I've tried to get into learning the basics with my pns, and it is a new model, but I feel very limited with it and that I need better equipment to go farther. I know buying 7d doesn't make you a great photog by default, but it damn sure helps out. I'm not planning on buying a 7d but sometime later this year a canon 550d and go from there. There is only so much you can do with a pns, and I've learned that it's better to try and tweak a good picture rather than to have a shitty picture and try to make it good. You just cannot take a great picture with a pns, well actually you can but those cameras are priced in dslr range so....yeah