Mmmm.... young Skywalker... you have much to learn. You CAN shoot high quality photos. Instead of worrying about the camera you can't afford, you must become one with the camera that you can afford.
For day-to-day stuff, I got a Kodak Z950 digital camera that does an awful lot at a reasonable price.
But, perhaps, you should begin your journey on eBay or in your local thrift store. The word of the day is - FILM!
My Kodak Retinette 1A cost $4.00 on eBay. I have several high quality manual 35mm film cameras that cost $10 to $40 plus batteries. A few years ago, I bought a Canon Elan 7E for $150. You have lots of options. Have fun!
Understand your camera in Manual mode is the first step, understand what it does. Another helping hand is a good forum specializing in cameras. Forums: Digital Photography Review. A vast wealth of knowledge and advice and a place to post pictures for criticing and what you did wrong.
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Never argue with a stupid person, first they will pull you down to their level, then they will beat you with experience!
Gatordude, the reason i didn't start out in film is because i feel it's expensive to just play around with. You either have to get those pictures developed, or do it yourself...
Jeepman, I still haven't moved up to full manual, i do most of my stuff (on the DSLR) in aperture priority. The point and shoot i run full auto for speed...
Mark, the bees i took up there were with my point & shoot camera, not my 'expensive' DSLR. In fact, i haven't taken a decent macro shot with my big camera yet...
This is the camera i have:Amazon.com: Canon PowerShot A720IS 8MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom: Camera & Photo
(I'm dumbfounded that it's nearly double what i paid for it, and now costs what i paid for my DSLR, please look for a less expensive alternative. I paid $300 for the little camera.)
Here's some examples of what i did with a point and shoot camera:
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Otahyoni, Otah, Utah, Chris, Steve, Fred, The Amish Wolfman, and Mark's Little Buddy...
Starting on automatic mode is good. Look at the settings then start playing around with them in manual mode. In most cameras, esp. DSLR's you can create settings from Manual settings. Ex. When taking Portraits, you want bokeh in the background and a good pic in front. The only way to do that is to mess with your F setting and Shutter settings to get the balance you want.
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Never argue with a stupid person, first they will pull you down to their level, then they will beat you with experience!
I shoot with a Canon 30D. RAW mode only using Adobe Lightroom for post processing. I think RAW mode shooting vs in camera processing can bring out so much additional detail. I agree however that a camera does not make anyone a photographer. A good eye will beat out a better camera every time.