My daughter is wanting to take up photography and wants to upgrade from her Sony compact. What’s the next best step up (without going silly budget wise) – a compact system or a SLR? Looking at online reviews from someone who knows nothing about camera’s (me!) it’s a bit of a minefield. Any help much appreciated. Thanks.

An old manual 35mm slr?

Will she be arsed to carry round an SLR? They are large and can be pretty hefty, especially when you’ve got a bunch of lenses, filters etc. But they are still the most “pro” and flexible option.

A decent bridge camera can offer a lot of the manual controls available on an SLR and is smaller, lighter and has enough creative options for many folk.

Has she expressed an interest in either? Does she have any friends/relatives into photography? If so what do they have?

Graham
She has shown an interest in photography and uses her Sony compact quite a lot. She is very good at art and is creative so it looks like a good option for her to follow up. She says the SLR’s are too big but I want to get her something better than a standard compact. Thanks for the info.

If SLR is too big, probably looking at Olympus/Panasonic micro 4/3s systems.

Panasonic GF1, Olympus EP1 for example.

Possibly Sony NEX 3 (less lenses though).

If quality is the main concern perhaps Pentax K-x DSLR. Slightly smaller than a normal DSLR and will beat everything at that price (400 quid), but not as small as micro 4/3.

Dunno what your budget is, but look at the panasonic LX-3 (or the replacement LX-5) for a good compact with options for full manual control, adding a “proper” flash etc.

FWIW I have a micro4/3 camera (a panasonic G1) if you want interchangeable lenses they’re as small as it gets (e-pl1 is cheapest) but still a fair bit bigger than the LX3.

Extra lenses are expensive* though, the LX-3 I suggested (or maybe canon s90 or g9/10/11) are larger compacts that still allow for manual controls and have good built in lenses.

*not strictly true, I use some manual focus lenses that I got cheap too, but by the time you’re carting them about it’s a lot less compact.

A second-hand Nikon D40 would be ideal.

Any and every non compact camera will be big once you start experimenting with lenses so the choice comes to inflexible zoom range on a more capable than compact DSLR or a higher end compact.

In the first category you can safely go for the following:

A D3100 with the Nikon 35mm ? A tidy small package by DSLR standards.

Otherwise the GF-1 with the 20mm lens.

In the second LX3/LX5 pretty much no contest

http://snapsort.com/compare/Nikon_D3100-vs-Pentax_K-x

http://snapsort.com/compare/Nikon_D40-vs-Pentax_K-x

http://snapsort.com/compare/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC-GF1-vs-Pentax_K-x

This is quite a handy site..

Im quite tempted to buy a K-x (for less than 400 with lens) even though I own a Panasonic G1. Probably sell the G1, if I do that.

There are now some Compacts that claim near DSLR quality (with DSLR size sensors, CCD?). Panasonic LX5 being one example, there are others, I think Canon do one (S90/S95?).
I have a bridge camera and TBH I wouldn’t buy one again, It doesn’t seem to have any advantages other than an 18X zoom, almost DSLR size, too big to have in a pocket ready to use, picture quality not DSLR standard.
If you’re not wanting a DSLR size camera, the latest generation of compacts with DSLR size sensors seems, to me, to be the way to go.

Question for your photo-geeks (hijack as well)

I have a Nikon D50 and love it but the resolution is only 6m pixels. Is this good enough for magazine/book published photos or will I need an upgrade?

DavidB this link explains it quite well…

You probably know that more megapixels doesn’t mean a camera is better – but it will get you a bigger print size.

You need to consider the physical size of the print you want and the DPI.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/128982/determining_your_cameras_largest_print_size.html

The D40 is a seriously old camera to be comparing it to the K-x and you can get the D40 with lens for just over 200£ so no comparison there.

What is a bit intriguing is though where they get their data for image quality and noise to compare the D3100 to the K-x.

We’re going through the exact subject at the moment Andy. My daughter is 13 and my wife has a Nikon D40. The Nikon is ‘too complicated’ apparently.
Young’un has her heart now set on a bridge camera with a decent zoom and flip flop screen.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I will research the ones mentioned.

Steve
Let me know how you go on if you would please, I know your research will be more thorough than mine 🙂

A bit of a hijack here but it is on the same topic and asking about a product i expect(hope) would be a recommendation. I dont know much about photography. I point the camera and shoot. Had a cannon ixus for years and want something a bit more advanced. The local jessops recommend this one, Olympus PEN E-PL1. Any good? in fairness it seems quite well recived from the reviews.

Can anyone on here give a informed opinon please. I was going for an entry level slr but the woman said this may suit my needs better. Deal is the camera and a 14-42mm lense for £399

@Hobo – I would look at the E-PL1 plus the Samsung NX100 and NX10, and the Panasonic G1 and GF1. The E-PL1 is a fine camera, no question (well, all of those are), but check out the ergonomics and ease of manual control of Olympus vs Samsung vs Panasonic before you buy – some will suit better than others. Also consider how much you value a viewfinder (and the fact that not all are equal – the accessory finder for the GF1 is very poor in comparison to the others).

£399 is a decent price for that, but also look at the panasonic G10 for about £50 cheaper, plus has a viewfinder etc. though a bit bulkier and looses out on other features.

And ditto what bez said.

Thanks for the help guys

Arrgh. Just been into argos. I was originally looking at the Cannon 1000D SLR with the additional 75mm-300mm lense at £479.00. Then the olympus came in at a £400. Now i can get the dslr cannon for £439. It seems a bargain considering the extra lense retails for £200.

Had another look today and the cannon isnt ‘that’ much bigger than the olympus

Any comments on the cannon please.

A DSLR would seem the right next move.

I’ve this one:
http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/dslr_e-400.htm

It will work as ‘compact’ with a full auto mode, but also has the usual SLR features. Its not big nor heavy.