OT: First Camera suggestion

W

wlewisiii

Guest
I thought I would seek out the collective wisdom of RFF and ask this here - Our babysitter, a bright 13 year old girl, has become fascinated by my cameras - especially my folders. She just loves the square prints. (She's the young gal in the "lakeside" shots in my gallery.)

So I'm pondering getting her a real camera (ie more than a point and shoot) so that she can learn photography herself. Since she'd be getting film and developement at the nearest Walgreens or etc, 35mm is pretty much a requirement. Meter as well - sunny 16 is one thing for me to putz around with, but if she's just trying to learn to take decent pictures in her house... But other than that, I'm thinking one of the various either inexpensive new manual SLR's or a similar used camera with a 50mm prime. I tend towards Canon as that's what I learned on, but I'm agnostic about it in this case.

I'm considering SLRs mainly for lens availablity, reliability and. as my budget is effectivly non-existant, cost.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

William
 
Success is a great factor in motivating children. Get her something that has some automation, so she will get good photos in a reasonable ratio. Also, something more robust but small, so she won't leave it at home being afraid of damage or scared by weight/size.

Why not a compact rangefinder? Older slr's tend to be quite heavy; lens switching can be addictive, taking the attention away from more important stuff (same happened to me when i got more serious about photography and got a minotla af SLR system).
But if you keep on the SLR idea, oly OM-1 is quite small and cheap (mercury battery issue...); pentax me super is a super camera, cheap and small; minolta x-series manual focus bodies are good and cheap (x-500 = x-570 would be my suggestion, or one of the XD's but those can be $$$). Autofocus is another option - try some ooolder AF bodies, like minolta xi or i series (3xi, 5xi, 7xi are fine), but the lenses will cost you more than manual ones.
Can't speak of canon/nikon; don't know them enough (i think canon's AE-1 is in a correct league)

There are 35mm folders too...:) with slower lenses and some even with meter, i think -not sure about it.
 
Last edited:
By the way, there are not many "inexpensive new manual SLR's"...the cheapest ones are usually only full-auto.
 
For an SLR: Nikon FG is my pick for Nikki when she is a bit older. It will fit small hands, manual focus, programmed Mode, aperture preferred mode, and full manual with "Match Diode" metering. It has a bright viewfinder.

For an RF: Fixed Lens, also auto. Probably the Minolta Hi-Matic E to start. Cheap, well made, programmed auto with a fast lens and clear finder. Of course the Canonet if you can get one at a good price.

I have a Vivitar 35EE with a clean VF/RF, autoexposure- programmed mode, f2.8 lens, Black. The overall condition is EX with wear on the baseplate, where I straightened it out. I used it on my summer vacation as the "pool-Cam", works fine.

$10 shipped to you, or something in trade.
 
I think you are on the right track. A Canonet would be a good choice for rangefinders, and of course, Taffer has a Minolta x-370 for offer posted on the "For Trade" thread. The nice thing about the x-370 is that it does offer some automation, and the lenses are dirt cheap, and pretty good. You can get a 50/1.7 like new on ebay for $10. If she wants in the future she can expand her outfit without a large financial investment.
 
I'd say for a rangefinder, the Canonet QL17 would be my top choice.

For SLRs... ehh... Nikon FM2n, FE, FE2, FG, FA. Olympus OM1 or OM2 series. Pentax K1000 is classic. Canon AE1.
 
Agree with all of the above. A Canonet with a working meter is a wonderful starter cam. Likewise any SLR with a good working meter.

One other option is a brand new Olympus Stylus Epic. Inexpensive, weather-proof, SMALL, very sharp 35mm/2.8 lens. It's automated but it packs a big punch in a small package.

Gene
 
Pentax ME-Super or MX. The ME-Super has the advantage of being lighter, and having aperture priority AE, if you like. Older Pentax K mount primes are cheap and excellent glass.

Or, as other's have suggested, what about a QL17 or similar?

Cheers,
Steve
 
I concur with the Canonet for a beginner RF, and if a Canon SLR is the choice, an AE1 program with lens can be had for under $100 these days.
 
I can sympathize with the Canonet suggestions, but I have a hard time giving her one because I really didn't like the one I owned. It just was somehow wrong eronomically for me and I never could enjoy using it. I sold it not too long after getting it.

It does make me wish there was a manual mode on my Yashica GSN. I'd give her that in a heartbeat because it's such a fun camera to shoot, but it's not going to teach much.

Pity my Ansco doesn't have a built in meter - otherwise it'd be near perfect...

William
 
William, if you like the size of the GSN you can try to find a Hi-matic 7s with a working meter, or a Konica Auto S2 :)
 
Why not let her borrow the GSN and shoot a roll, get it developed and then you can discuss composition, exposure, focusing, whatever. Then she can shoot another roll with the GSN or maybe start shooting the Ansco with a borrowed meter. People can learn a lot about photography with borrowed equipment, especially when an experienced mentor is available. Just an idea.
 
Actually, the borrowed camera is a good idea.

That's how I started!
Also, it means she can "try before she buys", which gives two benefits:

1. Doesn't matter if she decides she'd rather take up guitar in two months.
2. When she does get a camera of her own, she'll have a better idea of what *she* wants in one.

Cheers,
Steve
 
How about a compact rangefinder with an autoexposure mode like the Konica C35 or a scale-focus viewfinder camera like the Trip 35? Either would be extremely simple to operate yet allow her to take sharp, well-exposed photos with a minimum of fuss on her part. They also go for a lot less than your average Canonet... although the Rollei 35 probably wouldn't be a good first camera choice because of the funky control layout.
 
At this point, I've decided to let her borrow my Canon AE-1 and 50/1.8 lens as suggested above. It's reasonably simple to use, especially in ae mode, and once she puts a couple of rolls through it, she and I can discuss better what she wants to be able to do.

Thanks to all for the suggestions!

William
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom