The camera doesnt really make alot of difference, they are fairly comparable nowadays, at least the digi ones.
I have been taking pictures for so long i cant even remember it, i now do occasional snapshots with a digi camera, which hasnt got alot to do with photography. Like with playing a guitar the effort is in learning to express yourself. Photography is a multitude of media, digital but also film, like when playing trough PC versus playing trough a tube amp.
If your serious about learning about photography i can give you a couple of tips.
Read about photography a bit so you know the basic features and their effects, try to play with those, take pictures at MANUAL setting, dont let the camera do anything for you. But also try to make mental notes what you did and learn from those. Dont delete everything that seems to be less then another picture you took but study it all.
The usefull thing about digi cameras is that you can try endlessly without the hassle and cost coming with using film. Ive spend soooooo many hours in a darkroom i really felt cheated when all this digital stuff came on the market.
When practicing to focus it is usefull to have a film camera around, their viewsceens are much brighter. Especially for portraits playing with focus is essential, you can make or break a good portrait with a good feeling for focus. Do not shoot portaits from hand at first, but take your time.
For dramatic environment shots try converting in black and white and add film grain like Kodak Tri-X, or just use that in a film camera offcourse. If you want to go that extra mile, develop it yourself in rodinal, its just such a spectacular look youll love it.
Ok, that will keep you busy some time, photography is a very rewarding hobby to me, i have captured so much important and interesting moments in my life.
Good luck, Henk
