I don't like the look of "retro camera". A great camera is a must-have also.
And yes $500 is too much.
And yes $500 is too much.
And these days a great camera isn't desirable anyway, if you go to a party now everyone is taking photos with keychain cameras like the kodak charmera or instant cameras like the fujifilm instax. These have atrocious image quality, but people like that more than modern processed iphone photos.