It depends on how much time you want to invest in photogrphy. A small automatic insures that your pictures will be fine. With a camera lke the Nicon or Canon professional you have control of what the camera does, but it takes a lot of study and time to learn how to control it for the special effects you want. You can set any camera, though, to operate just like the point and shoot cameras. If that is what you want, why pay the extra bucks. If you read the manual of the camera you choose you will learn what is required of you to operate for what effects, and help you determine if you want to pay extra for them. You can llook at the manuals for most cameras on the net.[music;835624]Hi! I want to buy a camera, any tips on this? If I buy a "good model" wouldn't it "improve" the quality of the pictures if you compare it to a "small automatic" camera?