Advice please on new purchase

Advice please on new purchase

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Discussion

lowdrag

Original Poster:

12,903 posts

214 months

Tuesday 5th August 2008
quotequote all
Am going to buy my son in law a new camera for his birthday this year and want to encourage him to improve on his already impressive ability by buying him something more advanced than the P&S he has now. I am impressed by the superzoom Panasonics with image stabilisation and manual, aperture and shutter modes, plus macro. Am I missing out on some other make that might be better? I know my SLR's but this is a segment of the market I know little about.

Simpo Two

85,578 posts

266 months

Tuesday 5th August 2008
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Why not buy him an entry-level DSLR? Far more potential to expand and learn than in a fixed lens jobbie. He's also more likely to learn properly if he doesn't have gadgets like image stabilisation and other 'get out of jail free' cards!

RobDickinson

31,343 posts

255 months

Tuesday 5th August 2008
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I agree, no P&S can hold a candle to even the poorest dSLR.

lowdrag

Original Poster:

12,903 posts

214 months

Tuesday 5th August 2008
quotequote all
In front of you there. I am getting the new D3 soon and have a D2X so my D70 will get passed on in time with lenses (18/55 and old 75/300, 500 mirror and so on), but I want to educate him step by step so he is able to understand photography more before he gets that far.

cliff123

458 posts

243 months

Tuesday 5th August 2008
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This is for your son-in-law, who I assume is over 18, but you "want to educate him step be step?" You have a D2X and a D70 and are buying a D3, correct?

I'm a little confused. Do you, or do you not know anything about cameras? Judging by your gear claim you should. Hence I'm sure you'd know that your son-in-law could handle a D70! A point and shoot ain't going to teach him anything.

What exactly are you asking from the forum?


Edited by cliff123 on Tuesday 5th August 17:03

lowdrag

Original Poster:

12,903 posts

214 months

Tuesday 5th August 2008
quotequote all
Simply because he likes macro and holidays so needs close up and zoom. I don't think he is ready for an SLR yet and anyway I need the D70 with the 18/200 as a backup to the main camera at the moment. Next year or this winter, perhaps I'll get the D3 if funds permit but for the moment I need both for pitlane photography and racing plus marriages. I only posted the question to see if there was perceived wisdom about the type of camera I have in mind, not asking for criticism. I know my cameras and what I want to buy him at the moment; I think an SLR, while great, isn't for him yet with the plethora of lens options. So, if you have ideas please post. If not, please stop the criticism. The question was specific in its content and context.

Simpo Two

85,578 posts

266 months

Tuesday 5th August 2008
quotequote all
Not criticising, simply suggesting that he will learn more with an DSLR than a POS, and you sound better able than most to teach him. A POS will, IMHO, simply present a barrier to proper learning. POS cameras are great for people who know little about photography and don't want or need to know about it, but just want decent results quickly from average siutations.

You say that he already has a POS, and that he has 'impressive ability', so from where I'm standing the path is clear. Anyway, I'm outta here.

Edited by Simpo Two on Tuesday 5th August 19:16

NewNameNeeded

2,560 posts

226 months

Tuesday 5th August 2008
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Agree with above comments. You mention he already has talent and a P&S camera. So the next logical step is a DSLR.

On a budget, and as an entry level DSLR I'd strongly recommend the Nikon D50 which is a year or so out of date now so you can get them for very little money (and apart from the megapixel count it pretty much holds its own against the current entry level Nikons).

CivicMan

2,211 posts

202 months

Tuesday 5th August 2008
quotequote all
NewNameNeeded said:
Agree with above comments. You mention he already has talent and a P&S camera. So the next logical step is a DSLR.

On a budget, and as an entry level DSLR I'd strongly recommend the Nikon D50 which is a year or so out of date now so you can get them for very little money (and apart from the megapixel count it pretty much holds its own against the current entry level Nikons).
Agree 100% - the D50 is a superb camera and produces cracking results. As an example, check out this currently on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nikon-D50-Digital-SLR-Camera...

No P&S is going to touch that for quality.