My buddy got me into this and the best thing he did was let me try his stuff before I bought anything. See if you have a friend who's already into it, or check if there's a local club. Hands-on beats reading reviews any day.

Whatever you pick, the most important thing is that you actually enjoy it. There's no point owning the 'best' gear if you never use it. I've seen people get so caught up in specs that they forget to have fun with the hobby.

Check out dedicated forums and message boards for this topic. The communities are usually very welcoming to newcomers and can give much more detailed advice than a general Q&A site. Plus they have buyer's guides and FAQ sections.

Honestly just dive in. You learn this stuff by doing it, not by researching it forever. I spent months reading about getting started instead of actually starting. Looking back I wasted a lot of time being scared to begin.