Originally posted by TER-OR Welcome aboard! I'm blocked from FLickr at work, too... Look for TER-OR
Find an inexpensive M50 and have fun with manual modes.
I've tried autofocus a handful of times. Not sure I've gotten a photo that's ever excited me from using it. I shoot entirely manual almost all the time (I'd say at least 99%). I occasionally let the camera control ISO and/or Shutter to help when I'm taking a lot of shots in changing light, but I try and avoid that. Otherwise, I have turned off most of the corrective/automatic features in the camera in an attempt to learn how to really take photographs.
I am already looking to get a 35mm camera at some point and play with that and have even started looking into Medium Format and 4x6 cameras and setups.