BebuLamar

Let she uses your camera. Doesn't cost you anything.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Kids are smart, resourceful, and curious. Sometimes it's best, at first, not to deluge them with technical information but to inspire them by example, provide them with some modest gear and lots of enthusiasm, and leave them to their own devices (even a cell-phone) and allow their talent to emerge.

In my own family, our daughter was always artistically inclined- even at an early age she loved to draw, paint, sculpt with clay and make things out of simple materials. Our son was more the family athlete! So.. at the age of 13, I gave our Susie a Minolta X-700, a couple of lenses and a supply of film and let her have at it! I gave her a few pointers on basic exposure and emphasized- more- the perception of light, and design. Well- she did have an advantage of my fully equipped studio and an in-house darkroom and color lab. I did not push her and just gave her some tips and gentle direction form from time to time. At the age of 17, she created a pretty impressive portfolio and was admitted to an advanced art program at a specialized school where most of the other kids were much older. She eventually became an accomplished photographer and nowadays specializes in teaching young folks art and photography. She, however, does not particularly care for the commercial aspect of the craft.

Our son?- he did earn his Black Belt in martial arts and although, as a teenager, he served as my assistant at weddings (he was impressed with the food) and commercial jobs that required lifting of heavy gear, but decide to pursue a career in retail management. At one point, however, he began to do some extremely interesting and well-designed pen and ink drawings- he called them "doodles", that were very impressive- never know!

Our grandkids- photography?- the jury is still out.

I notice that some parents and grandparents immerse their kids in too many things at once- music lessons, dance, classes, sports, equestrian stuff, fencing (because it's good for the posture), and maybe foist or superimpose their own talents, hobbies, and careers on the kids. I like to observe their natural tendencies and see the direction they are taking and then encourage them to advance.

Teenagers will do what they do- school, boys and girls stuff, things that cause the parents to have apoplexy and nervous breakdowns, dress funny and listen to strange music. Nonetheless, artistic or many other talents will survive and emerge. When the kids don't excel at everything the parents become disappointed. I tell them if the kids ain't drinking booze, smoking God knows what, shooting drugs, or joining a street gang, they are doing OK and things will work out because they must be doing something right! I just like to provide some "perspective"!

When I was a kid, my elders all wanted me to become a doctor (because I wrote illegibly), a lawyer (because I had a "big mouth)", or a plumber (because they charge lots of money). They were disappointed when I showed an early interest in becoming a photographer. I had two kinda grumpy old great aunts. One argued that I was gonna become a good-for-nothing "picture bum" who takes "naked pictures" and will die a pauper. The other one, however, bragged that her great-nephew was very "autistic" and her friends sympathized and said that there was no known cure! She spoke with a very heavy Brooklyn accent- she meant "ARTISTIC"!

So, if any of you'll have an old D-300 or Canon Rebel collecting most dust- or something of that nature- gift it to the kid and see where he or she takes it! They might surprise you and ask you to fund the latest Hasselblad digital. They do go online and read forums, reviews, and advertisements!

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Here's an opportunity. Upgrade your camera and give her your old one. Not only can you give her a start in photography, you can teach her about GAS.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Wisdom speaks!! Well done!
Mark

SteveR Loc: Michigan

My daughter became an excellent photographer using her cell phone and p&s. How? They developed her eye and interest. Once she developed not only a real interest and aptitude, esp. with the great subjects of my grandsons (!!), when she told me she'd like a nice camera, I had no problem buying her a D7500 and a lens for sports. There was a learning curve for her, but she really has started to take some nice photos with it now. She also loves my 28-300mm.

The best thing that I did when I started out in photography using a manual film camera was to take a hands on class (class time and actual photo taking time) in which we were taught and learned the math of the exposure triangle, how they related to one another and affected things like d.o.f. What I learned in that class, which was privately taught, not a college or h.s. class, has stuck with me for decades.

John O.

There is a great PC software program called CameraSim and it lets you practice with Aperture and Shutter Priority and Manual Mode. You can zoom and change aperture to see depth of field, etc. IF she is interested enough in working with CameraSim she is on her way to use other than point and shoot. I use CameraSim as a teaching tool in my ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed lectures.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Another thing that helped me in learning d.o.f. was that one of my main lenses when shooting film was a 50mm f1.8 (i.e. very fast). The camera had a lever that would shut down the aperture and give me a preview of the d.o.f. based on the aperture that I had selected. This doesn't work on some of the slower lenses available today (i.e. zooms) because not enough light goes through them to see the difference from one aperture to another.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Nikon 3xxx or Canon Rebel cameras are most excellent.
She can grow with them or if interest is lost no big investment.
But if the growth path is chosen it would take a while to outgrow either because she can add lenses where fixed lens cameras obviously fail at this.
Lots of inexpensive used cameras and lenses.
The canon Rebel will take any Canon EF or EFs lens ever made and work 100% so she would never have to worry about compatibility and if she went mirrorless every lens she got would continue to be 100% compatible with Canon. That feature is unique to only Canon.

JFCoupe Loc: Kent, Washington

Last year I started mentoring a 10 year old young man and how to use a DSLR. He is brilliant in some areas of life like math and reading and challenged in other areas like writing, English and sometimes concentration.

He quickly grasped most of the basics about the triangle of shutter speed, aperture and ISO. I attempt to come up with assignments for outings to encourage him to try various apertures, etc. One time the challenge was to only take 30 images during out 90 minute session. Another outing we worked with a single focal length and another one on open vs closed aperture.

But one key thing I have learned in working with him is, Encourage the love of taking the image, and the technical aspects can always come later.

So when starting with a 13 year old, a few sessions of shooting in program or auto could be a great start. Then review images together and talk about how the triangle items can impact the images. Then determine a 'challenge' for the next outing to move to aperture or shutter priority and go from them.

The best goal, have fun together and learning about photography.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Show him books with photos.
Challenge him to write a story for each photo to make a book.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Does she want to learn about shutter speed, aperture and ISO? How are her cellphone pictures? What cellpone is she using? Are you aware that there are 3rd party apps for cellphones that give you more control over the camera's settings? While you won't have much control over aperture, you can control shutter speed, color, ISO, shoot panoramas, HDR, etc. And other applications like Snapseed will round out some very nice post processing options.

There are always compact cameras, but many of the less costly ones offer no more control than a cellphone app.

You could consider a lightly used camera and lens, which is how I got started in photography in 1967. I was in high school, and my girlfriend's mother had a used camera and some lenses that I bought for $100. I was 15 at the time and $100 was a lot of money, but it was something I really wanted.

Have you considered having her join a local photo club? It will be a great place for her to learn, and maybe the two of you can do it together. She will be able to ease into the technical aspects of photography while enjoying taking pictures and having them critiqued by seasoned pros and enthusiasts.

I've taught youngsters photography, and trust me, they are rarely interested in the numbers behind photography - they much prefer to do stuff with their cameras and share what they've done with others.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Get her a used DSLR. There are tons of them available from reputable stores like KEH, Adorama, B&H, Roberts Camera, Henry's, etc.

People are always upgrading to the "latest and greatest".... These days they are jumping to mirrorless and trading in their DSLRs. As a result, the camera's depreciate rapidly.

If you go with a long-established brand that has a very comprehensive system behind it... such as Canon or Nikon... you'll have a lot to choose among, both with cameras and with lenses.

Look for an "enthusiast" grade camera, one or two steps up from "entry level". The most entry-level models (such as Nikon D3000 series and Canon Rebel T7, T6, T5, etc.) are more "auto oriented" and typically don't give as easy or direct access to controls like shutter/aperture. A step up (Nikon D5000 series, Canon T7i, T6i, etc.... note the "i") have more direct control. Another step up (Nikon D7000 series, Canon 80D, 70D, 60D, 50D, etc.) would be even better. The more semi-pro models (Nikon D300, D500, Canon 7D, 7D Mark II) even further emphasize user control over automation.

At the same time, don't get too old a camera since some of the tech may not be as good. For example, Nikon D200, D3000 and earlier models used CCD sensors that are more limiting how high ISO can be used... With the D300, D3100 and D5000 models Nikon switched to CMOS sensors so those and all subsequent models are more usable in low light conditions. All Canon DSLRs but one have used CMOS sensors.

Buying used Nikon you also have to be a little careful about lens and camera compatibility. Nikon has utilized several different autofocus systems over the years and they aren't necessarily compatible with each other. For example, "AF" Nikkor lenses don't have a focusing motor in the lens and rely upon one built into the camera body, which only the D7000-series, D300, D500 cameras have. Nikkor "AF-S" lenses use an in-lens focusing motor and are more widely compatible with all the different cameras. More recently Nikon has introduced some "AF-P" lenses that are only fully compatible with relatively recent camera models. For example, I know they'll work with D7500, D7200 and D7100 (with a firmware update), but not with D7000.

There are no similar concerns with Canon cameras and lenses. All EF lenses work on all EOS cameras ever made. There are EF-S lenses for use only on the "crop" sensor cameras, but all the models mentioned above are this type camera (which can use both EF and EF-S lenses). The only Canon "crop" sensor cameras that can't use Canon EF-S lenses are three of the very earliest DSLR models that pre-dated the introduction of those lenses: Canon D30, D60 and 10D.

This is not to say that those older Canon models can't be made to work just fine. For example, when I shot with 10D I was able to use all the film camera lenses I already had without problem. When I needed a wide angle lens, I simply bought a Tokina 12-24mm and that worked fine. Only Canon's own EF-S lenses can't be fitted to the camera. Later when I upgraded to a 30D, then a 50D, I was able to use Canon EF-S lenses such as the excellent 10-22mm. (Note: there's actually a way to modify an EF-S lens so it will work, but not necessary since there are alternatives).

The reason I'm mentioning this is because you can buy a camera like the Canon 10D for very little money.... It often now sells for $100 or less (originally sold for $1999!) It's a 6MP camera, pretty "wimpy" compared to later cameras, but I had no problem making 8x10s and 11x14s from its images. It also uses a rather simple AF system. I upgraded to 30D (8MP) primarily because those could shoot RAW + JPEG and I needed that for some of my work. Later I further upgraded to 15MP 50D for the added resolution and improved AF system. (The 10MP 40D also had the improved AF system, but sometimes had shutter reliability issues that make me less inclined to recommend them.)

Later I "graduated" to 7D cameras (18MP, high performance AF) and shot with those for five years.... And now I've been using 7D Mark II for several years (20MP and very high performance AF).

I don't know the Nikon system as well, but have shot alongside other folks using them, seen and heard enough from folks I worked with or who worked for me and used them that I'm sure you can find good, usable models among them, too.

Here is a compilation of Canon DSLR models that you might find helpful: [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Canon_EOS_digital_cameras[[/url]

And here is a similar summary of Nikon DSLR models: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Nikon_DSLR_cameras

Here are some links that can help sort out which Nikon cameras are compatible with which Nikon lenses:
https://www.nikonusa.com/Images/Learn-Explore/Photography-Techniques/2011/Which-Nikkor-is-Right-for-You/Media/NIKKOR-lens-compatibility-chart.pdf
https://www.nikonians.org/reviews/nikon-slr-camera-and-lens-compatibility
https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compatibility-lens.htm

In general, above applies to Canon-branded lenses on Canon-branded cameras and Nikon-branded lenses on Nikon-branded cameras. There are also "third party" lenses... lenses made by other manufacturers for use on Canon or Nikon cameras. Sigma, Tokina and Tamron are three of the largest suppliers of third party lenses (although there are several dozen others).

There have been occasional compatibility issues with third party lenses on Canon cameras. Usually it's an older lens on a newer camera where a problem occurs. The reason is that the third party manufacturer reverse engineers electronic autofocus and aperture control (and possibly image stabilization) based upon what was available a the time of manufacture. Later when Canon designs a new AF system they work to insure it's backward compatible with Canon's own earlier lenses... but that's no guarantee it will work with older third party lenses. Sometimes a manufacturer is able to update the old lens to work on the newer camera, but often this simply isn't practical. Mostly it's been Sigma lenses, but there have been a few compatibility issues with older Tamron lenses, too. This probably is because Sigma has made more different models of lenses than anyone else. It's not terribly common for there to be compatibility issues... just something to be aware of if buying older, used gear. Try to buy with right of return, just in case something doesn't work right... and test it out right away. (The worst that can happen is an incompatible lens might "lock up" the camera with an error code... but that's easy to fix by removing the lens and then reset the camera by removing the battery from the camera briefly.)

With regard to Nikon compatibility, both Tokina and Tamron have made some motorless "AF-D" lenses that are only able to autofocus on the Nikon cameras with the in-body focusing motor... D7000-series and higher models. The Tokina 100mm Macro lens is still being produced as this motorless type of lens (only in the Nikon mount). I'm not aware of any others still in production, though there may be some.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Lumix FZ 80. About $225 used on ebay or $300 new. Can use auto or manual settings for pics and video. 20mm to 1200mm fixed zoom lens and built in flash. 4K video with continuous auto focus. Decent macro capability. Light weight and easy to hold.