First SLR for my daughter

[Minox]

Hi all, looks like my daughter wants to leave the P&S days behind and move on. She is eyeing my SLR's, but these are a bit too complicated for her, said she.

Anyways, I was thinking to get her an SLR manual camera, perhaps with a choice of aperture priority. Although I have never been able to teach someone anything about photography, I want to give her as much help as she would feel she needs. I do not believe in "throw the kid in the deep end of the pool, he'll learn faster" thing, but I do believe in learning proper and build a good base for later, if she would want to pursue this further. Btw, she is fast approaching 13.

Any advice from anyone who had perhaps similar experiences? Really appreciated, thank you ever so much !

Regards,

JT

 

[madNbad]

Check out Huss’ thread on the Nikon N80. Light, easy to use and not too expensive. The other option is to pick up an early Nikon or Canon digicam before the prices run up.
The camera should be light, easy to use and easy to carry. AE and Program Mode will ensure more useable exposures and help build confidence. Then move on to manual settings. There are a lot of choices, get her involved in the decision.

 

[film_man]

What are the SLRs that you have that are too complicated for her? And how much money you want to spend?

A simple yet fully featured camera for very little money is a Canon EOS 300/Rebel 2000 with a 40 or 50mm STM lens. Everything from fully automatic to fully manual. Make her use A mode to begin with and go from there. Total cost for lens and camera around $100.

 

[madNbad]

How about the FG in the classifieds? Might be worth a look. It even includes the super rare finger grip!

 

[xkaes]

You biggest question is if you/she want dIgital or film, auto-focus or not or both, auto-exposure or not or both. Maybe you already know that.

You can get the Minolta MAXXUM 5 --unbelievable features that you can turn ON or OFF -- for under $25. VERY small and light. Perfect for small people.

 

[Minox]

The SLR's that I own are not complicated, of course, they only look that way to her. I do understand her, when coming from a P&S and see the Nikon F4 or the FM3A. I do have a Canon EOS 300v, but she said to me that it looks too much like a digital camera, and she would appreciate a more well, mechanical thing. She does have a point there, I guess

I do agree she needs to build confidence, and the learning curve needs to be a decent one.

Money wise, I guess I would be happy with something up to the 25o euro limit.

 

[Minox]

You biggest question is if you/she want dIgital or film, auto-focus or not or both, auto-exposure or not or both. Maybe you already know that.

You can get the Minolta MAXXUM 5 --unbelievable features that you can turn ON or OFF -- for under $25. VERY small and light. Perfect for small people.

No, she was clear about that: no digital. She wants film.

Maxxum 5, that is a nice camera. Never had one, heard of it though. I'll have a look into it, thank you !

 

[xkaes]

The MAXXUM 5 (and similar cameras) are great in the sense that it's starts out as a P&S camera -- auto-focus, auto-exposure, etc. -- BUT you can change everything as you want to be handled semi-automatically (like aperture-priority exposure) or completely manually. So it can grow with her as she wants to.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

A basic, manual film camera is not complicated. Take the Pentax K1000. Shutter speed set at 60th. Focus. Adjust aperture to get the needle in the middle. Take a picture. Advance to the next frame. The hardest part is loading film in it!

 

[Sirius Glass]

Any of the Minolta SLRs from the STR101 though the X700 will easily work for her and if her interest continues there are many inexpensive Rokkor lenses available.

 

[Paul Howell]

In the AF world, the Max 5, I have one, Canon Rebel, Nikon N55, I would avoid entry level Pentax. In MF world, the K1000 is a nice camera, just over priced, Spotmatic, is a screw mount K1000 and still well priced. As noted my SG above, Minolta 101, 102, 201 or 202, the X700 was their top of the line for while, lots of features. And the list goes on and on.

 

[Pieter12]

Since you already have some Nikon gear, a Nikkormat or even an F body. You can lend her lenses, and you’re already familiar with the system so should be able to help her get started with the camera. Since she has stated she wants a “mechanical” camera, does that rule out a built-in meter?

 

[Paul Howell]

in terms of Nikon an EM is a sort of a point and shoot with interchangeable lens, no shutter speed dial, set the F stop and the camera of course sets the shutter speed.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Well, if you already have Nikons then I would say you should keep that family in your family - that way your daughter can 'borrow' your lenses and such. On the other hand, getting her a Pentax does have its charms if you want to keep your gear.

A very nice Nikon FM with a 50mm lens should be $150-250.

If you don't mind a bit of automation a Nikon N75 with f3.3 28-80mm is $75 or so.

 

[aparat]

My eighteen-year-old son was given a used Nikon N6006 with a 35-80mm zoom by a neighbor. All it needed was a new battery. It seems like a perfect beginner/student camera.

 

[faberryman]

I really like my [insert favorite camera here].

 

[Autonerd]

My thoughts:

Auto-focus, auto-wind is a good step up from P&S -- but it is a small step. If you're going to go this route, Canon Rebel 2000 is a good idea. Maxxum 5 is too, though it has a lot of menu choices and might be a bit complex. I would suggest a 4si or 400si, which is a bit simpler.

The problem with these cameras is, if you put them in P, they are basically glorified P&S, and fiddling with buttons in manual mode is not my preferred way to do things (nor to learn). If the object is to eventually go full manual, I'd consider a manual-wind camera with an aperture-priority mode. She still has to load film, focus set an acceptable aperture, and wind but need not worry about getting the exposure right as the camera will do that for her. From her perspective, is that too much complexity?

If not -- I'd stay in the K-mount family (I'm biased; still, good lenses and cheap), and my picks would be a Ricoh KR-10 (not KR-10M or KR-10 Super) or XR-2 or Pentax P30t (if you can find a working one). K2 as well but it's not as affordable. Outside of Pentax, I say Nikon FG. These cameras are affordable and have good match-needle (or LED equivalent) meters that are good practice for manual cameras.

Alternatively, there are affordable ap-priority-only cameras -- Pentax ME/MV/MG, Ricoh XR-6. No manual mode makes them a bit of a dead end, but the Pentaxs have the advantage of being super light. A nice stepping stone to a fully-manual Pentax MX (or heavier KX), or one of the auto-and-manual cameras listed above. Pentax ME Super has a manual mode, but I find it fidgety to use. Minolta XG-E has a nice manual mode but only meters in automatic mode, so that's a bit silly, but it's a nice camera.

Aaron

 

[Mogens]

The Pentax ME or MV might be a good solution. They're aperture priority only and a very nice size for a kid. And they have a very robust lens system to draw from.

Edit: cross-posted with someone giving some of the same advice! We must be right.

 

[madsox]

Since you already have some Nikon gear, a Nikkormat or even an F body. You can lend her lenses, and you’re already familiar with the system so should be able to help her get started with the camera. Since she has stated she wants a “mechanical” camera, does that rule out a built-in meter?

I was going to say ^^^ this. Something like that FG that's in the classified section here would be a great start.

 

[ymc226]

My daughter is 19 and also wanted to progress from P&S to something with more control. She uses digital but prefers the look of film. I let her use my Nikon FE2 which was still working perfectly and allows full manual control, still needing a battery, as well as aperture priority auto function. She knows not to use the "A" setting for now and finds the needle matching more useful in understanding exposure compared to my FM2 which she also had an option to take. Understanding that my daughter is older than yours, I also gave her my old copy of Ansel Adam's The Camera which she actually started reading.

 

[awty]

Any SLR from the 80's with manual focus and aperture priority. If you have Nikon lenses get a Nikon. My Daughter uses a FG, that has priority mode and a beeping alarm when shutter speed is too low for hand held as well.
The later models are too plasticy and are boring to use, earlier ones are usually bigger, heavier and more complicated to use, especially for little hands.

 

[jp498]

Simple and small: Olympus om10 ; aperture priority (or flash sync speed) only. Exposure comp with the film speed dial.
Something to grow with: Nikon F4s.

 

[mshchem]

Budget?

Nikon F3, beautiful examples with a nice 50mm are readily available

Nikon F4, Minolta

I love Pentax screw mount models, would need to find a very well preserved unit.

So much to choose from if you find a good properly functioning camera.

 

[Pieter12]

The F4 kinda got ruled out in post #6.

 

[Huss]

Hi all, looks like my daughter wants to leave the P&S days behind and move on. She is eyeing my SLR's, but these are a bit too complicated for her, said she.

Anyways, I was thinking to get her an SLR manual camera, perhaps with a choice of aperture priority. Although I have never been able to teach someone anything about photography, I want to give her as much help as she would feel she needs. I do not believe in "throw the kid in the deep end of the pool, he'll learn faster" thing, but I do believe in learning proper and build a good base for later, if she would want to pursue this further. Btw, she is fast approaching 13.

Any advice from anyone who had perhaps similar experiences? Really appreciated, thank you ever so much !

Regards,

JT

Not throwing in the deep end is a good idea. You don't want them to be discouraged. A nice, small AF SLR is great for that. Start off in P mode, see how good technically the pics can be. Then when ready, stick it in M/P/S etc.

Where are you? if local you can borrow one of my N80s to see how she likes it. I'm in the Los Angeles area.