ok so ive been watching youtube videos about drones for like the past month and i keep going back and forth on what to actually buy. my budget is somewhere around 300-400 dollars maybe a little more if its worth it. i dont really know what im doing yet and honestly the main thing i want to do is just fly around outside, maybe get some decent video but im not trying to be a filmmaker or anything. every thread i find is either super old or people arguing about stuff i dont understand yet. do i just get a mini or is there something better for learning that i wont completely destroy in the first week

honestly the DJI Mini 4 is probably where id point you but if budget is a real concern the Mini 2 SE still does the job and you can find it cheaper. the thing people dont tell you is that a lot of learning is just logging flight time and getting comfortable with orientation, so starting with something that has decent obstacle avoidance helps a ton. i started on a cheap no-name quad and honestly it just frustrated me more than anything. spent more time repairing it than flying

also just make sure you look up your local airspace rules before you go out. not trying to be the fun police but getting flagged by someone on your first flight is a mood killer

im basically in the same boat as you lol, i ended up going with a Mini 2 SE a couple months ago and its been pretty good. dropped it once in some grass and it was fine. the video is not like cinematic or whatever but its way better than i expected for the price. one thing though the controller took me a bit to get used to, like the stick sensitivity felt weird at first but you can adjust it in the app i think