Newbie : Choosing a camera for photography?

[BrownGuy]

I want to start photography as a hobby and want to know what kind of camera I should buy.
What kind of features should I look into ? Can I buy a good one for about 500$ ?

I want to take quality pictures as below :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/menuke/4039613178/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/menuke/4039592792/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/menuke/4016141208/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/menuke/4016140418/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/menuke/3979513043/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/menuke/3979513043/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/menuke/3940142544/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/menuke/3921956937/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/menuke/3922255980/in/photostream/
and like

http://www.flickr.com/photos/menuke/3170093762/in/set-72157612536650693/

 

[sant kabir]

To LEARN photography , compact cameras are better. With the budget you have mentioned, you can get a a high end compact camera from nikon or canon .. Check out nikonP-80, P-90, P100 these are bridge cameras, with all the in-camera settings of a dslr and with fixed lens

note: DSLR does not translates as better photo in any language.

 

[Rolex]

Novice,
I'd say Nikon d40x

But photography the camera does not make the image, the photographer does.
You could have a 3000 dollar camera but no know nothing about light panning ect ect.
and not come out with good pictures.

But whats going to cost the most is the lenses for them.

 

[Webz]

i am just starting out, and i use a cannon D30 i bought on craigslist for $140, a great deal, with a battery pack and 2 batteries/the bad is it didn't come with a lans which i bought for another $140, and then i spent another $60 on the compact flash card. it helps that my dad at one point owned a studio and has the lights and pretty much every other thing that i need, but any camera u get will basically work as long as you know or have a basic idea of what you are doing, and you may find that you will want to try other camera models and makes

 

[fhotoace]

After just seeing the first image, you are going to LOVE your first fully adjustable camera .... that is just the camera you can make those kinds of images with.

Your eye can see the well composed images and with that, you will love using a DSLR.

At present the only sub-$500 DSLR is the Nikon D40 with 18-55 mm lens at $470.

I hope to see your images soon.

Here is another site to help you enhance your skills with composition

http://photoinf.com/General/Robert_Berdan/Composition_and_the_Elements_of_Visual_Design.htm