been going back and forth on this for months. some people tell me to get a tiny cheap drone to learn on so i dont crash an expensive one, but then other people say those cheap ones fly so differently that youre basically relearning everything anyway when you upgrade. i have a budget of around 400 dollars maybe a bit more if it makes sense.

i mainly want to do outdoor stuff, maybe some travel videos eventually but honestly right now i just want to learn to fly without it being super stressful. is there a middle ground here or should i just commit to something real from the start

the cheap beater drone advice made more sense years ago when the good ones had no stabilization and crashed hard if you looked at them wrong. these days something like the mini 2 SE or even the mini 3 at your budget is actually pretty forgiving, the return to home works well, theres obstacle avoidance on some models, and the gps hold means it basically just sits there when you let go of the sticks. a 40 dollar amazon drone doesnt do any of that and you will be fighting it the whole time which honestly might make the learning harder not easier

at 400 id just get a real one and be careful with it the first few flights. stay low, stay close, dont do anything fancy. you'll be fine

i went the cheap route first and honestly kinda regret it. spent two months flying this little indoor toy and thought i was getting good and then when i got my actual drone it felt completely different. the muscle memory didnt really transfer the way i expected. if i did it again id just start with the real thing and fly conservatively at first