hmmm..... Rork, I think you're being a bit severe there by saying NEVER get a digital camera to start with; I haven't touched a film camera properly in my life, but have saved a massive fortune in film and developing costs by learning how to take photographs, composition, lighting etc from my digital. Now that I'm going on to film I'm gonna be able to asses what I'm taking, know the shot itself is ok and be able to spot what is wrong with my pictures quicker than than wondering if it was me or the settings...and saved myself money into the bargain. I'm now learning about combining aperture, exposure etc. without wasting a minimum of 7 per film...(cheap film + developing - developing yourself while learning would REALLY screw me up, coz you can't get it all right first time so you'd never know where your mistakes are....in the camera side or developing side.) Even paying the over 500 for my digital, it has already saved me over 300 in developing costs in 4 months - and that's just the pictures I've kept!!! imo, digital is a brilliant learning tool......not to say film isn't... (",)