Camera For a Beginner

[lewtashjosh]

Hello,

I'm after a bit of advice on a camera for my son who is aged 9, he is now past the age of Fisher Price "toy" cameras, so i'm after a few suggestions for a compact that's not over complicated for him but allows for manual control .. looking to spend around £40-£60

Many Thanks

[Andrew76]

Hi Lewis - there are a ton of great click-and-shoot type cameras available on the market now. It's amazing how technology has advanced so much in such a short period of time - I really don't think you could go wrong with getting anything any of the major lines make these days.

There's one part of your request that may give you trouble though. I am not aware of anything on the market, from any manufacturer that will give you manual control for that price range.

I'd be interested to see what other members reply with though, as I haven't priced a compact camera for myself for a couple of years now.

[Joerg]

I must agree - too much good point&shots. I would suggest a used one at ebay. Here an example:



I bought this Samsung WB690 for 90€ on ebay. I've used it as "on the way" camera when I left my big one at home.

[KCBrecks]

I still use my Kodak DX64090, 4Mb 10x zoom bridge camera. I has a fine lens on it and takes so excellent pictures. It has the P A S M settings as well as the Auto, Macro, Landscape etc. No Manual Focus. Looks like an SLR and can be had in good condition from Ebay for £40 or so.

- Keith

[William W]

I'm after a bit of advice on a camera for my son who is aged 9, he is now past the age of Fisher Price "toy" cameras, so i'm after a few suggestions for a compact that's not over complicated for him but allows for manual control .. looking to spend around £40-£60

I am not telling you how to educate you child – but I tutor photography (well, 14 to 18 year olds mainly): and he doesn’t need a manual control camera.

In fact I would argue that such would be very bad at the stage of his ART development & education. He needs to concentrate on Lighting, Composition and Moment (timing).

Moreover, unless he is exceptional and persistent in the TECHNICAL, a manual camera will stifle his enjoyment.

If you are thinking that this is a long term ‘investment’ then likely it will be: I still have my ‘first camera’ – but I outgrew it, and if he has the passion so will he, likely in about two years.

Any quality P&S will do the trick at the moment.

***

More unsolicited advice: Ensure that he has adequate access to a computer to upload and view and manipulate his images – and then MOST IMPORTANTLY capacity to share them for critique, perhaps you might chaperone the posting on the web or submission to local PRINT competitions for C&C.

WW

[Dwaine]

I'm a retired teacher of many skills and ages of students. William W. has hit the nail on it's head. For children of all ages William's advise is well founded. I purchased a simple second hand point and shoot on eBay for my 70 year old mother who was in a nursing home. She found a friend with a lap top. Together they kept the place in giggles to the day she died. She became the nursing home photographer. A very wise young activities person worked this activity to the hilt..even got her a photographer name tag. All beginners need to KISMIF....keep it simple make it fun. Personally I would not move into any serious critique until the student is well prepared to understand critique.

[zen]

Hello Lewis,

Several months ago I was looking for a P&S for those occasions when I didn't want to carry my 5D3. After looking at a few cams, I followed the advice of my pro photog friend and bought a Canon Power Shot G15, which he also uses as his "pocket cam". It's small enough to carry in one's pocket, yet packed with features. Auto if you want it that way, but manual if you want it that way! For a small camera, the images coming out of this thing are terriffic! 12.1MP, 1080P, up to 12800 ISO, RAW and JPEG, good battery life, etc., etc. Don't know how it would be priced across the pond, but around $500 here in the States. This might fill the bill for you and might be worth a look.

Good luck.

Zen

[William W]

For children of all ages . . .I purchased a simple second hand point and shoot on eBay for my 70 year old mother who was in a nursing home. Etc

GREAT story. Excellent !

Personally I would not move into any serious critique until the student is well prepared to understand critique.

For clarity of my previous – perhaps “feedback” or ‘comment’ would have been better words to use. When typing the phrases:

“capacity to share them for critique, perhaps you might chaperone the posting on the web or submission to local PRINT competitions for C&C.”

I was thinking to myself:

Show them to Aunty Mary and Uncle Joe; throw a couple up on the forum, with your overview explaining that it is a 9 year old wanting a few hints; if there is a local Art competition for kids, chuck one or two in that competition – those competitions usually have age categories.

WW

[Melkus]

I agree with Bill about at that age he needs to concentrate on things like lighting, composition etc, he don't need to be worry about shutter speed, ISO setting, aperture settings there will time to learn all that later. Here a good deal on a refurbished PowerShot A1200 which would make him a good camera to start out with.

http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs...0051_306947_-1