so my nephew got a little toy drone for christmas and i flew it around for like 20 minutes and now im completely hooked. been watching youtube videos for the past week and honestly its just making me more confused about what to actually buy. everyone keeps recommending different things and half the time i dont even know what they're talking about.

im not trying to do anything crazy, maybe take some videos of my backyard or bring it on hikes. budget is probably somewhere around 300 dollars, maybe a little more if it's worth it. do i just get one of those DJI minis? or is that too much for a first drone? genuinely have no idea where to start here

honestly the Mini 2 SE or the Mini 3 if you can stretch the budget a bit are probably the most recommended first drones for exactly what you're describing. the 249g weight thing matters more than people realize when youre starting out because you skip a lot of the registration headaches depending on where you live. ive seen so many beginners buy something cheaper thinking theyll "learn on it" and then just get frustrated because the camera is garbage or the wind stability is terrible and they quit before they actually get good.

that said if 300 is genuinely your hard limit the Mini 2 SE can sometimes be found on sale or refurbished and its still a really capable little machine. don't let anyone talk you into those cheap Amazon drones, you'll regret it within a week

i was in the same spot like 8 months ago lol. ended up getting the mini 3 and it was a lot to take in at first but im really glad i didnt go cheaper. the obstacle avoidance on the pro version is nice but tbh i went without it to save money and its been fine, just fly slower until you get comfortable. hiking shots with it are actually incredible