so ive been wanting to get into drones for a while now and i finally have some money saved up but honestly i dont even know where to start. ive been watching youtube videos for like two weeks and now im more confused than when i started because everyone recommends something different.

my budget is maybe around 300 dollars give or take, i dont have any experience flying anything, not even RC cars really. i mostly want to take some videos of like hikes and outdoor stuff, nothing crazy professional. someone at work mentioned the mini series from DJI but i also saw some people saying theres cheaper options that are good for learning. i dont want to spend a lot and then crash it immediately you know

any help would be genuinely appreciated, i feel like im going in circles

honestly just get the DJI Mini 2 SE if you can find it on sale, or stretch a tiny bit for the Mini 3 if the budget allows. i know everyone says this and it sounds like a boring answer but theres a reason everyone says it ? the stabilization does a lot of the work for you when youre starting out and you're not fighting the drone just to get a decent shot. I started on a cheaper no-name quad and wasted probably two months of frustration before switching and it felt like a completely different hobby.

the thing about learning on something really cheap is you will crash it, sure, but cheap drones also fly weird and dont hold their position well so you end up thinking youre bad at flying when really the drone is just bad. with something like the mini you can actually tell when a mistake is yours.

im also a beginner and just got the mini 2 se like two months ago, its pretty good but just so you know the range on the controller they include isnt amazing and i had a few moments early on where i was like wait where is it going lol. still havent crashed it knock on wood. the no fly zone stuff can be annoying if you live near any airports