Camera for my daughter

[jultou]

I'm at it again - daughter has requested a camera (digital) for an exciting upcoming year abroad. here are some options 1. Pentax K-30, weather proof, takes AA batteries in a pinch, great reviews, simple operation, APS-C sensor - cons - 2 years old 2. Olympus E-M10 - nice size , 16 mp, M43, EFV - cons: might be too complicated, EVF may lag a little. 3. Canon T5i - can't go too far wrong here 4. Nikon D3300 - new, small since this is not for me - need to separate my wants from a casual user. ideally the camera would have wifi, gps, be reasonably small, good quality build , weather proof is nice to have. doesn't seem like you can have all these for a price of $800 though. personally I would go with the Pentax - although it's 2 years from initial announcement. I hate to buy things and have them discontinued the next week. I'd get the body and zoom - 24-80 35mm equiv what's the crowd sourced answer this year ?

My daughter is too young to have a camera but if I had to buy her a camera today it would be Canon SL1. Very compact, lot of features, great image quality. Almost everything the t5i have but in a smaller package.
Just purchased one at work and it make me think of selling my 6d, lol.

 

[tstermitz]

I recently went through a similar thought process for my daughter. The camera I wanted for her would be the Fuji x100s, because I imagined her taking shots of markets in far off countries.

But, practically speaking, she would be happier with a mid-range zoom, to which she could add a macro or a telephoto. So, I got her the Fuji XE, which has been on a very good sale this month. Basically that is pretty similar to your choice of the Pentax.

 

[maggieo]

My first camera was the X100 of its day:


Canonet QL-17 GIII, January, 2010 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr

 

[funkydog]

Any camera that you can buy with $800 today is good. What matters more is how the young lady likes the looks, size, weight, dimensions, color, menu layout, etc.

Could it be that your daugher is not really into photography? It's been over a year since you last raised the subject and she hasn't bugged you to death over that "real camera" she's been asking for. She might be happier with a smartphone. The high end Samsung camera phones have good IQ.

Also, her cool friends might not be enthusiastic about what they perceive to be a poser swinging a dslr at every social occasion because 'everyone knows' that dslrs are used by pros. And like, you know, young people have a great need to fit in with their social circle.

If she's is old enough to live overseas for a year but not independent enough to pay for a camera herself then give her the bucks and let her decide how to spend it. Who can read the mind of a young woman?

 

[marcr1230]

Well yes a year passed and no she's not into photography at all to the extent that peopke on RFF are
She did make the request for a "real" camera
She already has a smartphone. She used an olympus waterproof camera previously
She's like many who don't know ISO from fstop
She just wanted the opportunity to take better quality images

Hopefully she will find the right balance re what works for her
We've extensively discussed the fact the the best camera is the one you want to take with you

At the end of the day , you have to go with your gut and the information you have

The quality of all these cameras mentioned is much higher than a smartphone
The hard part is to separate our own biases as camera people and look at what a non camera person will be able to deal with and enjoy using and carrying

As you might have seen , the order was placed and the camera will arrive tomorrow thru the magic of amazon prime

The sad thing is nowadays you can't buy olympus or Pentax locally in Chicago
And even nikon and canon you can't fully test because the chain stores have them without Sd cards and on heavy anti theft cables

In fact the last 4 digital cameras I've purchased were sight unseen and based only on reviews
All have performed well although you don't really understand at purchase time all that you will know after 2 weeks of using a camera

Anyhow thanjs for the advice, I will report back on the success of the experiment as new data comes in

 

[ruby.monkey]

My daughter is too young to have a camera but if I had to buy her a camera today it would be Canon SL1. Very compact, lot of features, great image quality. Almost everything the t5i have but in a smaller package.
Just purchased one at work and it make me think of selling my 6d, lol.

Mine is three. I've already found the perfect camera for her:

R0114732 by ruby.monkey, on Flickr

(Actually I think she's planning to bump me off for my GRD4)

 

[Scrambler]

My kids have one and only one feature that they require in a camera: immediate feedback. I say that, but the 4-year-old made off with a film SLR and shot some pretty decent snaps of a friend in the front garden. I don't know how he'd go with a TLR though.

 

[marcr1230]

Okay - first thoughts on the Pentax K-30 we received yesterday
1. It's solid - not featherweight like a mostly plastic entry level DSLR
2. Quirky - need to read the manual - built in flash doesn't appear to work well in auto-everything mode, but is fine in P or Tv/Av
3. Control wheels take you off P and into Av or Tv despite the mode dial being set to P
I prefer that when you set something physically , it stays that way
4. Seems like screw drive lenses - I'm spoiled already by near silent in lens motors
5. Battery compartment oversized to accommodate a AA holder

Anyway this is all for the kid - she seems happy w it

 

[Scrambler]

.3) Customisable - see p163 of the manual

4) You can get SDM lenses with in-lens AF motors if the camera motor annoys you enough

5) Didn't you buy an AA holder????

 

[marcr1230]

We did buy the AA holder 🙂
Thanks for the tips