What camera should I buy for my girlfriend?

[icebear]

Yeah, anything less than a Leica is wasted money... 😉 Come on Klaus, that's a bit rough.

😉 That why I asked if she liked the handling of the M8.
I am sure she doesn't give too much about the red dot but she will immediately notice the handling difference.
If she liked the M8, she has been spoiled already, anything else will make him look cheap.
That's the worst thing that can happen.

 

[squareshooter]

You are strolling through a mine field here. This is how it works -- you buy a lady a Rolls Royce and she hates the color. So You buy her a $100.000 2-seater Benz and she says it's difficult to get in and out of with a short skirt. So you buy her a top-of-the-line Jag and she said she hates it because they killed cows to make the leather seats. Wimmin, bless them, have minds of their own. Let her decide.

 

[Godfrey]

Ask her first, "Would you like your own camera?" Then continue from there.

Cameras are very personal purchases. I never buy a camera for, or give a camera to, someone who has not specifically expressed an interest in having one. Given that so many people these days have a darn good camera in their cell phone, a 'real' camera that they don't actually want can become an embarrassment and an annoyance.

Let her guide you as to what she wants. She may just want to borrow yours, like my partner.

G

 

[icebear]

I guess redsky should just post his girl friend's e-mail, we ask her and then tell him. Does it sound like a plan ?😀

 

[shadowfox]

X100s and be done with it...

That's about it.
It's simple enough, yet the single lens bolted to it is very versatile.
It's not cheap, it's not excessively expensive either.
You can use it if she didn't like it, or sell it later while it's still in demand.

To get her to do film, continue to lead by example.
If she sees what you enjoy about film, she'll evaluate it and decide.
No "conversion" needed.

 

[redsky]

I like how this came out. Thank you all for your insights. A few comments:

Film: I would love her to do film. I feel that not getting a quick feedback would not help though. I will consider that, I will get her to develop with me, I will also give her today my Contax T2 to play with.

SLR: She shot a few frames with my F100 and she was really intimidated by it. I don't see her carrying around something clumsy and ugly like that.

Leica: She liked my leica a lot, she likes the way it feels, and I was considering giving her my M8... but let's wait for that.

Zooms and smaller sensor: I may be completely mistaken, but I really feel that shallow dof is very attractive to people are used to snapshots. It's a clear qualitative distinction from all the photos of people and food, taken with iphones, that they are bombarded with in facebook and instagram. The shallow dof would get her excited.

Letting her choose: This is a very wise decision. I cannot do it explicitly though (it is supposed to be a gift, not a transaction) so I am going to have to come up with some idea for getting her to try different cameras.

I am leaning towards the X100, but she may indeed like zooms (nobody is perfect) so I will try to get her to test something with zoom, RX100 maybe.

 

[Godfrey]

My partner generally doesn't want gifts of things he doesn't want. Although it sounds somewhat circular, I often feel the same way. So I always vet a potential gift before buying.

Just ak her about a couple of different things and gauge her interest in a camera vs other potential gifts.

G

 

[aizan]

TOP just posted about discounts on Sony NEX-6 kits with the collapsible zoom. Not bad for $800:

http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2013/07/mikes-favorite-camera.html

 

[TXForester]

Ask her what she likes about the cameras of yours she has used. The viewfinder? Manual focusing? That'll narrow things down for you, I'd imagine.

You could also ask what she doesn't like about your cameras.

 

[kuzano]

Is she Amish....

Is she Amish....

My GF gift expenses went down a whole bunch when I reviewed past encounters, and decided to start dating an Amish girl.😀

 

[Dunn]

My girlfriend kind of got into photography from me too. She recently wanted a new camera and asked me to help her choose. So, I asked her what was important to her in a camera. She already owns an entry level dslr, but she wanted something smaller without sacrificing image quality. In the end, I pretty much convinced her to get a Sony RX100. She couldn't be happier. She likes my X100 and Ricoh GR, but she LOVES her RX100. It's small, versatile, has zoom, and takes amazing photos. I was actually pretty shocked myself at how good it is. Definitely consider it.

 

[_goodtimez]

You may consider the Nikon P7100. One of the last advanced digital P&S on the market still with an optical viewfinder. It has everything you may wish and fits nicely in any purse.

 

[grapejohnson]

K1000? seems like the ultimate beginner-advanced camera ever to me, and lenses are dirt cheap. then she also won't feel bad if she's not totally enthralled with it because it'll only be like $40-100 instead of $7-800

 

[kxl]

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

😎

Best advice... ever.

You're in Seattle, right? Take her to Glazer's. Bring your credit card.

Or, go on a road trip to NYC. Take her to B&H. Again, don't forget your credit card.

 

[bonatto]

Given the cheap money X1's are going for today, this might be a conscientious choice.

She'll keep on with familiar controls, and could be a launching ground for an m8 in the future.

The lens and sensor on the x1 is stellar. Although the sensor is not latest gen, it can handle up to 1600 without trouble, and the lens is possibly the best performing fixed compact lenst currently in the market.

Although it does not have a built in viewfinder, you can always add one on if she's really into that, but then you're probably better off with an x100 anyways.

With an X100, you get all the bells and whistles, a great lens and sensor, albeit it handles quite differently.

Get used and you won't see such significant depreciation.

 

[nikon_sam]

You say she's not into photography but will borrow yours and take nicely framed photos with it and that's about it...
Maybe she's happy with this arrangement...Have you asked her if she would like her own camera...???
If I were interested in photography and were wanting to take pictures whenever I could I would use anything available to me to do so and that would include a cell-phone camera...if she's not doing that then she may not be as interested as you think or want her to be...just ask before surprising her with a camera she may not want/need...ask...

I bought my wife her first camera early in our marriage...she was very happy to get it but I'll venture to say that less than 20 rolls ever went through that camera...she later bought a digital Nikon Coolpix on her own and will use it here & there...mostly when it involves our kids...there are times when I see this camera that I want to be upset that she really never used it but then I never asked or allowed her input towards this purchase...in September we will be married 28 years...if I were to put it on the shelf with my other gear she might be able to pick it out...
Good Luck...

 

[Matus]

You say she's not into photography but will borrow yours and take nicely framed photos with it and that's about it...
Maybe she's happy with this arrangement...Have you asked her if she would like her own camera...???

+1

Sometimes overdoing things is contra-productive (I have made similar experience). She may feel 'forced' to photograph if you get her a (rather expensive) camera what may destroy her natural interest. Maybe just let heruse your cameras for a while and try to motivate her to do so more often. If she will find more interest towards photography, she will either take the M8 from you, or will let you know that she wants one of her own.

 

[Rodchenko]

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?

My partner came on a 'Photo Day' with me and a bunch of our friends. She borrowed a Fuji X10 off a friend of ours, and loved it. Produced some great shots, too.

So, when the X20 was announced, and the prices of 2nd hand X10s dropped, I snapped one up for her. She's so happy with it.

1. It has the old school good looks, whilst being quite dinky.

2. Not a big sensor particularly, but not at all small. f2.0 lens is nice and fast

3. 28-112mm zoom lens

4. Lots of creative control, if you want it, but fab for point and shoot duties.

 

[rumbliegeos]

I'm with the last two posters. Giving something even vaguely expensive sends a message about intended use, and your girlfriend is clearly just at the exploration stage. I'd get a relatively inexpensive digital and explain to her that it is for exploration, and that you'd be happy to promote her "art" with something more substantial later when she has developed her own personal likes and dislikes in photography. I also think it should be digital so she can more easily do hands-on work with the images on a computer with a fast turn-around in shooting them.

 

[mlu19]

I bought my girlfriend (now fiancée) the RX100 in October last year. She's fallen in love with it since. Get a neck strap too for ease of carrying!

RX100 because it's small, easy to use and pocket-ability (is that a word?), high ISO capability, zoom, auto mode as well as manual mode if she intends to learn in the future. Shallow dof is definitely there too.

Go for the X100 if she wants to look more hipster. I'm serious here. I loved the X100's look while I had it.