Looking to upgrade

[Pup Shepard]

I am an armature photographer.  Recently one of the dials on my Fuji Finepix S9000 stopped working.  I can no longer change aperture or exposure.  I have to take pictures in program mode to get quality pictures now.

 

I love this as my first higher quality camera; but, now I want to take my photography seriously rather than as a passing hobby.  A big downside is I am in college and working.  I only get to save maybe $50 a month.  I am looking for a replacement camera that offers better quality but may not be professional grade quality at this time.  I use all the features of this camera to get natural effects rather than adding them in in post.

 

I really love photography and I have no experience shopping for cameras.

  Please help.

[Scruffy90]

Whats your budget?

Are you ok with getting a compact or another super zoom?

[Pup Shepard]

I love having a large optical zoom for depth effects as well as detailed panoramas; however, if the pixel count is quite high I may be able to get away with a smaller lens.  Such as a 40mp+ camera.  A big issue I have with this camera is its high level of grain even in ideal light conditions.

[Dw136]

My recommendation is buying used. A lot of the entry level cameras are hardly used, most either are shot one then forgotten about or babied their entire lives. My tip is to look in the local classifieds and see what comes up. For pricing try to find ebay listing for the same camera (Or used department of BandH or Adorama) and then offer 10-33% below internet price (Depending on how aggressive you want to be).

 

Another place is local community garage sales. Just be willing to walk away and always do your research. Pick it up, look at it, check it over, say you'll be back, google all the info/pricing, come back and haggle if you want it. Just be willing to walk away if the price is too high.  

[Pup Shepard]

Thank you

[Silvercall]

If your buying used, take a look at keh.com or craigslist too. I've bought several things from keh (and B&H and Adorama) and have had great experiences.

A budget would help with recommendations.