally want to just do it. been looking at the DJI Avata but honestly that feels like cheating, like its not really fpv? or is it. anyway my main question is whether i should just buy something prebuilt like a BetaFPV or Emax Tinyhawk to start or if i should just bite the bullet and build something from scratch. i have zero soldering experience but i'm not scared of learning. budget is probably around 300-400 for the whole thing including goggles if thats even possible lol. i just dont want to buy something prebuilt and then feel like i wasted money when i could have learned more by building. but also i dont want to spend 3 months soldering stuff together and never actually fly.

honestly the prebuilt vs build debate is kind of overblown. when i started i bought a Tinyhawk 2 and flew the hell out of it for like 4 months before i touched a soldering iron and i dont regret it at all. the thing is you're gonna crash constantly at first and if you built something yourself and then snap an arm or fry an ESC on week two its just demoralizing. get the prebuilt, learn to actually fly, then build. your 300-400 budget is tight for everything including goggles tho ? the FatShark Recon V3 or Eachine EV800D are where most people start on a budget but even then youre cutting it close. maybe stretch to 450 if you can.

i went straight to building and i learned a ton but tbh i didnt fly for like two months because i kept messing stuff up with betaflight and had a bad motor connection i couldnt find. so yeah both paths work but prebuilt is probably smarter to start. also the avata thing ? its fine but youre right that its a different experience, its more like a camera drone than true freestyle fpv. nothing wrong with it just depends what you want to do