>>3009730You don't have to spend 1K to start.
I might not be the best example, keep in mind I started alone, I mean back then I didn't even have internet at home or anybody to give me advices, but I started with a 250€ Sony H50.
By today's standards starting with a bridge might be a bad idea, but back then it allowed me to try a bit of everything without any additional cost. Sure ISO performance was awful, the glass was bad and had very bad chromatic aberations at all aperture and focal length, but I managed to do some macro (like pic related), street, event, wildlife and nature, landscape, light painting, night time long exposures, all with a single body/lens.
When I got tired of this camera I knew what I like to do, what I hate, and what I really sucked at, and I was much more confident in spending more.
I kept the H50 for 3 years, but while having nobody to share anything with was kind of hard at moments, I think it also helped to have no one to compare myself with. These days you can't help but drool on other people's hardware and skill, and I understand it can be intimidating.
