Before digital cameras, my interest in photography was purely snapshots and other memories. Developing in a darkroom was only a interesting in a “so that’s how they do it” way, never in a “I want to do that” way. Additionally, the initial set-up was way to cost prohibitive. Heck, even dropping a roll of film off at the drugstore was cost prohibitive for me. So I never took a direct interest in photography.
Even with my first digital camera (a super cheap Vivtar) I was only interested in taking pictures of memories. Normal, low-budget, low-quality snapshots. Nothing to write home about, but good enough to capture my oldest child’s first steps.
It was in approx. 1999 or maybe 2000 that I bought my first serious camera. It was a Sony CyberShot DSC-S70 3.3MP. It had manual override for most settings. I LOVED playing with the settings, doing long-exposures, macros, B/W, and other more artsy styles of photography.
After that camera I was spoiled! But 3.3MP just weren’t enough anymore, I wanted more!
I got an HP camera free with my printer. It sucked. I still used the Sony much more often. The images were more crisp for one. The manual overrides were better. Nothing could top my Sony.
Then it died.
I knew that if I were to go camera shopping to replace my Sony, I’d either spend more money than we had, or else I’d end up with a camera I didn’t really want, let alone love. So I let my wife do the shopping. She knew our budget far better than I did, and she knew a bit about cameras. I knew she wanted a DSLR, she had wanted one since her old Canon [film] SLR had died years before. I knew she’d spend the money that I wouldn’t, without leaving us destitute. I knew she’d get a camera that I wanted, without going overboard.
So we got our Canon EOS Rebel XS. I fell in love with photography all over again. Even as a complete amateur, I shoot in full manual and RAW format.
I did buy a point and shoot Pentax Optio something, but I never use it. I ended up giving it to my eldest daughter. She loves shooting random things. The composition and angles she manages are frequently fantastic.
EDIT 2026:
Eventually, I got tired of the Rebel XS. The images were too small, the ISO too low. I wanted to upgrade. I bought myself the Canon EOS Rebel T6i (after doing much soul searching, price comparisons, feature comparisons, and research.) The T7 was already out. But the T6i just offered more at a better price point. The T5 was too close to being (for me, at the time) obsolete.
A couple years ago, it was time to retire that one, and I bought the Canon EOS R50 to move into the mirrorless world.
However, shortly after buying the R50 (which I absolutely love, as an aside) I realized that I wasn’t really upgrading with any of these purchases. I was staying on a crop-sensor, beginner’s camera. My photography skill had evolved but my camera hadn’t.
Sure, each one was a definitive upgrade over the previous, each of them had been better than the last, but they’re all still just entry-level hobbyist cameras. I wanted a “real” camera.
So I did my budgeting. I did my research, much in the way I did with the T6i. And, shortly after the Canon EOS R6 Mark III dropped, I picked it up. I could have gone with an R5 Mark II, I could have gone with the R6 Mark II, but for what I wanted from the camera, and for the price point, the R6 Mark III was my best choice.
That is what I shoot with today. I no longer shoot exclusively manual mode. (It was very pretentious of me to drop that in there back in 2011.) I primarily shoot in aperture priority mode these days. Sometimes, when the setting calls for it, I will shoot in shutter priority or full manual. But aperture priority gives me control where I want it and lets the camera deal with everything else.
It is very important and I still encourage new photographers to learn manual mode. But don’t get stuck there. Once you’ve learned manual mode, you will understand which priority best suits the photograph you’re trying to capture. Then you can concentrate your efforts on dialing in the correct priority setting and simply allow the camera to adjust from there. It frees you up to take pictures faster, focus on your composition, and to just take the picture.
Now, I will add the caveat that using limiters on the other two points of your light triangle will help rein in something even more specific to what you want. For example, I cap my ISO out at a number that is low enough to produce minimal digital noise/grain, but high enough to work in most low light settings. I also watch my shutter speed. If the aperture that I want (and the ISO that I have selected as my maximum) does not enough light to capture what I want, and I see that shutter speed becomes slower than something I’m comfortable holding, I can switch to a tripod and remote shooting, or I can change my thought processes about the picture, or I can introduce more light or whatever. So I do still pay attention to what the camera is choosing for me, but I don’t have to be so focused on knowing each piece and adjusting each piece unless the situation calls for it. But there are times where I will go full manual so that I can get exactly the image that I have in my mind.
I recently sold the T6i to one of my kids, but I still have the XS sitting around collecting dust.