A good camera for an amateur?

What is a good camera for an amateur photographer?

• I have never owned any sort of fancy camera, and I don't much about them concerning lenses or brands or even basic camera types, but I would like a sort of professional camera for high quality pictures. I'm thinking a non-digital camera, but I suppose digital would be fine. Anyway, I'd appreciate any help. Thanks for your help!

• Answer:

  First - you really don't want to buy a film camera nowadays... The camera is cheap, but buying and developing the film (although the darkroom is something magical that first made me fall in love with photography) becomes really, really expensive. Honestly, I started shooting with disposable cameras. My teachers always said you have to learn how to compose pictures without camera help before moving up in equipment quality. Having a higher quality camera won't help if you don't learn the basics first. That said, the very first SLR camera I got was the Nikon D40x, which I liked. I would steer clear of Panasonic cameras... I don't know, I just don't like them. Also, it's important to try the cameras out before you buy them to make sure they fit comfortably in your hand. A friend of mine spent over $1000 just on the body of his camera and ended up returning it because it was uncomfortable to hold. Last but not least, if your computer doesn't have a substantial amount of memory, unloading photos from cameras with higher MP can become kind of a nuisance.