whatever you get, make sure it has the capability do go "fully manual." There are some cameras that are "priority" mode cameras (eg: aperture priority). If the camera has the ability to do the priority settings on top of being given the option to have full control, then that's cool, though it'll prolly cost a prettier penny. Personally dude, me thinks if you start out with a camera with a good auto mode, that you'll get stuck in a bit of a rut. I'd say go for a straight up manual camera. That way, you have no choice but to learn how to use it, and you'd be surprised how quickly you'll catch on. Also, if yer gonna do texture stuff, might be a good idea to invest in a macro lens. As for camera recommendations, well, generally, the higher the price, the higher the quality (in most cases). Me thinks that (in canadian dollars), you could get a pretty decent camera, used, for about 200-400 dollars (one that would be between 400-700 new). All you gotta do is look around. Don't buy online either for this kind of stuff. You'll wanna take a roll with you to the store, and shoot a few shots around the store (if they'll allow), just to make sure that the lens, even though it looks spotless, isn't completely fucked.