Tough choice, I know.
I'm going to go with the $30 camera, even though it came in a cardboard box labelled 'toy camera'. Why? Because old school, lofi film cameras are cool. Film cameras are what digital are based on - the photo proportions, the ISO, the film speed, the white balance... everything is based on what film does. And the 'accidents' created by film - accidental overexposure, yellowing due to age, light leaks, all of these fantastic effects are what is copied now by digital cameras. Your hipstamatic app is just a pale imitation of the beautiful, unique images you can get on a film camera. And the best thing about film? Every shot is unique. You can't recreate it. And if you develop it in a darkroom (I know, I'm getting really old school here), every print you make is a one-off.
Now that's what I call creative.
