so ive been watching fpv content for like 6 months and finally decided to pull the trigger on actually buying something. my budget is around $300-350 for the whole thing including goggles if thats even realistic lol. everyone i watch seems to be flying either dji stuff or some random tiny whoop and i cant figure out if the dji tax is actually worth it for a first build or if i should just grab something like a happymodel crux35 or mobula and learn on that first.

the thing is i dont really want to spend $600+ on the o3 system right away if im gonna crash it into a tree in the first week which lets be honest i probably will. but i also dont want to buy something i hate and end up quitting. anyone been through this decision recently? what would you actually do if you were starting over

honestly for $300-350 you're not touching dji with anything decent, not realistically. what i'd do is grab a mobula6 or similar tiny whoop for like $80-100, throw it on a decent analog setup like a fatshark recon or even just a cheap eachine, and you've still got money left for batteries and a charger. fly that thing indoors for a month and if you still love it then you can make a more informed decision about whether you want to go dji or stick analog for outdoor stuff.

the happymodel stuff is genuinely fine for learning, people act like you need dji to enjoy fpv and thats just not true. analog has issues but its also way more forgiving on the wallet when you crash, and you will crash a lot at first. once you know you're serious then talk yourself into the o3 system or whatever's current by then.

i went through almost this exact thing like 8 months ago and ended up getting the crux35 analog version. still flying it, havent quit, its a great little quad. the video quality isnt amazing compared to what you see in youtube videos but honestly when youre actually flying you dont really notice as much as you'd think. get a betafpv literadio 3 or a radiomaster zorro and youre good to go for a while without breaking the bank