What camera would you use to teach someone photography?

The lens will be a 50mm, 35mm, or 28mm. I have a couple 50's and one of each of the others.

It's still a couple weeks off so there's still time to plan this out.
 
For the DSLR, I'll go with something like a T2i or T1i with a manual lens on a adapter. Cheap and good. Would be obligated to use the speed and the aperture on separated maneuver. Not very sturdy tought....

SLR, Nikon F3, Spotmatic are really good option. The old minolta tend to die quickly these days... Also, a good contax is also great if you can find it at a good price for a beginner. 🙂

Rangefinder, a VC. Cheap and really good. I'll not give a Leica in the hand of a beginner... except if he is really rich 😀... Would go definitely with VC lenses...

We all love to convert other people to our disease... I actually suceed for some of my friends... Less alone now when I want to talk hours about cameras, lenses... Really need to find a girl now who like those things as much as I do... Could borrow some stuff one day 😀
 
thawkins said:
A digital slr certainly is convient and has merit for the feed back. However one must consider that the dslr is simply a computer that takes pictures. I think I would go for a classic such as an SRT101 or an M3. Once the student learns to be a photographer, then maybe go for for the dslr.
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and a film camera is just a light tight box with a hole in it!!!

photography isn't about the camera ...its about the picture... digital offers the best way to learn about taking pictures - its quick and with a DSLR you can learn the fundementals of what over and under exposure looks like... you can see instantly what difference shutter speed has on an image and learn what you can hand hold and what you cant. Looking at the picture on the LCD you can see the effect of DOF more than you can ever see through the VF of a SLR and certainly more than you can with a RF.

so you can get the simple stuff out of the way and concentrate on the important stuff like composition and telling a story , evoking an emotion with a camera

K
 
Of what you listed, the Nikons. But realistically any TTL metered SLR with a 50mm lens would suffice.

And 50mm lens only.

I know, old school but I do believe that if forces better compostion that fiddling with a zoom ever will.

William
 
Here's what I think. Hand her a Film SLR without a battery and a handheld incident meter, and a little list of LV numbers for common scenes at 400 ASA, better yet have her write one as she uses it. Suggest that she use her eye, mind and the list to determine exposure, and then check it with the meter. She can do this just carrying the meter, eyeballing and checking wherever she feels like it. She'll learn more about photography doing that for a bit than years chimping in a loop with the histogram on a digital.
 
Jack Conrad said:
Now that's about as romantic as an unheated swimming pool in February. 🙄
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Oh, I don't know, that sounds like something unusual where you could have a lot of fun, then have the enjoyment of coming into the warm together to dry off. There are some unheated outdoor lidos in London, maybe I should give it a try one of these days.

About the equipment: I'd suggest a couple of Fujica ST605 SLRs with the standard 55mm lenses. You could probably pick some up for the price of a few drinks, no need to worry about breaking anything, completely manual, good lenses, depth of field preview button and they use commonly available batteries. No need to take anything else along.
 
After thinking about this scenario, if I had a beautiful college girl wanting me to teach her photography after knowing me as the guy with a Leica M3... I really think showing up with some obscure cludgy old $10 slr may just shorten the lesson unnecessarily.

Go with the M3 and M4. If ya got it, flaunt it.

On the other hand, if you show up with a $10 Yashica and she suddenly remembers she has an important appointment that she forgot about, you'll know right away she wasn't blown away by your charming smile.

Hey, does the girl have tattoo's? That can sometimes be a sign as to which camera you should choose. In that case, maybe a nice pair of Holgas.

Is she leather or lace? F3... Long flowing hair? TLR... Short emancipated feminist style? XA... Dark and broody? Maybe a Zorki... Light and lavender? Oly OM-2n. Techie intellect? Nikon D40. Bohemian artsy? Rollei 35...

Damnit man, how am I supposed to help when you didn't even snap a quick photo of the girl? :bang:
 
This one. I'd want them to go out, hand hold it, and get some memorable grab shots and portraits. Then bring it back, develop the negs, and print them. When they can do that, they've graduated.


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She wants to learn photography and eventually to develop? If it’d been only the first then I would have asked whether she wants to become good on a dSLR or learn more about the nuances of light, etc. (not mutually exclusive, I understand, but follow me). I think anyone taking on a student now has to focus first on the end product desired - to master the digital auto thing (then skip right to the dSLR and work on mastering settings, white balance, etc.) or to be able to produce great negatives.

Sounds like she’s interested in a film foundation. So I would recommend the M3 and a 50mm. No bells/whistles and no help from anything. My M3 has brought me a long way recently and I've been shooting for quite a while. There's nothing like the "sink or swim" of a fully manual camera without meter. And a 50mm prevents the shotgun approach to composition that can result from something wider to start.

Oh, and on the argument that a dSLR provides for better learning via instant feedback, I think it also breeds a "disposable image" attitude in some that will not focus the shot decision making. We’re back to the initial question of the final goal. If it’s to be digital then she should learn to operate well in that environment. But if not, she'll probably think a lot more about what she's doing with an M3.

Dean
 
Use digital to teach her the basic techniques of photography.

Use film to teach her how to appreciate and eventually love photography.

IMPORTANT: Don't read this as me saying that you can't love photography if you do digital. It is a *given* that you will do digital photography in today's world. But I really believe that embracing the film-side will make you experience a whole lot richer and probably longer lasting.
 
Jack Conrad said:
Damnit man, how am I supposed to help when you didn't even snap a quick photo of the girl? :bang:
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Ok, on the chance that she will never see this site..... I swiped a linky. She's on the left with the Blue in her dress and stands about 5'3":

n825391876_240951_4864.jpg


Lace, definitely.
 
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shadowfox

can you explain how shooting film is a richer and longer lasting experience?.. to me the means of recording the image is secondary to the image itself and the audience for an image cares not about how the image is made.

this is an interesting thread for a newcomer to this forum. Some of the responses seem to advocate an almost hair shirt monastic approach to the act of capturing an image, in which the process is more important than the result.

under full disclosure i will reveal I am more than 50 years old, have shot on film and developed my own and have never had more fun or produced such good images since I started shooting digital

K
 
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The capture is the most important aspect of the image. The method of capture is what puts you, mentally, into the zone. It's what gives you the feeling or attitude to go out and get that image you want. It's the emotional part of the image, and I believe that an image can display the feelings of the photographer behind it.

I also believe very much that the audience cares how the image was made.
 
pirate

reckon we will have to agree to disagree.... particularly on the audience part... if your audience is wider than other photographers then they don't care or wish to understand how it was made.

you dont have to be a chef to enjoy a good meal

its the picture not the process


K
 
Pirate said:
The capture is the most important aspect of the image. The method of capture is what puts you, mentally, into the zone. It's what gives you the feeling or attitude to go out and get that image you want. It's the emotional part of the image, and I believe that an image can display the feelings of the photographer behind it.
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I agree. There is nothing wrong with a 'monastic approach', it is a method and practise that arranges your mind so that you are aware of what you're doing and your environment in a specific way. The process affects the picture, and you can use whatever process you want. The young lady wants to learn, doing the above will help her do that imo.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Vivitar-3800N...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1283379159&sr=8-2

I would recommend against an ancient Pentax K, as much as I like them. Take a look at the Vivitar, above (made by Cosina).

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Price: $160.00

Had this - essentially, same kit for 20 years now. Still going strong. Takes K mount lenses... This is a new still manufactured camera - one of the few...

And - film first, then digital imo. Digital is too automated. The above is 100% manual. Wanna take a decent pic? You better learn how to focus and the relationship between shutter stops, f stops, and film speed "stops".
 
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Lol... Thanks for playing. Yum, tasty! 😀

Alright then. Acoustic guitar. Baudelaire. Cheap French table wine or Absinthe (lots of Absinthe), or espresso...You can forget the beer bong, trust me... A bag full of camera's and a converation about the differences between rangefinders, slr's and what they offer respectively. Then it's into the streets together to shoot with wild abandon her late afternoon laughter sparkling off the wet puddles amidst the cobblestones. Or whatever.

Also, remember not to overdue the fake French Bresson like accent. 🙂

Oh, and please don't treat your Leica's as if you're Gollum and they're your "precious." Bad form. I'm sure she's quite capable of handling a camera without dropping it. 😛


Pirate said:
Ok, on the chance that she will never see this site..... I swiped a linky. She's on the left with the Blue in her dress and stands about 5'3":

n825391876_240951_4864.jpg


Lace, definitely.
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I have no problem at all with AE or AF for a beginner, but I'd strongly counsel against a zoom. A decently fast normal (40-60mm eq.) prime is a better choice.
 
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