dslr for a kid????

[rhino123]

thx bros,o ya, heard bout nikor lens dun always haf build in motor,wat bout using canon lens in nikon body? dat way at least can share,
as for letting the boy hands on a camera is a problem for me too, as he can really adapt really well,
had actually brought him to try many times whenever we come across shops with samples, it seems to me dat kids nowadays are REALLY SMART,
he picks up a camera of diff brand for awhile & he'll go on & on bout telling me the differences.......
so guess eventually i've to decide for him,
true, there's tons of brands to choose from, but for a small boy using a dslr to me is still abit worrying.. i'm sure he can handle it & responsible enough but
i've gotta say i've never come across a boy dis small carrying a dslr before, really feel like giving 1 to him on his 8th birthday on Dec,
meanwhile will start doing homework on other makes..
Damn!! it's hard being a parent, lol

I don't think Canon lens can work with Nikon body (I think it had something to do with the flange distance or something like that, not too sure) so even if there is an adapter for that, you wouldn't be able to focus to infinity. That being said though, a Nikon lens can be used on a Canon body with the correct adapter (only that there will no longer have AF and it is a full manual lens) and depending on the adapter, you could have AF confirmation though.

Anyway for young children, I would imagine that an entry level like the Canon 450D/500D or 1000D/1100D, Nikon D3200 or D3100, Pentax Kr/ Pentax K-30, Sony A37, etc, will do really well. This is because you would not want to overwhelm your boy with too much controls and dials, although children tends to adapt and learn very fast, but too many switches, dials and stuff might still be a bit intimidating.

I would like to say that since you are using Canon and would imagine that you do have some lenses in your arsenal, so the cheapest way to get things started is to stick with the Canon, that way, your boy can use your lens and so it would be easier on your wallet.

Anyway, you have mentioned that your boy did not like using liveview, but actually there are some mirrorless out there that have electronic viewfinder which more or less look and feel like a normal viewfinder of DSLR. To name some of the cameras - Olympus OM-D, Panasonic GH3, Samsung NX10/ NX20, the GH3 and NX10 look and feel abit like a smallish DSLR while the OM-D feel like a small rangefinder style camera which took on some heritage look and feel from the old Olympus OM camera.

If I was to choose, I would definitely give my boy a cam body that I am familiar with and had large arsenal of lenses... in my case - Canon and Olympus. And for your case, I would imagine the camera brands to be Canon and Samsung (namely, Canon 450D/ 500D or if you have money to spend, then get him the latest 650D. or Samsung NX10/20.)

 

[HighTone]

Childrens often have alot of potential esp in things they have interest in. Weight normally is not much of a problem for them because their daddy will often carry their lenses. Just 1 body and a lens should be ok for a 8 year old to carry. Having said that, I feel that getting a mid-range 2nd hand will be good, enough to let them learn all the settings and dials, yet not too much and too heavy..

 

[ed9119]

so heartening to hear that you are very supportive .... there are one or two other kids around Pri 6 or Sec 1 here in the forum who shoot well too

hmmmm..... I'm inclined to advise that

1. entire family stay on the same system to share lens resources and to encourage bonding ... saves a ton of money too

2. because technology is changing so quickly, I would suggest buying 2nd hand just 1 or 2 generation back eg 600D or 550D

saw the build quality of the 1000D .... sorry ... I cannot even imagine a 2nd hand one .... might as well get a 450D .... should be very near in pricing to one another

 

[bonrya]

with a 450d, i more or less walked a good distance in photography.

But with a pentax, you're starting to lift off?? :bsmilie:

Anyway, to TS: buy the best u can afford. Don't buy then keep changing.

 

[fatbike]

hi guys, sorry for late reply, was actually stuck in my ICT, suddenly got drawn back.... for a week..
CONFIRM giving 1 canon body to him on his birthday on DEC, though most probably a 2nd hand,
BTW i was really shock dat he notice the max iso on a 450D few days ago & wat he told me was
" nah... iso 1600 is more den enough".
was really shock, felt really good hearing dat meaning he noes abit on manual mode, thx all for all the infos provided again

 

[allenleonhart]

My 4 1/2 yr old daughter uses a Minolta film SLR

oh i started out with a minolta x700-s the 450d was my 2nd camera.

my current one is pentax k-5

 

[allenleonhart]

But with a pentax, you're starting to lift off?? :bsmilie:

Anyway, to TS: buy the best u can afford. Don't buy then keep changing.

with a pentax i'm stuck with army and no time to use at all ._.

 

[allenleonhart]

hi guys, sorry for late reply, was actually stuck in my ICT, suddenly got drawn back.... for a week..
CONFIRM giving 1 canon body to him on his birthday on DEC, though most probably a 2nd hand,
BTW i was really shock dat he notice the max iso on a 450D few days ago & wat he told me was
" nah... iso 1600 is more den enough".
was really shock, felt really good hearing dat meaning he noes abit on manual mode, thx all for all the infos provided again

arguable... back then i had the f2.8 tamron to go with it, so i can still manage low light photography. but i will puke blood if it was not f2.8...
the 450d is amazing for BNW photography. there is something about the iso 1600 + black and white that makes it look good. i did a whole series using this camera.

 

[Riotbmx]

oh i started out with a minolta x700-s the 450d was my 2nd camera.

my current one is pentax k-5

It's a great little camera apart from the very expensive batt it uses. This is perfect for her because it has autofocus(very slow though) and it's very light. I only shoot black and white now, so she's been using the colour negatives and slides. Recently she started to go into the darkroom with me to make prints, requested to have a roll of black and white film loaded the next time. I think that will be pretty interesting.

 

[syakir96]

You are one of the best dad ever! I'm also fairly young(16) and i jus started on using film rangefinders. I just wished i had started earlier(like 8 years old)

 

[Csboi]

Canon 450D and 500D are both good. Once a 450D user :smilie:

 

[ed9119]

hi guys, sorry for late reply, was actually stuck in my ICT, suddenly got drawn back.... for a week..
CONFIRM giving 1 canon body to him on his birthday on DEC, though most probably a 2nd hand,
BTW i was really shock dat he notice the max iso on a 450D few days ago & wat he told me was
" nah... iso 1600 is more den enough".
was really shock, felt really good hearing dat meaning he noes abit on manual mode, thx all for all the infos provided again

i just shed a tear of joy reading this

 

[mod101]

I gave my 9 year old daughter a Nikon D3200 w 18-55 kit lens for her birthday recently. I also bought her a 35/1.8dx lens. That's it... off she goes shooting - learning aperture, speed etc. She is really enjoying it, now she has started playing around with Lightroom too. Kiddos do learn fast. I guess what's more important is how to let them maintain the interest learning, boosting their creativity etc. I am sure your boy will enjoy it

thx bros,o ya, heard bout nikor lens dun always haf build in motor,wat bout using canon lens in nikon body? dat way at least can share,
as for letting the boy hands on a camera is a problem for me too, as he can really adapt really well,
had actually brought him to try many times whenever we come across shops with samples, it seems to me dat kids nowadays are REALLY SMART,
he picks up a camera of diff brand for awhile & he'll go on & on bout telling me the differences.......
so guess eventually i've to decide for him,
true, there's tons of brands to choose from, but for a small boy using a dslr to me is still abit worrying.. i'm sure he can handle it & responsible enough but
i've gotta say i've never come across a boy dis small carrying a dslr before, really feel like giving 1 to him on his 8th birthday on Dec,
meanwhile will start doing homework on other makes..
Damn!! it's hard being a parent, lol

 

[Riotbmx]

I gave my 9 year old daughter a Nikon D3200 w 18-55 kit lens for her birthday recently. I also bought her a 35/1.8dx lens. That's it... off she goes shooting - learning aperture, speed etc. She is really enjoying it, now she has started playing around with Lightroom too. Kiddos do learn fast. I guess what's more important is how to let them maintain the interest learning, boosting their creativity etc. I am sure your boy will enjoy it

It's way better than buying them computer games

 

[ed9119]

It's way better than buying them computer games

AMEN to THAT !!!

 

[SianTFN]

Very true!

Anyway I started out with a 450D and learnt a lot from it. Very cheap now also.

 

[fatbike]

hi guys, wow, dis tread still alive, lol
juz outpro my ict today, glad to c many positive replies, hope dis tread can b of abit of help to parents out there too.
cheers

 

[zpbuff]

D450/D500 very good liao, but I still recommend to get your kid a PNS, dont use too much function as the key is get the right pic not the right function, later when he have a need to use DSLR to improve the pic he shoot then upgrade

 

[Riotbmx]

D450/D500 very good liao, but I still recommend to get your kid a PNS, dont use too much function as the key is get the right pic not the right function, later when he have a need to use DSLR to improve the pic he shoot then upgrade

I politely disagree. Having the ability to go full manual is key to teaching them about making proper exposure an choosing the right DOF. I gave my P6 nephew photography lessons using my Bro's X100, now he knows the relation of ISO, shutter speed and aperture. I can give him a situation now like this scene reads 1/125-f4- ISO400, but I want to shoot at f2. He can tell me what shutter speed or ISO to use. Kids can learn very fast esp when they have interest in that subject.

Taken by my 4 year old daughter with a Minolta Dynax 404si, Fuji Sensia 100 colour slides.

 

[neubdetat]

I saw a 10 yr old on Saturday with his father at Sungei Buloh rocking a 5d2 + 70-200 f2.8II. He was carrying it properly (obviously he had a better strap than Canon's neckbreaker) and shooting photos like a pro.

As I have come to believe. If your child is interested in something, don't cheap out. Get him the best of what you can afford and cultivate a culture of photography together. Your child will pick up the seriousness and love for the hobby that way and will be less likely to treat it as a fun diversion.

If you are not serious, he will not be serious.

And also, never assume that your child will be unable to understand how to make something work, because if you are already more technologically inclined than your parents, you can imagine your child would be even more so than you.