What camera should I buy for my girlfriend?

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redsky

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I never thought I would be writing a "what camera should I buy" post in my life, but I am really uncertain about this.

Background: my girlfriend has never been into photography (she has done lots of traveling without a single camera) but she has always been very interested in my photography and she has been very curious about my cameras lately. When we are out she has "borrowed" my M8 or MM a few times to take a few pictures and she has learned a bit about focusing and exposure. Like any woman, she has good instincts for framing. I thought it would be great to give her something simple, alluring, that will deliver great results and therefore foster her interest.

The candidates: X1, DP2 Merrill, X100, GR. Something else in this price range?

Considerations:
1- Aesthetics (something pretty like the X1 or X100 will help)
2- Large sensor, fast lens. Amateurs tend to be impressed by shallow dof. She does, at least. Also, I think she will take plenty of portraits and abstract stuff in low light (think cabinet handle in a badly lit kitchen and self portraits in the bathroom mirror).
3- One single lens. She won't cope with changing lenses. Ever.
4- She's not an engineer, she's smart but she has little interest in learning the intricacies of film development, focus throw, sagittal coma, or even something simple like exposure compensation (although she has shown interest in printing on her own, so I may introduce her to cyanotypes if all goes well)

Has anybody here converted a girlfriend? Can you share your insights?
 
:) Good one.

If she gets into it, I will happily. Right now, though, I am not willing to expense 3k for a potential that may never unfurl.
 
if you have a darkroom, it's more fun to lend them a film camera, since you can then help them develop a roll on their own too. really romantic and fun stuff.

don't think that just because she's a girl she won't want to take it the distance -- give her the camera you learned on, or that you wish you could've learned on
 
RX1 would give you the DOF...

I bought a Nikon J1 for the SO and she enjoys it immensely. So much that she bought two lenses for it after a few months. It is interchangeable lens but small and looks great.
 
Forty two years experience leads me to advise that you let her decide when to buy, where to buy and what to buy.

Your sole input should be the provision of the credit card...

:cool:
 
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I gave my g/f a Rolleicord III a couple of years ago for christmas. It was the best decision I've ever made (besides getting in a relationship with her in the first place)! She loves the hell outta this camera and the 6x6 format. (It also comes with very shallow DOF btw)
you can get one plus film and a lot of vouchers for processing. Maybe she'll love film

As for digital my g/f got herself a Nex5n or so with the standard zoom. She likes it very much. I must say I'm impressed by that camera too (well my Industar 50/3.5 on a M42 adapter still outperforms the zoom).
 
Take her to the store, with the pre-filtered selection of cameras you think she'd like.. and let her decide.

Also I notice you stayed away from cameras with zoom. You may not like them (I don't) but your GF might (my wife does).. so you may want to through in an RX100 or something in that price range for comparison.
 
When my wife and I got together 11 years or so agio, she had a Minolta APS camera which was okay. However, we went on holiday to Egypt and she decided she wanted a digital camera as they were really in the ascendency in those days. I had a Nikon D70 and she went for a Sony DSC-T1 (a diddy-wee credit card sized thing with a decent enough lens but very limited capabilities. She managed okay.

The next holiday we went on was a Safari to Kenya. This was when the excremet hit the oscillating object. She'd convinced herself that the point and shoot was every bit good enough for a safari. It wasn't and it dawned on her that you need the right tool for the job.

She's now inherited my Nikon D700 / 28-70mm f2.8.

The moral of the story is that it's best to let her decide what she wants the camera for and show her the options available that will do the job. Assuming she doesn't go for a Nikon D4 or Leica S2, there's every chance that you'll only need to buy her one camera - much cheaper and cost effective in the long run.
 
i don't like (d)slr's either, but one of the new consumer grade canon or nikons fitted with a fast zoom lens might be worth considering. not really aesthetic but practical and more versatile than the other options. i would rather buy a sigma dp1m or x100 if i had the money but for a beginner it's probably good to have a camera that lets you find out what kind of photography you like without restricting you while trying (different focal lengths, easy use of flash, speed of operation etc.)
 
X100s would be more versatile, due to the focal length and high iso capabilities, also the eye level finder should please her if she likes the M form factor and way of focusing/framing (i focus using the center of the vf, so despite being AF and not a RF i use both the same way) though a DP2M would have shallower dof and higher detail, but with less light it might not be so useful.
 
Stephen G said:
You may not like them (I don't) but your GF might (my wife does).. so you may want to through in an RX100 or something in that price range for comparison.
Click to expand...

good point, nowadays I've been using the RX100 much more than the X100 due to its pocketability. I use it as a fixed lens camera, either in 28mm or 100mm. it has enough subject isolation shooting wide open and FANTASTIC high iso image quality. I don't really miss an eye level finder that much. but i'd wait and get the mark II, for the extra 100 bucks I think it's worth it. wifi for sharing photos right away and the higher low light sensitivity, to me, are significant improvements.
 
jsrockit said:
X100s and be done with it...
Click to expand...

+1
It can be used from complete "Auto" to fully manual. The only time you will need to buy another camera (doesn't everyone have 2 at least ? :eek:) is if she -
-wants to do film developing, or
-wants different focal lengths, or
-wants to print huge enlargements.

The x100s does most of the other stuff quite well !
 
"What camera should I buy for my girlfriend?"

Expensive camera, of course :) Just think if she asks you if her camera (the gift) is better or worse than yours.... :)
 
i don't know about your girlfriend, but i bought my wife a RX100 6 month ago and she is extremely happy with it.
"Auto everything" because Zooming, Framing and shooting is all she cares about, no technicalities and no lens exchanges at all.
I would indeed go for the mod II nowadays.
Wrap it nicely and she will be delighted.
All the other stuff is way to big and way to complicated..

success with your - shared - decision.
 
Was there anything too complicated for her when using your M8 ? Did she like the feel of it ? When you get her a "can do it all" P&S, the first thing she'll notice is the weight.
"He has a real camera and he is getting me some cheap plastic crap" will be written on her forehead ;). (The actual price doesn't really matter).

All these menu options with other cameras that have hundreds of features will be way too much. She wants to take pictures and not study the camera first. A M8 might be as simple as it can get.

A used M8 and fast 35mm VC or Zeiss and she will be on her way with some nice equipment that doesn't get in her way.
Because if it does, she will not use it, simple as that and then you will have wasted the money completely.
Btw : my better half uses my M9 sometimes and she likes it.
 
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