Beginner Advise for camera for child please

P

photoethel

Messages
5
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi, Not only am I a newbie on here, but I'm a newbie to photography. Well, to be honest, I'm not really a newbie to photography as its my 12 year old daughter who is very interested in photography. She currently only has a camera on her phone but she is constantly taking pictures (landscapes and nature) and some of them are really very good. We are looking at purchasing her first camera, but have no idea which would be any good for someone her age. She also has small hands, so that needs to be considered too. At the moment she would like to be a photographer when she grows up and whilst that may not end up the case, it is a hobby that we would really like to encourage. Any advice on cameras we could look at, competitions she could enter and how she should pursue her dream of being a photographer would be greatly received. Thank you.
 
Canon 100d? Of course it depends On budget? Ps welcome to the site
 
Thanks for the welcome. Our budget is probably up to about 200 pounds. We looked at a shop today and they said we should avoid camera's run by AA batteries and aim to get as large optical zoom as we could and to make sure the camera was CMOS?? He also said that we needed to get a 'bridge' camera? Have we been advised correctly?? Also, my daughter would be happy with a second hand camera, so is that something we should consider? Sorry for so many questions. Thanks
 
To be fair, I would say spot on, CMOS is the type of sensor. A bridge camera is basically somewhere between a compact and a dslr. By getting something with a large zoom it makes the camera more useable as it will take everything from landscapes to wildlife shots. However the lens quality tends to suffer. Having a quick look at Wex Photographic (online retailer that I have used before) you could pick up a canon 550d, which is a dslr, for £196. However you'll need to budget for a lens to go with it looking at it you can pick up an 18-55mm for less than £80. I let my nephew have mine who's a similar age & he uses it a lot. However he's also a big lump, so might be worth having a look at my original suggestion as although it's more than budget (not by a lot) it's small and slightly more future proof than a compact/bridge, as her photography grows so can her lens choice. That said my father in law has just picked up one of these http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-panasonic-lumix-dmc-tz60-digital-camera/p1547269 & I think it's great. Hopefully I haven't confused you more than you were!!!
 
I think a bridge camera would be a good starting point. We bought my 12 year old nephew a 2nd hand Fuji S4800 bridge camera
last year when he started to take an interest in photography he's now joined his school photography club and moved on to using
my old Nikon D40x with 2 kit lenses although he still uses the bridge camera as well as he likes the portability and the longer
zoom of the bridge camera.

We only paid £50 for the Fuji bridge camera from the local Cash Generator so it was cheap enough to let him take it out and about
without worrying if anything happened to it.

If you wanted a DSLR for your daughter the Nikon D40x is pretty compact for a DSLR my nephew is small for his age and manages
to use it without any problems. Although it's not the latest kit it does take good pictures and you can pick them up with a
lens for £120-£180 depending on the lens and accessories that are included.
 
First, there's nothing wrong with a phone for photography. Folk get very snooty about this, none more so than most of the audience on this forum.

Second, the *most* important thing is that your daughter is happy with the camera and will use it. This means that ergonomics (and quite possibly aesthetics) are likely to trump any consideration of the technology inside the box. The best camera is always the one you have in your hand, and most of the time for most people that's usually a phone camera these days.

Third.. welcome to the forum ;)


My suggestion - forget a DSLR or a bridge camera, both are heavy and bulky and those things get in the way of actually using a camera on a daily basis - unless that's what your daughter wants. I'd personally look for a decent compact with a moderate optical zoom range (there's no need for a large optical zoom and that inevitably comes with compromises). I'd look around the £100-£150 range for something your daughter finds comfortable to hold and fits easily into a pocket or bag. You won't go far wrong with anything from Nikon, Panasonic or Fuji. The more expensive the camera is the more worried you and she will be that it might get broken or damaged, and that gets in the way of actually taking photos.
 
agree with @Alastair
I got my son old Nikon p&s as his first one. Your daughter still has a lot to learn. Personally I'd get her something like Sony wx300 which is compact yet has quite a big zoom. You can of course find a lot of other second hand cameras from Nikon, Canon, Fuji etc. At this stage though, don't worry too much about sensor type (CMOS, CCD) or other technical things. Teach her the very basic rules of photography. Time will come when you'll have to splash out for a DSLR! Just don't rush it ;)
 
Thank you all for your advice. I will look at the camera's recommended by BMG and Gixasix and appreciate your time in replying. Alastair, thank you for your advice. We have discussed (and are still discussing), whether she would use a proper camera as part of the reason she takes so many photo's is that she always has her phone on her. I will look into compact camera's as well. I think the point that Gixasix and alastair make about my daughter not worrying about the cost is a valid one, as she worries about things of value and whilst she takes the greatest care of things, she would be very upset if she damaged something worth a lot of money. I hadn't thought about looking at our local Cash generator, but I will definitely do so. Thank you all again.
 
Sthwild, thanks for the advice. I will check out sony wx300 as well. I would love to teach her the basic of photography, but unfortunately, I don't know it myself! I have looked for local photography groups, but they are either in the day or aimed at older ages than my daughter. Her school doesn't have a club either. I guess quite a few hours of checking out YouTube video's are on the horizon:(. Looking on the positive side though, I guess we can learn together, which is always lovely:). Thanks
 
photoethel said:
Sthwild, thanks for the advice. I will check out sony wx300 as well. I would love to teach her the basic of photography, but unfortunately, I don't know it myself! I have looked for local photography groups, but they are either in the day or aimed at older ages than my daughter. Her school doesn't have a club either. I guess quite a few hours of checking out YouTube video's are on the horizon:(. Looking on the positive side though, I guess we can learn together, which is always lovely:). Thanks
Click to expand...

I'm not the greatest photographer in the world and probably never will be. I bought my first DSLR a year ago after owning a P&S for a few years and different types of camera before that which were literately used for snapshots. I've learned pretty much all i know so far from Youtube and reading tons of websites etc. The local camera club near me seemed to be stuck in the 50s with their attitudes towards how you should take photos and the people there were a lot older than me too. I'm 45 yrs old.
 
It might be a good idea to take your daughter to a shop and let her hold the different types of camera to see what she feels comfortable
with what works for one person may be awkward for another especially with small hands.

I hadn't though of Cash Generator either until a friend suggested them for my nephews camera. The one we ended up buying was good as
new still boxed with instructions and original receipt showing it was less than a year old.

My nephew is pretty careful with his stuff but we made it clear to his folks when we bought it for him that it was there to be used
not to lie in a box and if the worst happened it wouldn't be the end of the world. He's now had it over a year and it's still in one piece
despite being taken to skateparks, school, football matches and cadets etc.

If your daughters school has a photography club it might be good for her to get involved with that. My nephew hates school but he
eventually joined the photography club earlier this year and he's had the chance to take photos for the school magazine and the
schools website.
 
Last edited:
I got my 9 & 10 year olds a canon 400D off here for not much money. They made Lego movies with it for months and it was quite often taken out. It did get dropped in the end and broke but it had a lot of use. I was going to replace it but the found a £15 Kodak compact and used that for a bit but not as much as the DSLR but since they got iPads and the oldest a phone the camera has gathered dust.

They won't us my G15 at all by always grab the 600D I gave my father when we see him. My 1Div is never asked for which is handy.

So my advice is a decent SH dslr a 500D or 600D with basic zoom lens
 
you can get a 400d or a 350d now for peanuts - they are about £80 on mpb , less on ebay (bear in mind you need to budget for lenses etc as well - but its still doable in £200

FWIW I had my first SLR when i was about 12 - it was a practika that had been my grandads until he died ( i still have it for sentimental reasons, but it doesnt work anymore) - really it depends on what she wants, 12 year old me would have been gutted to get a compact because i really wanted an SLR , but equally another kid might love a compact because it light and easy to carry.

I also lent my friends 10 year old son a 300D and 18-55 that was just gathering dust a few years back - people said it was mental and it would get bust etc, but really it was worth both halves of jacks*** anyway and he was deeply interested in photography and took great care of it - it died from a shutter malfunction in the end, at which point his dad bought him an old 350D off ebay - he is now 15 and last year he bought a 50D from MPB for £220 that he'd saved up from his paper round and birthday presents etc ( I lent him an old 135-400 to use with it)... he is seriously into his nature photography and my friend has promised him a 150-600 if he does well in his GCSEs next year
 
My thought would be to go for a good quality compact. You should be able to pick up a second hand Sony RX100 Mk1 for (just) less than £200 and that would be my choice.

Well built, excellent image quality with all the manual controls a 12 yo will need - small hands an advantage. If she's anything like mine was at 12 the ability to video
her friends will help to maintain interest.

A DSLR just seems way too heavy (in both senses) for her age.
 
She might like something like a Panasonic LX3/5 or Fuji X10. Small enough to throw in a bag and take everywhere, but decent cameras and enough manual controls to learn the basics (and more). Also, they look nice, which may be a factor for a soon-to-be teenager. Retro is 'in', I understand...
 
zendog said:
A DSLR just seems way too heavy (in both senses) for her age.
Click to expand...

per my post above it really depends on her - some 12 year olds are 12 going on 21 in terms of maturity , equally some 21 year olds are closer to 12

If shes seriously interested in photography she'll know roughly what she wants. If shes not and the aim is to get her interested a compact with creative controls like the panasonic TZ range may be an option - or equally she might be happy with her phone but prefer you to spend the money on a photo trip.
 
Hi, Once again, thanks to you all for your replies. I have made an note of all the cameras mentioned and will be researching them to try to find one suitable. We will definitely take up peoples advice who have recommended that she holds the camera before buying it. A friend has lent her an old compact, which whilst the pictures aren't great, is at least giving her the chance to see if she actually want to carry a camera around a lot of the time before we make any purchases.
 
photoethel said:
..... A friend has lent her an old compact, which whilst the pictures aren't great, is at least giving her the chance to see if she actually want to carry a camera around a lot of the time before we make any purchases.
Click to expand...

Hi photoethel .... thinking about this ... as one who knows a bit [but far from all] about things like shutter speed, aperture etc, ... if I had an interested 12 year old I'd buy a used DSLR inc lens for c. £200 for her to use primarily at home and for the odd expedition, allowing her to continue using her mobile as a carry-around.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top