First DSLR Advice.

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Dorsetsnapshot

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Hello all,

After some confirmation of a choice I've made. The future father in law appears to be going through a mid life crisis and is buying gadgets like there's no tomorrow :lol:

He saw me take some photos on my camera of his new grand-daughter and now wants a DSLR himself. I am pretty much sure, as is the mrs, that this is a phase and it won't be used much, however as he wants to buy a camera, he's asked me what he should go for.

I've had a look, I want him to go Nikon, because well, :nikon: and I use Nikon myself so I'd be more confident with advice (I'm pants myself) and I've been thinking of recommending either:

the D3100 or D3200 with the 18-55mm lens. Should be plenty to get him started, not too expensive, and if he doesn't take it up properly, won't be too bad.

Would you agree?
 
I would say if your future father in law has no creative ambition then the 3200 would be fine. I would prompt him though that half the enjoyment of photography is creative editing and would recommend he get Lr to go with it & his many gadgets.
 
All modern DSLRs - and a lot of the older one too - are excellent cameras. Canon and Nikon have the widest range of OEM and third party lenses and accessories if that's important to your future father in law, but the handling and ergonomics are different. Some people have a strong preference for one or the other, but neither is inherently better. For a starter camera, it probably doesn't really matter what he chooses and they'll all give good results. I'd just advise him to go to a dealers and pick the one that feels most comfortable in his hands. Ignore the sales hype and pressure to buy overpriced accessories, like filters, and memory cards that are usually cheaper online.
 
i would suggest you get nikon, not because i'm a fan, :nikon: but because when he needs help you'll know your way through the menus to get him going in the right direction. hth mike.
 
The other thing about sticking with the same brand is that you can use each others lenses. Often saves a decent amount of money when you can share with friends.
 
I think going the Nikon route is helpful in as much as shared knowledge goes but, sharing Lenses a big NO from me bad idea- damage loss all can cause some serious fall outs

Les
 
The D3200 isn't a bad camera at all for a beginner, but the one thing to be aware of is that it's quite small as DSLRs go, and might feel cramped. I tried one recently while searching for a new camera, and even compared to a Fuji bridge camera, it felt cramped to me.

I have a young friend who bought one because she wanted something that she could just stick in a mode & use without having to worry about technical issues, and she has been very happy with it.
 
Ok it depends on his budget and what he wants to take photo's of, but best advice is take him to your local camera shop and try out a few different models out (minus his wallet). Personally I would avoid the kit offerings as lenses tend to be very average, and buy a camera body and separate lens, but again that depends on his budget restrictions as to what he can afford. As a previous comment suggested, 2nd hand gear will get you a better camera (i.e. for bang for your $$) and perhaps its sensible to buy Nikon so you can share lenses and experience. Personally recommendations for Nikon would be D7000 or D90 as you'll have more choice from Nikon (back catelogue and new lenses) and after a year if he really getting into his photography he won't feel like he need to upgrade the camera which could be the case if he went with a D3100 or 3200.
 
I find that Canon's are less fiddly than the Nikons, especially at the lower end of things. How about a 600D?
 
Don't forget the secondhand option, you can get a lot more for your money or buy an older camera at the cheaper end of the scale such as a D80 to see how he gets on with photography. He may surprise you and want to trade up, maybe his next camera will be a D4!
 
I agree with minnnt lol but i have a D3200 as a 1st DSLR and im fine with it as its got that dummy guide on it which helps some.
 
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+1 for the nikon d3200. it is my first dslr and i love it. the guide mode was the feature that swung it for me but in reality i never use it!! i managed to grab an ex demo from harrisons in sheffield with the kit lens for 300 quid. good luck with your search. cheers pete
 
D5100 with Kit lens
 
Personally, I'd be picking up a later secondhand autofocus film SLR from Nikon with matrix metering, etc (e.g., F80), which can use all of your Nikon lenses, but only costs in the region of £5-£50 on eBay or even a reputable used dealer (e.g., LCE, Ffordes). I'd then take the money saved and put it into using a good lab for the exposed film (e.g., UK Film Lab) for developing, scanning, and colour correcting the images so that they will come back without any need for further editing.

With the enormous latitude of C-41 colour film and the good scan work from UK Film Lab, he'd probably get some decent results.

Plus, it's basically pay-as-you-go as film SLRs cost about nothing, so you only pay anything if you actually use the camera and shoot any film.

I'm sure that many people will think I'm nuts for suggesting this, but I struggle to see the point in spending several hundred pounds right from the start when someone has never used an SLR of any description.
 
Hey,

Thanks all for all your advice. When I next see him I'll tell him I believe the 3200 would probably be best, however he needs to go to our local store with no wallet and try some out, see how they feel, hold, the menus look, etc.

I honestly think he'll buy it, use it on auto purely because he likes the quality he saw on my camera, and that'll be that. No real interest in being out taking photos etc, but we'll see.

I appreciate all the replies.

Shysk4rk - I can honestly say this will never happen lol. He'll want to take photos, put them on the pc, and show some people. There'll be no PP or anything along those lines. Too complicated, but the idea is good. Something I wouldn't mind trying myself when I get better, just to add a different element to try.
 
It doesn't really matter what DSLR he buys, providing he's comfortable with it and the control interfaces. They're all good and the D3200 should be fine. There's nothing wrong with 'Auto' either, for family snaps in decent light, and the camera has scene modes which can be useful even though most of us despise them!
 
Dorsetsnapshot said:
Hey,

Shysk4rk - I can honestly say this will never happen lol. He'll want to take photos, put them on the pc, and show some people. There'll be no PP or anything along those lines. Too complicated, but the idea is good. Something I wouldn't mind trying myself when I get better, just to add a different element to try.
Click to expand...

Yeah, no worries. I know that most of us have become so accustomed to instantaneous results that it makes it hard to go back to using film. That said, shooting film is really not complicated at all and the film emulsions available today are amazing.

I hope that he enjoys the D3200.
 
IMO I would go for something you fancy, when he gets bored you get to buy a cheap camera
 
I think the D3200 recommendation will be fine. Its a great like camera and if he leaves it in auto he will probably get some pleasing results, and if he wants to experiment he can. You never know, once he gets it he might catch the bug, just point him in the direction of TP!
 
Well you've had loads of sensible advice so how about something a bit more frivolous? Get him to buy a D610, then when he realises that it's too complicated for him to get good results you can "inherit" it from him :banana:
 
Thanks for all the replies lads, really appreciate it. I think i'll take him to the shop and let him see what he wants. He may go for the best one as that's what he's like, so i'll look to inherit that ha.

Appreciate all the advice though.
 
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