I started on dial Calipers too, so Like someone else mentioned I have a good set of those for the more critical measurements. For everyday quick measurements I just use the cheap electronic ones. I keep several around so that I can lock one in, save a diameter, then another that I can save the depth with, etc.
They had the Pittsburgh's on sale a month or so back at harbor freights, so I bought several extra pairs, but the quality was disappointing. They were dirty and gritty feeling right out of the box.
Several years back I bought a cheap pair on Ebay like the one's in this picture, and they were alright to Me, fairly smooth, but They didn't always zero in perfect without a little persuasion, although I could handle that with the right amount of steady pressure, and not too bad but they could be a little bit of a battery hog, they were ok, and smooth feeling. At least they were much better then the ones I recently bought. If I were to buy more cheap sets, that's probably the ones I would look for, but possibly there are better cheap sets out there.