ok so ive been watching youtube videos for like two weeks now and i feel like i know less than when i started. everyone recommends something different and half the videos are clearly just sponsored. im not sure if i want to do this as a serious hobby or just mess around on weekends, probably somewhere in between. budget is flexible i guess, i dont want to spend $800 on something i crash into a tree on day one but i also dont want to buy something so cheap it flies like garbage and turns me off the whole thing. do i just get a mini 3 and call it day or is that overkill for starting out

honestly the mini 3 is not overkill at all for a first drone, its just expensive for something you might lose confidence with or genuinely crash a few times. i started on a holy stone hs720 which was fine for learning the basics outdoors but the controller feel is pretty mushy and you kind of plateau fast. if your budget can handle it id say go mini 3 non-pro, the obstacle avoidance stuff gives you a bit of a safety net and the image quality is good enough that you wont feel like you need to immediately upgrade. the real question is are you planning to fly mostly outdoors in open areas or are you trying to navigate around stuff, because that changes things a lot

mini 2 SE is also worth looking at if you want to save a bit, its basically the mini 2 with some cuts but for just flying around and learning it does the job. the main thing people dont tell you is that the drone is like maybe 20% of the learning curve, the rest is understanding airspace rules, where you can actually fly legally, that kind of stuff. i spent the first month mostly just figuring out where i was allowed to go. anyway dont overthink the first purchase too much, most of this stuff holds resale value okay if you want to step up later