Quote Originally Posted by 87 Turbo II View Post
Go with a higher end point and shoot just to get started. There are some nice ones out there with 10X optical zoom, image stabilization, and manual settings. (don't pay the premium for megapixels, 8 to 10MP will be fine, everyhting else is just inflating the price unless you're printing LARGE prints from the P&S which is incredibly unlikely) Use that as a tool to learn manual settings like shutter speed, aperture, and what they do and how they effect the shot. If you decide that learning the manual stuff isn't as fun as you thought after the first year or 2 (a lot pf people do) then you've still got a nice point and shoot you can throw in a bag, bring to a party and pull it out to use on full auto (having a heavy DSLR around your neck at a party is a good way to get avoided a lot by people, and it's intimidating, so casual hanging out with friends memories won't get captured). Then, if you DO like where the photography passion is taking you, you can sell the P&S and get a DSLR, or keep the point and shoot as the casual snapshotter, then move your manual usage over to a DSLR.



Same reason why I bought my Canon. I'll look into a DSLR later when I'm better at taking pics.