First camera suggestions

Forums › Digital Imaging › First camera suggestions

KrazyKid

1247 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 616

#281405 15-Feb-2021 22:36

Looking for recommendations for a first camera for my daughter's 16th birthday. She wants a DSLR, but not to large.
I'm not sure if this will be the start of a life long hobby or a thing that gathers dust.
Any recommendations?

I would like to get her something with ok quality that will be easy to use, but can let her grow into the hobby of she wants.

floydbloke

3646 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4554

ID Verified

#2657270 16-Feb-2021 08:12

My initial instinctive response is to go mirrorless, this will be lighter and less bulky than DSLR.

Budget , of course, is the next question. A good start could be a used Sony A6000 with the 16-50mm kit lens. You wouldn't want to pay more than $600 for it. That combo is the size of a large point-and-shoot and can be used as one in auto mode, with all the bells and whistles to get into other modes down to fully manual. Recommended next purchase after that would be the 55-210mm zoom lens.

There will be similar cameras available from the other mainstream manufacturers that other posters can advise on.

Sometimes I use big words I don't always fully understand in an effort to make myself sound more photosynthesis.

mentalinc

3384 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1023

Trusted

#2657277 16-Feb-2021 08:34

Agree I have an A6000 great camera. I use the 16-50mm 99% of the time. Only time I've used the 55-210 was trying to zoom into something in the hills well in the distance.

The only "downside" is the A6000 doesn't do 4k video if that is something she's after you'll need to step into the newer A6000 series cameras.

CPU: AMD 5900x | RAM: GSKILL Trident Z Neo RGB F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC-32-GB | MB: Asus X570-E | GFX: EVGA FTW3 Ultra RTX 3080Ti| Monitor: LG 27GL850-B 2560x1440

Quic: https://account.quic.nz/refer/473833 R473833EQKIBX

Handsomedan

7769 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 7402

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#2657289 16-Feb-2021 08:54

Having started my DSLR life with a cheap (bottom of the ladder) Canon, I'd actually suggest a good Mirrorless setup too.

As has been said, they are lighter, generally smaller and can be used like a compact camera if the joy of photography wears off.

My camera is a little on the bulky side to be fun to lug about with the lenses and what-not, but a nice compact mirrorless camera would eliminate a lot of the bulk and hassle.

Factor in a decent camera bag, too.

With that said: THIS is a pretty good guide to start with. Just remember - it can become a very expensive hobby once you start...

EDIT: Ensure whatever you get has a digital or optical viewfinder - this is important. Otherwise you may as well have a pocket camera. Very hard to line up a good shot from a screen and having the camera up against your eye can help stabilise it somewhat and give you a better idea of what you're shooting - even in harsh sunlight, where a screen can be very hard to see.

Handsome Dan Has Spoken.
Handsome Dan needs to stop adding three dots to every sentence...

Handsome Dan does not currently have a side hustle as the mascot for Yale

*Gladly accepting donations...

alasta

6889 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3363

Trusted

Subscriber

#2657368 16-Feb-2021 10:41

Another vote for mirrorless. I have a Canon M50 and it's a great little unit.

My only complaint is that it would be nice to have a built in GPS for geo-tagging purposes.

Scott3

4176 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2990

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2657399 16-Feb-2021 11:28

I would recommend a cannon 200D Mark II.

Under $1000 from pbtech in a kit with a stabilized lens.

Exactly the same sensor as my 800D, and the 80D, so if one is getting bad photo's, you can be confident it is not the bodies falt.

Cannons smallest & lightest DSLR. But not seriously gimped like there x000D series.

If she does photography classes, the bulk of the class will be using canon DSLR's (mostly x000D series), which means she will be able to focus on the photography, rather than menu structures and the likes.

Canon DSLR's have really strong resale, so if she either gets really into photography, it can be flicked on when she decided's to upgrade. Likewise if she doesn't get into photography it can be sold to fund another hobby.

We we were testing camera's, we found canons did a better job of skin tones on default settings than sony.

In terms of mirrorless crop camera's. sony seems to be leading this market at the moment. Canon's M series is good, but in a bit of a weird spot as cannon is putting all it's R&D into full frame mirror less lenses, and there is some chance it will start releasing crop mirrorless camera's with it's full frame mirror less mount, largely abandoning the M series.

Should note that once a large lens and a flash are mounted on a crop DSLR, the body bulk fades in comparison.

rayonline

1736 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 51

#2671852 11-Mar-2021 18:24

KrazyKid: Looking for recommendations for a first camera for my daughter's 16th birthday. She wants a DSLR, but not to large.
I'm not sure if this will be the start of a life long hobby or a thing that gathers dust.
Any recommendations?

I would like to get her something with ok quality that will be easy to use, but can let her grow into the hobby of she wants.

Not sure if appropriate with a birthday but great second hand deals out there. Esp if you are unsure if it turns out to be a long term interest. Either way I get mirrorless because the market has shifted there. I would just get a APS-C or M4/3 sensor no need full frame. I get a kit lens to start off. At a later stage - one could always add a 50mm equiv later on as a prime with a fast aperture. Or a 40mm or a 35mm equiv. After 15yrs in this hobby with experience with film and digital and medium format. I find for most people they only need a mid zoom lens generally speaking. Unless one is into sports or dedicated photography you don't really need a 70-300 and unless one is into landscapes you don't need a ultra wide zoom. One of course could do a sightseeing or a cruiseliner and want that longer lens to view the scenery ahead but in terms of the photos you like and cheerish unless one was really quite into that type of photography, most people can do most of it with just the single mid lens.

Dyson

Shop now for Dyson appliances (affiliate link).

KrazyKid

1247 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 616

#2671857 11-Mar-2021 18:37

Some good replies folks. Thanks for the help.