Recommendations for a starter camera for a teenager (Page 2): My granddaughters made it through being 16 and are now in college. Being a 16 year old girl might be the toughest life...

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

mikenolan wrote:

She's 900 miles away, so a sitdown isn't likely un... (show quote)

My granddaughters made it through being 16 and are now in college. Being a 16 year old girl might be the toughest life there is. It might be harder to be a distant grandfather trying to find a meaningful gift. The odds are against that!

mikenolan Loc: Lincoln Nebraska

Yeah, she's a Junior and just starting to think about colleges, currently leaning towards possibly studying in Germany (where a friend of hers lived for several years.) She's interested in so many different things, I have no idea what she's thinking about studying in college, much less what kind of career she might want. She's into music, theatre, dance, cooking and now photography, and those are just the ones I know about.

Our younger son spent 7 1/2 months studying in Germany when he was in college, minoring in German while majoring in mathematics and computer science.

mmills79 Loc: NJ

mikenolan wrote:

Our 16 year old granddaughter has requested some kind of digital camera for Christmas, she wants one that is lightweight but still has ISO/aperture/shutter speed controls. It should accept filters but does not necessarily need to support interchangeable lenses, but a step up from iPhone or point-and-shoot cameras. (I think lightweight is a key consideration.)

One that she suggested is the NEZINI 4K digital camera, not a brand I am familiar with.

Any suggestions?

Another participant has already suggested this and I concur: Look at the Canon R50. Can be had for $749 with an 18-45 lens. It has both excellent still and video capabilities. It has a small footprint, it's light, so it will be easy to carry around - just what the doctor ordered. Pretty perfect for a teen who probably is social media conscious.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Just a hint based on first‐person observation of probably 2500+ kids over the past few years...
High school kids, even the most responsible ones, are somehow developmentally incapable of managing batteries in their devices. This is true of laptops, chromebooks, and cell phones. They spend an incredible amount of their time in search of an outlet to plug in a charger for one or another device at all times during the day. Whatever the two of you decide on, you need to exercise a final vote to make sure that whatever she gets has really good battery life.

And one last hint...a key vocational skill of teenagers, even the responsible ones, is losing or misplacing just about anything you can name. I strongly suggest selecting nice but moderately-priced used equipment, at least for the first iteration, to give her the opportunity to develop a strategy for keeping up with it.

Have fun. I really hope this can be one of those great bonding experiences between the two of you.

User ID

mikenolan wrote:

Our 16 year old granddaughter has requested some kind of digital camera for Christmas, she wants one that is lightweight but still has ISO/aperture/shutter speed controls. It should accept filters but does not necessarily need to support interchangeable lenses, but a step up from iPhone or point-and-shoot cameras. (I think lightweight is a key consideration.)

One that she suggested is the NEZINI 4K digital camera, not a brand I am familiar with.

Any suggestions?

That Nezini seems perfect. For $120 she gets started. Where to go from there depends on her continued growth or lack of same, but the initial price of entry is, significantly, low risk.

User ID

larryepage wrote:

I think if she wants to manage f/stops and shutter speeds, she is interested in actual photography.

Amen. Most replies have been numb to that.

Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore

I would suggest if finances allow a Canon rebel T8i and 18-135 kit lens would last a long time and can be used as point and shoot to complete manual
Some kits have a 75-300 zoom

xposure

My personel opinion is the Canon R100. Ir is about $500 with a zoom lens and pro features and interchangable lenses. Or maybe something like a Minolta - ProShot MN67Z with a very large fixed zoom lens and manual controls. It is less than the R100. a good place to look at cameras is a Best Buy store. They have tons of diferent types of cameras.

BebuLamar

mikenolan wrote:

Our 16 year old granddaughter has requested some kind of digital camera for Christmas, she wants one that is lightweight but still has ISO/aperture/shutter speed controls. It should accept filters but does not necessarily need to support interchangeable lenses, but a step up from iPhone or point-and-shoot cameras. (I think lightweight is a key consideration.)

One that she suggested is the NEZINI 4K digital camera, not a brand I am familiar with.

Any suggestions?

I would suggest a mid to high end DSLR with 1 single normal lens. Get a used one so it would be cheap but yet have all the controls for full manual controls.
Something like a used Nikon D610 and a 50mm f/1.8.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

jaymatt wrote:

Look for a good bridge camera--it should fit her needs.

BRIDGE CAMERA.... insanity ~!!!! Those thing a bulky and pretend to be a full camera, which they are not.

Pocket superzooms to fit your budget and her pocket. For many a add on can allow the use of filters. My old Panasonic has a 37mm filter ring epoxied to the extending lens. My Panasonic TZ100 has a special attachment for 52mm filters. The 37mm filters are low cost and not bulky. She will perhaps prefer the smaller 37mm.

METAL LENS Filter Adapter tube Ring For PANASONIC DMC-LX7 37mm AS DMW-FA1 Ebay $7

Remember, lower pixel rating and IQ is overcome by our modern AI processing... a great affordable edit program is Paintshop Pro [one time $55]. Photoshop with its steep learning curve and expense monthly is a real teen turn off. At $120 a year for her next 40 years that is $4800! With compound interest... well !!!! big $.

bkwaters

Architect1776 wrote:

A R50 with kit lens is excellent for starting.
Price is inexpensive yet has pro level AF.
Get something she can grow with as any accessory for this can carry over years later if desired to more sophisticated equipment.
DSLRs are dead ends and at her age a "Real" camera would be appreciated.
I have done this several times for youth and they all have appreciated receiving a real camera that they could grow with including one who has gone pro with a good start.

I agree. Nowadays, eye focus and tracking are critical and in the R50 they’re top notch. It’s easy to independently change the aperture, shutter speed or iso. This can be done in the traditional way with the dials or using the touch screen. One of the most fun things about non-iPhone photography is interchangeable lenses. A bridge camera is NOT the way to go.

Opusx300

mikenolan wrote:

Our 16 year old granddaughter has requested some kind of digital camera for Christmas, she wants one that is lightweight but still has ISO/aperture/shutter speed controls. It should accept filters but does not necessarily need to support interchangeable lenses, but a step up from iPhone or point-and-shoot cameras. (I think lightweight is a key consideration.)

One that she suggested is the NEZINI 4K digital camera, not a brand I am familiar with.

Any suggestions?

Please see this article I came across on petapixel when I searched on Nezini.

https://petapixel.com/2021/10/05/this-48mp-4k-camera-costs-110-and-is-not-for-pro-photographers/

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

mikenolan wrote:

Our 16 year old granddaughter has requested some kind of digital camera for Christmas……..

Any suggestions?

I think a Canon T7i is a nice starter camera for many. It is lightweight and affordable. I bought one for my daughter and she loves it.

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

When I started taking photos at age 13 I had a cheap camera and was happy to get images. No fancy camera. That taught me that I loved photography and made me want a better camera. If it were just a fad, I would not have gone on later in life with bigger and better cameras. The cheaper camera is probably the best for the first. I learned to fly in a J3 Piper Cub, not a Gulfstream.

TerryVS

I'm curious why filters is in her request list. Also we don't know your budget. Assuming something like the R-50 is doable then I think you need to ask some questions. Is she wanting to shoot snapshots or more? What about video? Where does she want to go with this. I'm in the no bridge camera and buy something name brand camp.

I'm glad to see you helping her as well it's nice to see a teen that seems to be interested in something more than hanging out. I wish you the best and please keep us updated.