ok so ive been down a rabbit hole for like two weeks watching youtube videos and reading stuff and im somehow more confused than when i started. everyone has a different opinion. some people say spend the money on a DJI right away, some people say start cheap and work up, some people are talking about Autel which i hadnt even heard of before. im not trying to do anything professional, just want to get into it as a hobby, maybe take some video when im hiking or whatever. i dont really care about racing or anything like that. somebody just tell me what to actually buy

the autel evo lite is decent but honestly for someone just starting out i think it overcomplicates things a bit. DJI mini 3 or even the mini 2 SE if you find it on sale ? the fly more combo gives you extra batteries which you'll want because 30 minutes goes fast, faster than you think. the learning curve with DJI fly app is pretty gentle and there are a million tutorials for it. just don't buy the first thing you see on amazon that says "beginner drone" with 4.5 stars, those are usually garbage

for hiking video specifically the mini series makes sense just because of the weight, under 249 grams means less restrictions in a lot of places and it fits in a pack easily. i've had mine for about a year and a half and taken it on a bunch of trails. battery life is the main thing that gets annoying, i always wish i had one more. also worth getting a good landing pad if you're flying off uneven ground, learned that the hard way