I am a fan of doing more with less. The backdrop could be a piece of $2.00 white school project board from CVS or Walgreens, curved to cover bkgnd and tabletop. You can rest your elbows on the table to avoid the expense of a tripod. Keep the camera or phone all the way zoomed out. If you need to make the image bigger, get closer. Do it near a non-sunny window, and you'll have all the nice diffused light you need. No extra equipment required!

Couldn't agree more. The cell phone is a terrific tool for many kinds of photos, but particularly images of products for sale and other "quick and dirty" material.

Novice,

For every popular digital camera, there are many online reviews which cover the features, good points, bad points, comparison with other cameras, and ease of use. Just Google the camera you're interested in as in this example: "Canon EOS Rebel T5 review." You'll get everything you could ever need to inform your buying decision. Best of luck.

I am waiting until I win the Lottery.

Couldn't agree more. I shoot for my own artistic hoohah. Rarely show my best work to anyone other than close relatives. Every so often, when I get that one gem, it gives me great joy.

No one should feel down about being "at the bottom." That's where we all started. Lots of experience and a lot of shots that you hate will steadily make you better. At some point you will get an image that will surprise you and others with it's inspiration. Then over time there will be more.

Some basic advice given me along the way by some great photographers:
> Look at all four corners of your image just before you shoot. Do you have everything you want, with no extra sky, earth, or other junk?
> Is the composition compelling? Sometimes a small adjustment can make a big difference. > Get a tripod, and use it when needed.
> If no tripod, is your shutter speed set high enough to avoid motion blur from camera shake, especially if you are zoomed in? If you can't use a higher shutter speed, there are a few "tricks" to avoid camera shake: brace the back or side of your body against a solid object like a wall, and pull the camera into your face so your head steadies it. Pull your elbows into your sides and lock your forearms to add even more stability. You are now the human tripod. I have successfully shot with this technique as low as 1/4 second.
> For portraits, get in close; avoid distracting elements. Watch out for what may be going on in the background.
> Try out the "rule of thirds," until you're ready to break it, as we all do.

There is a ton of material online about every phase of photography. Take advantage of it. FYI, I shoot with a relatively rare early 2000s vintage Kodak "DSLR," 8mp with a fantastic but non-interchangeable Zeiss zoom lens. They were only made for a short time, and I have two of them. I also use telephoto, wide angle, and fisheye front-end lens adapters, which I'm sure would be frowned upon by many photographers here. They work for me.

As the old joke goes, a tourist in New York City looking for directions goes up to an old man born and raised in Manhattan and asks,"Can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?" The old man replies,"Practice, my boy, practice!"

Best of luck. Keep at it!

It's hard for many of us to give up the advantages we had in the film era. Nonetheless, in the digital era, as before, it's obviously about the camera AND the lens. Trying to score one over the other is literally unbalanced.

I am envious that you are able to use your old film lenses on your camera. I have a half dozen great quality fast Minolta fixed and zoom lenses I would love to use. I keep them around with two bodies and countless accessories for old time's sake. (I think the whole system would be worth about $1.50 on ebay now.)

I shot film for over 60 years. Now (as always) it's all about maximizing the quality of whatever I have to work with. I find that my eye for composition is more important than the camera OR the lens. I have blown up images from my 8 megapixel camera up to 24x36, and they look excellent. I also shot my best image of the year with my 8 mp iPhone 5s.

In addition to my DSLR and phone, I still use the Diana, a film camera that most photographers would consider the poster child for objectively awful quality. If you don't know about the Diana, here's the whole story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_(camera) .

If you're interested, you can also Google "Diana toy camera," and find examples of what can be done with an all-plastic camera and lens, a marginally useful viewfinder, light leaks, and unpredictably soft focus (every camera is different).

As an example of how cheesy the Diana materials are, I once left one on the dashboard of my car in the summer (really bad idea). When I returned it was a puddle. I now have six vintage (ca. 1970) Diana's, because they're getting harder to find and are considered to be unrepairable.

Regardless of whether you use a Brownie Hawkeye, an 8x10 view camera, or a 54mp digital colossus, I wish you all the best in the pursuit of images that make you proud.