All the above!
Decades ago I was excited to become a pilot, until the cost of airplane rental/ownership in the cold light of my income set me straight. So I got into hang gliders, then I met a mountain in Utah. All that broke was my leading edge and reckless spirit. Never go flying in the mountains when you live in the flat lands!
I got married and had other thoughts until my wife passed away and I'm left to recreate my life as a bachelor again (no kids). Motorcycles were easy, bug the flying bug bit me again hard when I saw videos from rcexplorer.se. Been building one ever since but haven't gotten around to finishing it, as each time I set down to it, I see the tech has advanced. I liked the DJI Phantom, but it was beyond my budget.
My finances have improved, and I'm getting a really nice tax return so thought about FPV gear. Then a colleague tells me he bought a Phantom 3 on Amazon for ~$500! Huh? I just had to go look, and got quickly hooked on the idea of a
P4P, and was about to click on the buy button, when I figured I should see what else they have since it's advanced so much in the last 6 years.
Da ta Dah! Mavic!!! Holeeeee, I can carry that on my motorcycle and get some great shots up on Lake Superior like I've always wanted! It's $500 less than the
P4P so any extras would already be 'paid for' sort of. The fact that many Phantom pilots haven't flown their Phantoms since getting the Mavic was telling. The fact that the videos shared by Mavic pilots just blew me away, and that it's so sophisticated even a rank beginner stands a chance of flying it safely while learning, pretty well clenched it.
Been flying for only a week and I'm already feeling like a sky junky. Is that possible? Chores at home are stacking up while I look at Google Earth for nice places to fly. Yesterday I called the local airports to let them know I'd be flying in my yard, and that was surprisingly easy! They appreciated the heads up, when I feared objections. It just gets better as I learn.
So my expensive toy is more like a lifelong dream fulfilled, and as I compile more "footage" (archaic term from when actual film was used in movie cameras that came in 25' rolls, required a dark room to flip it over to use the second half even, then weeks of waiting for the processor to return your flim to see if you did it right...) I'll be brushing up on editing tools long forgotten.
As all these facets grow to fill and fulfill my life, it will become more of a lifestyle and less a hobby toy. It's all for the joy of living in this beautiful world we occupy.