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08/10/2004 09:14:46 PM · #1 |
| My 16 year old cousin has expressed an interest in photography. She has recently dropped out of high school but wants to take up study in photography. So, can anyone recommend a cheapish camera for her to get started out on. I have had Canon SLR's all my life and don't think she can afford that type of camera just yet. Any help would be appreciated. |
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08/10/2004 09:16:55 PM · #2 |
Before you recommend that she pick up any camera...recommend that she get her rear end back in school. Somewhere. GED. Online. SOMETHING! She could be the greatest photog in the world, but she will need a high school diploma to even come anywhere near financing her habit once the photography addiction kicks in. Run, do not walk, to her nearest guidance counselor and/or alternative school program. Now. Today. Do not wait. ;o)
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08/10/2004 09:24:18 PM · #3 |
Tell her if she stays in school you'll buy her a camera for her graduation.
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08/10/2004 09:28:28 PM · #4 |
| I would kick her butt if I lived closer to her. She is on one side of the state and I am on the other - about 1200 kms. This was her graduating year too and she dropped out (with my Uncle's ok to do so) only months before Grad and wonders why she can't get a job. Anyway, any camera suggestions?? |
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08/10/2004 09:30:08 PM · #5 |
| Digital or film? What kind of price range? |
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08/10/2004 09:36:55 PM · #6 |
| Digital. I just want to recommend something to get her going with photography. Not an SLR - something cheaper that will get her hooked. |
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08/10/2004 09:41:08 PM · #7 |
| I bought mine for $250 at Costco. Can probally find it cheaper online too. So far I'm very happy with it. Full manual controls, plus the ability to add lenses and filters. Only thing I don't like is the biggest Memory card I can buy is 128mb. I would recomend it for sure. |
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08/10/2004 09:42:20 PM · #8 |
| My mother uses a Fujifilm FinePix A210 that she picked up nearly half a year ago for under $140 US. Memory card included. So far she's been happy with it. Picture quality is not bad either. Especially considering the price. |
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08/10/2004 09:46:36 PM · #9 |
You want full manual operation at least. It is best to understand light, and how it travels through a camera first.
try community colleges, with b&w film. |
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08/10/2004 09:48:48 PM · #10 |
if she plans to take up study in photography, wouldn't an slr make more sense? seems most places that teach photography still use film slr's to teach the basics of shooting and developing. it'd be a lot cheaper to get started too, especially if you get a fully manual rig. seems you can get a manual body with manual lenses for < $250. then when she can afford it, she can get a digital body and keep using the manual lenses (at least wiht nikon), and then eventually get more expensive lenses.
if no on the slr, the sony 727 or 828 have the focus ring which just makes it "feel" more like photography, but they're over $500, i think. |
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08/10/2004 09:51:38 PM · #11 |
| Good point "feetstink". I may suggest to her that she gets a manual SLR to play with first and get the basics down pat before she goes digital. Thanks for your input. |
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08/10/2004 09:53:33 PM · #12 |
[quote=feetstink] totally off topic, but i couldn't resist. going by your user name, you don't seem very fond of feet :).. would you have participated in "Feet" :D?
as to a camera, i use a canon powershot G2, and i believe you could find one of the older G's for 400$ or so.
check out //www.dpreview.com for a very thorough study of camera options along with prices.. |
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08/10/2004 09:57:34 PM · #13 |
*** *** ***
Get a Pentax Asahi SpotmaticII, with a 55mm lens (was the 'standard' lens back in the 70's.)
*** *** ***
Check ebay. They will be cheap as. You'll never look back with this camera. Don't bother with ANY other lenses. Henri Cartier Bresson (?) went around only shooting with a single focal length his whole life. |
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08/10/2004 10:05:29 PM · #14 |
Canon PowerShot S1 IS- full manual controls, image stabilization and a great zoom range for $338 shipped. Film DSLRs may be cheaper to start with, but you'll quickly make up the difference and more with film costs.
Forget the camera and buy her a mirror. What she sees in there is the most essential piece of photo equipment available, and her diploma is the first specification an employer will look for. |
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08/10/2004 10:14:14 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by scalvert:
Forget the camera and buy her a mirror. What she sees in there is the most essential piece of photo equipment available, and her diploma is the first specification an employer will look for. |
I know I know. My poor husband has gotten sick and tired of my ranting about her dropping out. She did it about 2 months ago and I still can't believe it. Her brother is going to Uni on a football scholarship and she drops out? What is she thinking??? |
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08/10/2004 10:19:40 PM · #16 |
| Buy her a camera with the most complicated instruction manual available. When she gets frustrated trying to understand it, ship her butt back to school. |
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08/10/2004 10:48:49 PM · #17 |
| Buy her the book "Nickled and Dimed" (I think that's the name)and a camera. Make her read the book to get the camera! It's a sad road to have to travel for one error in judgement. |
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08/10/2004 10:48:57 PM · #18 |
Originally posted by wimbello:
*** *** ***
Get a Pentax Asahi SpotmaticII, with a 55mm lens (was the 'standard' lens back in the 70's.)
*** *** ***
Check ebay. They will be cheap as. You'll never look back with this camera. Don't bother with ANY other lenses. Henri Cartier Bresson (?) went around only shooting with a single focal length his whole life. |
Or a Pentax K1000. There are also quite a few Canon AE-1 and A-1 cameras available for reasonable prices and the FD lenses for them are cheap too...
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08/10/2004 11:11:58 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by pcody:
Buy her the book "Nickled and Dimed" (I think that's the name)and a camera. Make her read the book to get the camera! It's a sad road to have to travel for one error in judgement. |
BOOYA, thats it! Brilliant suggestion.This book will let her know what she can expect living on minimum wage, a very powerfull read. Make her read the book and say when she is done with it you promise get her the Pentax (I still have a spotmatic and a k1000 somewhere). If she sees the light offer her the digital upon graduation, or GED minimum. |
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08/10/2004 11:13:43 PM · #20 |
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
Or a Pentax K1000. There are also quite a few Canon AE-1 and A-1 cameras available for reasonable prices and the FD lenses for them are cheap too... |
I'm glad you agree, but i think a novice photographer would get distracted by the automatic features of a camera like the Canon AE-1.
If I had auto anything on the first camera I used, then I wouldn't have understood things as much, seeing as full-manual forces you to.
I'm only 20, so I didn't buy this camera when it came out mid 70's (duh), but I am really glad my dad did. It is so easy to understand and use after a few hours practice.
Even if she uses colour film and gets them developed at a mini-lab, she'll be better off.
You don't need more than one lens, either. When she can pay her own way, she'll want to get a whiz-bang flash-lookin' bank-breaker like a DSLR. Then she can have more lenses, zoom, auto features.
The best part of this camera though, is the light meter needle. You just have to flick between aperture/shutter speed to get the needle horizontal. Then click.
hmmm... What I want, is the SpotmaticII, with a full-frame digital back. (salivating...)
EDIT: SPELLING, and BrennanOB, HOW GOOD IS THE SPOTMATIC!?!?!?!!! Love it.
Message edited by author 2004-08-10 23:16:01. |
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08/10/2004 11:24:55 PM · #21 |
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08/10/2004 11:27:11 PM · #22 |
Originally posted by arpita:
totally off topic, but i couldn't resist. going by your user name, you don't seem very fond of feet :).. would you have participated in "Feet" :D? |
not a member yet, so i haven't participated in "Feet". :) i actually have no sincere aversion to, nor an attraction to, feet. it's just a name i've been using for years because i couldn't think of a nick that wasn't already taken on yahoo. i just like the sound of the words feetstink together... |
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08/10/2004 11:29:52 PM · #23 |
| If she has never had a camera before, a SLR, either film or digital, is not the place to start. The complexity may drive her away from photography. The Canon S1 IS would be a much better choice as a first camera. |
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08/10/2004 11:48:29 PM · #24 |
Originally posted by coolhar:
If she has never had a camera before, a SLR, either film or digital, is not the place to start. The complexity may drive her away from photography. The Canon S1 IS would be a much better choice as a first camera. |
I passionately disagree. A Pentax SpotmaticII is so much simpler than any compact digital. It was the first camera I ever picked up, at the age of 14.
Why are you recommending this camera? (as compared to old slr's/dslr's/other compacts) |
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08/11/2004 12:29:55 AM · #25 |
Originally posted by wimbello:
I passionately disagree. A Pentax SpotmaticII is so much simpler than any compact digital. It was the first camera I ever picked up, at the age of 14.
Why are you recommending this camera? (as compared to old slr's/dslr's/other compacts) |
I think a teenager wants a new, modern camera. Isn't that what the Spotmatic was for you when you were 14?
In the digital era instant gratification and ability to achieve quality results are much more likely to get the young non-photographer hooked; and to give her the positive reinforcement to keep her interested. I mentioned the S1 IS because, IMHO, it is a good choice for a beginner who hopes to become a serious photographer, and also because it was mentioned earlier in this thread. It will teach her about aperture and shutter speed etc. as well as the Spotmatic. A teenager starting out in photography today doesn't want to wait for negatives to come back from the lab and will never need knowledge of the traditional darkroom. |
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