Far better to be the observer, than the observed.....
Pics taken prior to 2009 were done with a very inexpensive Kodak P&S, or on 35mm which has been digitized. I got some great pics from that little Kodak, once I learnt how to tweak all the settings to get what I want.
For 2009 I upgraded to a Canon Rebel XT - a known, reliable workhorse. I shoot in RAW pretty much 100% of the time. Everything is done with the 18-55 kit lens, until I figure out what else I want to do with it, and how much money I want to spend!
Enjoy!