Hi

My daughter who is 15 would like to take up photography and was wondering if anyone could recommend a good camera as a starter dont really want to spend hundreds but i am willing to pay upto prehaps £150.

Thanx

Suexx

Hi,
I have just bought a Fuji S5700 from amazon for £106. It is truely fab!
It has a great 10x zoom lens and loads of features including a large LCD screen.
You can even shoot small videos with sound!

I found Amazon to be the cheapest right now...
Please let me know how you get on.

Alan
x

Thanx for the advice. Can you tell me is it complicated to use?

Suexx

You can just point and shoot it if you want. But it also has expert features like marco and super macro for very very close up. I took a picture of my finger prints!
It is not a pro camera but has loads of features which make it more interesting than a simple point and shoot camera!
Alan
x

I've just got this one for my 16 year old for christmas Click here for Panasonic DMC TZ3 It came in 2 Days too.

All the reviews have been really good too and it's very compact to so less likely to get damaged.

I also got this semi rigid case to match it on ebay Click here

It comes in a bit above your budget but as it has an alkaline rechargable battery it'll last much much longer than AA batteries do.

Edited to say that it also comes in a choice of black, silver or blue too!

[QUOTE=seashelle33;5636172]I've just got this one for my 16 year old for christmas Click here for Panasonic DMC TZ3 It came in 2 Days too.

All the reviews have been really good too and it's very compact to so less likely to get damaged.

I have one of these and can highly recommend it, it is a fantastic camera.

Andy

Why not let her start with the basics and get her a manual SLR wet film camera to begin with. Let her learn about f-stops and shutter times etc rather than just a point and push digital. Then she can progress to the digital age if she wants to. Getting a point and push is ok, but it's limiting unless you get an SLR Digital with full manual override. Most of the major manufacturers still do wet film cameras and Canon, Pentax, Minolta etc will be relatively cheap to pick up now. A lot of specialist shops will have good quality second hand outfits as well. Also, a black and white darkroom set up is relatively cheap and easy to do then she can get into developing her own films (very satisfying) and learn about the processes. Digital is the good, modern way to do it, but it still doesn't hurt to learn the 'old style' basics first.

Hi Sue,

Canon are the best camera you could buy........For the money you are talking about you can get a canoon ixus 75 from www.7dayshop.com

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/defa...rds=ixus&comp=

They are £145..........I have an ixus 65 and it is very good,....I would'nt buy anything but canon.

You can even get a waterproof housing for them so you can take some good picks when you go snorkelling on the reef!

I've also got an canon eos40d and it's fantastic........although a bit more costly than the ixus

Mark

For a slightly different approach, you could try a second hand film SLR. If your daughter does a photography course the SLR will have all the adjustments to help her get the most from her photography and then if she likes it, she can move on to a digital camera. I would recommend a Canon or Nikon.

The only downside is the cost of film and development...but these courses usually cover the cheapest and best places for film development.


Doh! Should've read 232Bar's post before I replied.

Check out http://www.dpreview.com

You'll get a cheap film SLR off ebay, as people are dumping them for digitial. Some go for 20-50 quid

Where's TiddlyPom when you need her?

I've just bought a Canon Powershot A720is and I'm very pleased with it.

http://buyacamera.co.uk/

Look at my screen shot attachment for the website

I'm here but I have nothing to add. My camera cost a lot more, but I really don't know much about other cameras.

I wouldn't advise getting a film camera for a starter though. For someone to get satisfaction from photography, I'd say that a basic digital is the way to go.... the results are faster, it's hellishly cheaper than film, you can see what you're doing wrong instantly, it's uploadable, and shareable without having to put on CD or scan.... there's really no competition.

It's possible to take stunning photographs with cheap digitals. It's not about the camera, though obviously, bells and whistles allow you to do so much more. I've taken pics with the pinhole camera on my MacBook and got brilliant results ... it's to do with understanding the light and how it works and what it will do...

The best thing for a child is to work out if they truly love taking pics or whether it's just something they can do before going into SLR cameras. Too many bells and whistles on an SLR and for a child, it's overwhelming.

Cameras and taking pics should be fun. Go with as many megapixels as you can for the money, and a zoom lens.

And perhaps pick up John Hedgecoe's book on photography to go with it if she's passionate, so that she can at least read about the terminology and practice some of the set up shots he teaches.
She can always upgrade to an SLR later on in life...


This was taken with my MacBook camera just so you can see what can be done with the most basic cameras ...



Perhaps you could also make sure the camera has a hole underneath it for a tripod, so that she can take self portraits... a gorilla grip tripod would be a great starter.

A timer switch on the camera is useful too...

Nice nails, Tiddly!

I bought this camera in my lunch hour. Been annoying everyone in the office snapping them on the internet this afternoon.

Might use them as a ransom, to prove they do less work than me!!