Entry level DSLR camera

BOBS

pinky pants - thanks for info - whatever she gets in package will hv to be it
so maybe dslr not the way to go
echolocation - price is a big factor - and her current powershot has bag, strap the lot and she has still dropped it!!
withabix - thought looked decent - but if she then needs more lens etc might still be too expensive.

Would she be able to cope with a DSLR - maybe too big a step from her powershot and maybe should go for the bridge camera.

Pinkypants

She'll cope with a DSLR no problem as long as she learns what it can do.

There are many semi automatic modes as such on a DSLR, that it can be as simple to use as a point and shoot. But they can produce some very good results.

It will have a fully automatic mode as well but then it's only going to be a little better then a point and shoot.

BOBS

pinkypants she prob more clued in than me I expect. Think she will be keen to learn everything it can do. She has just taken some fab photos on hols - esp some b&w ones, she seems to change her camera to different modes to get different effects..... Mind you she took almost 2000 pics in 2 weeks .... eek!!

Enterprise_1701C

You say whatever she gets in the package will have to be it, but if you get a good DSLR then you can get new lenses at any time.

I love my DSLR. A lot of the time I do have it on automatic, but when I want something different it is easy enough to set up. I've got the Nikon D40 by the way (now discontinued) and it is fabulous, the main advantage I find is the speed.

From what you have said she tends to drop the camera. I have a Lowepro slingshot bag and it is very good. Have to admit to it having met the ground a few times, once off the back of a landrover on a safari in Kenya, and it has allowed my camera to survive in tact!

daveyjp

If she is serious look at what corners have been cut to get it to £300 and consider a second hand body which may be slightly older, but will be better made, metal body for instance, handy if she drops it!

A bridge camera would offer no more than a DSLR and whilst they have many manual functions if they aren't user friendly changing settings quickly can prove impossible.

fwor

BOBS - if she drops a third of a kilo of DSLR onto a hard surface she will be very lucky if it works afterwards.

As others have said above, getting the most out of a DSLR is about using the right lens for the occasion, and I'm not sure it's reasonable to expect a 13 year old to be swapping lenses about (without dropping them!).

I'd go with either a bridge - some of which look almost identical to a DSLR - or sell her the idea that her photography will be more spontaneous if she has a camera that is small enough to take everywhere with her. In which case you can go for one that will fit in a pocket.

fishybusiness

I say stick with the Nikon DSLR format, set on auto mode it will be great for learning, as she works in to Aperture and Shutter priority, ISO's and flash she can play with the settings.

Consumer lenses are just fine for all but pro work. Prime lenses are cheap and pack a sharp picture and wide aperture for little money.

If you get a bridge camera, a year down the line and some photography practice, she will be after the true DSLR.

fwor

fishybusiness wrote: »

If you get a bridge camera, a year down the line and some photography practice, she will be after the true DSLR.

A few years down the line there's no reason why not.

But DSLRs are designed for adult hand size. The thought of a 13 year old doing a hurried lens change on a DSLR makes me shudder.

chris-j

Fuji HS20 or HS30 bridge camera. Looks like small SLR, fairly sturdy ( but recommend not dropping ), massive zoom lens and HS30 model has manual zoom like DSLR. Can be used fully auto or fully manual just like DSLR.
In my view this will give her similar benefits to DSLR with smaller lighter camera, she can learn all the aperture, shutter and iso setting stuff. If she stays interested, get her DSLR at 16 when it will be more comfortable for her to use.
I have used older version of the Fuji for a couple of years and you can get qujte awesome pictures and learn loads about manual settings.

ManAtHome

fishybusiness wrote: »

If you get a bridge camera, a year down the line and some photography practice, she will be after the true DSLR.

Dunno about that - in the 'good old days', SLR was the way to go if you wanted more than an approximation of where the edges would be, but not the case these days with digital apart from the real cheapies.

I have a DSLR and a bridge cam - the DSLR is only more flexible as I can use it with my old (film) SLR lenses, very little difference in modes and adjustments on the 'body'.

Bottom line is that a DSLR with one or two lenses will be more limited/limiting than most bridge cameras.