What is your opinion of the Canon Powershot SX500 IS for a beginner photographer? - 1

I want a Nikon D3200, and was saving up for it, but I got the Canon Powershot SX500 IS for Christmas. I'm a beginning photographer who wants to fine-tune her skills. The camera doesn't take bad pictures (I spent yesterday trying it out), they're actually pretty crisp and I like them. However, the camera isn't a DSLR like I had wanted. Does that matter?

This camera has a single (non interchangeable) lens, which will be of slightly lesser quality than a DSLR lens, but will it be lighter & mean that you don't have to carry lenses around with you.

It will have a smaller sensor than a DSLR which will make image quality worse than a DSLR in low light. It also can't shoot raw file format. It has no viewfinder & no hotshoe either.

On the plus side it dos have manual control of exposure, so as a beginner, you can start to learn the basics of exposure & you can learn compositional skills too.

It will do fine for starters - you can continue to save for a DSLR if that's what you want & in a couple of years time, if this camera is holding you back photographically, you will be in a position to invest in a DSLR.