How much control do you want over your camera
The only reason for a more expensive camera is more control
Considering how good electronics has become recently, it is strange to see that some people want to carry around a 1kg camera instead of using their cellphones.
By far the majority of people want to just whip out their equipment and quickly take a picture. They want that it is crisp, captures what they see and they do not miss those special moments that come and go very quickly. And most of the equipment you can buy will be able to let you do it without problems.
Almost all expensive DSLR cameras will have P shooting mode that will take care of most settings automatically. But this is not why you buy these cameras, since when you use them this way, they are not really that much better than their cheaper options.
The higher up you go in the camera chain, the more flexibility and control you have over the photographic process. In most cases this does not mean your pictures will be better. Especially in the beginning, you will most probably end up worse than the fully automatic modes. After all you will have to learn how the settings come together and effect the end result.
Notice that, most settings you can adjust in a camera will be somehow accessible in even cheaper and simpler models. The difference is that, it will be more indirect, sometimes hidden through layer of menus, whereas more involved cameras will have several dials and buttons that in combination will allow you to make several adjustments on the fly.
If you are an amateur photographer the goal is to have fun. Your end product is actually a combination of many things, environment, camera, lenses, the processing and in the end also the media you use to display it. There is absolutely no reason why you should favor one of these more than the others. Some people have more fun with processing some want to manipulate the environment to get a similar effect, and others just love to experiment with their camera. This is all individual. If you want to experiment more with the camera having a proper camera that gives you many opportunities is the way to go. but if your interest is in processing and you need a simple way to get the pictures, a more basic camera or even a cellphones will be all you need.
These pages are for Amateur Photographers and not really for seasoned photographers and professionals. I have no affiliation or commercial interest with any brand/make. I write from my own experience. I ended up using mainly Nikon, so I am more familiar with this brand than others. See price for notes on pricing as well as photography related links.