What DSLR for a student?

See if you can find a camera shop (or two, depending what they stock) where she can try a few of them out. See which thinks feels best in her hands and which has the controls that seem the most intuitive to her.

I've used lightning adaptors to connect cameras to an iPad (either the camera directly using a USB adaptor, or a SD card adaptor).

For iPad part, Cascable app is significantly better than the official apps, for all cameras I have seen. Also the iPad can these days read SD cards directly using a usb card reader!

I edit my RAWs using Affinity but plenty of apps on iPad for that sort of thing!

Also I would not rule out mirrorless unless DLSR is a hard requirement! There is an adapter for EF lenses!

Id stick with Canon (or Nikkon) as you'll be able to find lots of secondhand kit that works in either of those systems, along with your old kit.

I'm sure you'll be able to get a connector that allows an iPad to read SD cards.

Canon if you've already got lenses.

The fact that you've Canon lenses would make me tempted to get a Canon body - especially as it'll give her a chance to see if she likes any of them without any outlay. Plenty of good second hand stuff about too.

You could buy my 7D ii for £400.

You just reminded me I need to sell it but I've no idea what they go for these days.

Recommend what you have = Pentax, because they always had the best physical cameras (solid magnesium bodies, easiest to adjust aperture and shutter without taking your eye off the viewfinder.

Currently really impressed by the current Panasonic and Sony mirrorless ranges. Early ones were really rubbish compared to DSLR's, the current ones really do make DSLR's a bit redundant for all but niche use.

Sensible suggestion - stick with either Canon or Nikon, neither have made a bad camera.

Real world suggestion - Canon, even if all you have is the 18/55, 50-200 and 50mm f1.8 kit lenses, that's a few hundred quid saved, then spend the budget on either a decent 2nd hand body, or body + another useful budget prime (wide for landscapes, 80mm for portraits, a macro lense, or whatever she wants).

I'd look at 2nd hand bodies, most amatures never get near the sort of shutter counts where problems happen (10,000 is nothing on a camera designed to do 250,000). Cameras don't tend to get worn out, they get dropped/wet/full of sand. Getting an older but better camera means you get access to more functional things like physical dials which are more useful for learning than burst capabilities or insane iso ranges on a new entry level body.

The fact that you’ve Canon lenses would make me tempted to get a Canon body

If I decided to go the Canon route, I'd probably get a kit with an IS lens (none of mine are IS) rather than just a body and to be fair, price difference isn't that much anyway.

yeah I'd stick with canon - when I moved from bridge to slr (about 15 years ago) - all the controls\menus were the same so it made the swap super easy.

If she's likely to lose/bash it, get a second hand one. They used to have a range of slightly smaller/lighter bodies which I personally prefer (makes it easier to get out and about with it), but I'd just go for a really cheap body (nothing made by the big companies in the last 20 years is "bad") and a couple of lenses and an off-body flash.

I'd also recommend an easycover (or similar) for whatever body you go for, adds a decent amount of splash/drop protection for very little negativity.

If she’s likely to lose/bash it,

She's not your normal teenager – she's usually very good with her stuff so I am not too concerned about that.

Stick with Canon. That 50mm lens of yours will be ideal.

Any Canon dslr of the last 10 or so years will be good for photos. £400 is double what you need to spend.

UNLESS she is wanting to make films as well in which case the newer the better.

I was going to ask if video was a component of the course? Or is it just still stuff?

Recommend what you have - I like Micro Four Thirds stuff and love my current Panasonic G7.  I would look out for something weather sealed, portable. No point it having a nice camera if its stuck in her room because it weighs a ton.

UNLESS she is wanting to make films as well in which case the newer the better.

I was going to ask if video was a component of the course? Or is it just still stuff?

She may well do that (just checked, moving image and animation is part of the course).

£400 is double what you need to spend.

We want to give her a treat – her twin sister has had horse riding lessons/part-loan pony, events, competitions etc for the last nine years and she has not complained, not once, of all the money we spend on her so we think it is the least we can do! We could buy her a new camera each month for the next nine years and it would probably only just even things up!!!

Consider finding out what the school uses. If they have a fleet of nikons and there are lessons where they are all learning about say the effect of aperture changes, being able to look at the what the kid to the left is doing with the buttons, or asking the teacher (and them being familiar with your daughter's camera) might be a worthwhile thing.

I don't teach it but I see the outcome from kids who do the course here. If you were a camera nerd, you might be a little depressed. The middle aged bloke approach to photography (geeking out about gear and really getting it the technicalities and mechanics of photography) are not really what it's about (this is probably a good thing). So to a certain extent pretty much anything serviceable will do.

Selling the concept of owning a camera beyond the one in your pocket already to a teen is getting harder and harder imo. Phone cameras are damn good and free you to think about shot composition etc without the technicalities getting in the way. I think you need to be looking for stuff you can do with a DSLR (or mirrorless now) that you can't as easily with a phone camera. For me that's probably super long exposure and messing around with moving water/clouds/people and maybe image stacking. Most of that kind of work is about tripods and ND filters. If I was spending a finite amount of money to help a teen get into photography I wouldn't spend too much on the camera but reserve most for the accessories. Possibly fisheye lenses too. As long as the autofocus is not terrible and the shutter lag not from the last century, all is good. In fact too high a resolution makes the rest of your kit creak too much, so a relatively low res is no bad thing!

Consider finding out what the school uses.

The school recommend that students get their own DSLR.

This is an exciting practical course which encourages students to develop personalised creative projects. Photography GCSE will involve producing images using light-sensitive materials such as photographic film, or digital methods of development and production to create static or moving images. Students can choose from the following areas of study:
portraiture • location photography • studio photography • experimental imagery • installation • documentary photography • photo-journalism • moving image: video and animation • fashion photography

Students have access to a well equipped studio and a range of equipment, but students opting for GCSE photography need access to a digital SLR camera of their own, as many of the shoots are done on location outside of school hours. Whilst working with an SLR camera is not essential, it is advantageous as the quality of the images are far superior and the technical understanding of photography is more advanced. An introductory level SLR or a second-hand digital camera will be fine. Access to the required equipment should not prevent any student opting for Photography, as there are limited funds available to support families experiencing financial difficulty

Lenses are where the investment is so stick with Canon if that is what you have - I use the MPB site for graded secondhand kit with some sort of warranty (6 months?)

The school strongly recommend that students get their own DSLR.

By that I mean, do they have 12 nikons (or whatever) that the students without get handed out? Which will inevitably be the interface that will be most familiar to the teacher and the other kids in the class.

^ I've copied above from the curriculum guide. Basically they want students to use their own kit as they have limited kit to hand out. And knowing the school (and the catchment) the vast majority can afford to buy their own stuff so I don't think many students will be using school kit.

What vmgscot said. MPB is a good site to get a good DSLR body. If she has a Canon bridge, you have lenses, it seems a good idea to stay w Canon as menus etc will be familiar and can swap lenses with you. Don't have an Ipad, but ultimately the camera is just another drive/card that the tablet or computer can access.

IME the biggest difference between Canon / Nikon / etc is the interface. I found Canon to be intuitive and Nikon nonsensical, I have friends who shoot Nikon and would say the opposite. If she likes an existing Canon I'd stick with it as a brand.

+1 for talking to the school, they should have an idea of expectation and requirement. From the blurb above it sounds like a film SLR might be a reasonable (additional) investment and they're dirt cheap these days because no bugger wants them.

Middle_oab did photography for a year at college.
We bought a second hand Nikon and two lenses from MBP. It was exactly as described, good value and has worked well. We spent £400.
We did add a bigger zoom lens for wildlife for his birthday later, that was another £100 iirc.
I actually called MBP and of the team helped advise and put together a better deal than the website had.

Edit: he did run into an issue that college said 'any Nikon or Cannon' and when he did lectures, two of the staff said they didn't like Nikon and he should have bought Cannon, and another staff member had a Sony...

There's a lot of opinion and options. I've become a big Fuji fan in the last few years after some canon DSLRs, then a Nikon full frame, I moved to an x100, probably too limited for what you are looking for, but the film Sims for Fuji can be applied to shots from xt models too. Mpb for decent second hand stock too.

As a teacher of GCSE Photography, there's no real need for students to have their own DSLR. Top grades are easily achievable with a phone camera or a cheap compact (not that anyone really makes those any more). The focus is (should be) on the creative process and development of ideas rather than technical ability/quality at that level.

Of course, if student is really engaged with the subject or deffo knows it's a career path, then a DSLR is probably a good move. In that situation I'd say either... Go with what you have lenses for already, or what the school have compatible kit for or the teacher is familiar with.

(Caveat. My school is in an area of high deprivation - we have funded enough bridge cameras for every student to have access to one every lesson, and will lend them out for use at home between lessons).

FWIW, even as a photography teacher I don't actually own a DSLR myself. I do have a very good bridge camera and an old M43 body with a load of vintage lenses but most of my personal stuff is taken on phones, compacts and action cameras.

Good ideas and images beat all gear no idea every time.

Agree but I like using DSLRs. Saying that my favourite photos are from a Canon 20D that I bought for £80 and even now my only camera is a Sony A700 that is worth around £100. I have had more expensive cameras but the photos I take are no better as long as I am enjoying whatever camera I am using and I don't feel it is getting in the way (i.e. very easy to use with external dials and knobs)

Good ideas and images beat all gear no idea every time.

Agreed

CANON 5d mkiii from MBP. I've had 4. 2 new, 2 secondhand.

The eldest has been and will be doing more photography this year and next. She enjoys it and we encourage it. Her least used camera is a 4000D EOS slr.

A friend gave this advice: give her something she will enjoy using - which is a Fuji instax square. The pics she takes are great, if she is with friends she can share the pics it is more tangible than on a phone. The camera she uses the most is her phone.

I've been on canon since 2001. Currently on an R6 which is phenomenal but waaaaay out the price range.

As said above get onto Wex used or mpb.

Go canon as she knows it.

FWIW, even as a photography teacher I don’t actually own a DSLR myself. I do have a very good bridge camera and an old M43 body with a load of vintage lenses but most of my personal stuff is taken on phones, compacts and action cameras.

Good ideas and images beat all gear no idea every time.

A mate of mine shoots full-frame Nikon. He has a large canvas landscape dominating their chimney breast. I asked him what lens he used to take it (cos I'm crap at landscapes), he replied "oh, iPhone."

Any Canon dslr of the last 10 or so years will be good for photos.

I'd argue that anything outside the very earliest models will be good for photos and perfectly suitable for a photography course. I've gone from a 350d (circa 2006, and probably worth about £50, if that), to 30d, to 7d mk1. There's not a lot of difference between them in photo quality and they're all good for large prints, I think I've had photos published with all of them. I rarely use any now just because it's a bit of a chore. If I was looking now I'd be choosing based on tech and ease of use - they'll all produce good images. Lighting might be something to think about as well, flashes aren't cheap, and all that paraphernalia that goes with them, but they'll be good to have too - understanding light is an important part of it. I'm well out of the loop these days so won't make any recommendations. It becomes a very expensive hobby if you get serious about lenses but as mentioned the primes will serve well and can be relatively cheap.

Lenses. eBay vintage lenses and an adaptor (if available for your body) is a cool route to explore. Really nice M42 lenses from the 60s can be had for relative pennies compared to modern lenses. Even though a bit of a faff with having to go manual exposure and focus as they obviously won't 'talk' nicely to modern bodies, they often have beautiful visual qualities. well worth the effort IMO. I've got a few 'proper' Zeiss lenses this way - brilliant things.

https://flic.kr/p/2nANm1X