It all depends on how "serious" you want to get. If you plan on doing photography for freelance or billboard design you will need a high amount of megapix, and a high grade SLR/DSLR camera. I have a Panasonic F27z which is a step down from SLR and a year or two old, but it works lovely. I think there is the F28z out now. Good zoom at 12x and 6 mp for the 27z. Probably available for 200-300 dollars.