I, too, really admire the quality of DSLR photos, and I, too, kind of wish I had one. However, since I didn't have the money to invest in a good camera (or rather, I had other plans for that money), nor did I really have the time to learn out to use an DSLR (which I'm pretty sure is very important), I compromised.
I have this little baby, the Canon SX100 IS. It costs around $200 - $250 dollars, and it gets better pictures than my friends' point-and-shoot cameras (Exhibit A: my facebook albums), but it's still small enough to go anywhere. I'm actually really satisfied with it. It wasn't as expensive, it didn't take that long to learn to use, and it + Picasa = good pictures (well, good enough for me!).
Also, as far as having a DSLR, there is one thing you must watch out for! :D And that is this: I have one friend in particular who takes amazing pictures. They are wonderful quality and beautifully composed, but sometimes she gets so obsessed with getting the right picture or having a picture of everything that she kind of gets in the way of normal people having normal fun. I have lots of friends with DSLRs who aren't like this, but I'm just warning you. ;) For instance, this particular friend will ask for a "group shot" at some activity or function and then proceed to take 5 - 10 minutes to set everything up just perfectly and test the lighting, etc.. So don't be like that! :D
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I have this little baby, the Canon SX100 IS. It costs around $200 - $250 dollars, and it gets better pictures than my friends' point-and-shoot cameras (Exhibit A: my facebook albums), but it's still small enough to go anywhere. I'm actually really satisfied with it. It wasn't as expensive, it didn't take that long to learn to use, and it + Picasa = good pictures (well, good enough for me!).
Also, as far as having a DSLR, there is one thing you must watch out for! :D And that is this: I have one friend in particular who takes amazing pictures. They are wonderful quality and beautifully composed, but sometimes she gets so obsessed with getting the right picture or having a picture of everything that she kind of gets in the way of normal people having normal fun. I have lots of friends with DSLRs who aren't like this, but I'm just warning you. ;) For instance, this particular friend will ask for a "group shot" at some activity or function and then proceed to take 5 - 10 minutes to set everything up just perfectly and test the lighting, etc.. So don't be like that! :D