[claimed4all]

Here is an idea to beat the brand war. If you have anybody you know you can borrow a Canon and Nikon from you are golden. Take all three brand cameras that are on the same level with like lens and gaff tape the heck out of any identification marks on the body & lens and have her play with them. If she is not familiar with the brands, or never held those DSLRs before you are set. She can pick out her favorite without saying I just want a Nikon.

[borno]

Ok so my daughter wants to get into digital slr but wants a Nikon , i have a k10 just wanted to know what is close to this in the Nikon line have seen a few used local a d80 and a few d70s . What should i pay for these .

Thanks
John

The d200 nikon had the same sensor as the k10d, I'm pretty sure.

[Alizarine]

I've tried the D3100 and although it does do a lot of functions well at par with the K-r, I think John's daughter will benefit more from the vari-angle screen of the D5100 better. Well, judging from the current trend of young people "taking pictures of themselves with a DSLR", and the way it can assist with shooting high and low. I don't really care if Pentax doesn't make screens that way, it's ok to shoot angle-blind sometimes. and besides, it's got the D7000's sensor too....

[Lowell Goudge]

There are two questions I have not seen here yet

Who is paying for the camera?

Why does she want nikon?

If she is under peer pressure to have a nikon because thatnis what her friends have, forget it. She will shoot with her friends more than you so any real synergy of similar camerasmis lost. If you are paying you do have some clout, but if she has really researched the issue it is probably a wash. Many young people just want to pick up and shoot, they will not care about MF, legacy lenses etc, they will want AF, they will not want used ( this is interpreted as poor) and they will in all cases want a product that is identifiable. Pentax, regardless of quality, capabilities etc just is not recognizable.

It is like suggesting getting any good PDA over an IPod. Apple has made millions by making popular an underperforming entertainment device Aside from listening to music, an iPod can't do as much real work as a PDA but they outsell PDAs by a large margin, why, because they age flashy not any other reson

[bozianul]

IMHO:
if she wants a portable, nice new toy -- nikon 1
if she wants a FF -- nikon d700
else -- pentax K5

[Alizarine]

they will want AF, they will not want used ( this is interpreted as poor)

Hahah this is so true among my peers. I'm the only one with a Pentax and they think shopping for secondhand items is nuts...

[KungPOW]

I've used both Pentax and Nikon. Specifically the K100D, K10D, D200, and D300.

The Nikon equal to the K10D is the D80. The D200 is a step above.

The D200 beats the K10D with autofocus, metering, flash, and Nikon has some very good inexpensive lenses.

The K10D beats the D200 with SR, better menus, better access to ISO and better high ISO image quality. It is also smaller and lighter.

Since I got the D200 I seldom used the K10D except for times I expect to shoot Hight ISO (800-1600), or I am using screw mount lenses.

Now that I have the D300, the Pentax is up for sale. The D300 blows the K10D to dust, in every area except for in body SR, and access to ISO selection. Yes the K10D is still smaller.

As for a beginners camera, I don't think it matters. Your kid would be more likely to use the gear is it matched the friend's gear. teenagers are like that.

[reeftool]

If she wants a Nikon, she probably won't be happy with anything else. Brand mystique is a powerful thing and like the Ipod, Nikon cameras have it also. Any bad shots and she will blame the camera rather than her own inexperience. Go to KEH and get her a used one. I bought a used D100 for my daughter for under $200 and D70's and 80's also in that price range, depending on condition. My daughter has a Nikon film camera with some older AF lenses and she can use those lenses on the D100. Some Nikon bodies can only use AF on DX lenses so that kind of limits the use of that large Nikon lens selection available. Keh has a 6 month warranty on all their used gear now.

[Pioneer]

Most of my kids and grandkids inherited their dad and mom's (grandpa and grandma's) love of photography but I would have to guess that over 98% of the shots taken are taken with a cellphone camera of some type. Grandpa is the only one that carries a dslr...and Grandpa is old and a little odd. What I find interesting is that a very large percentage of their pictures are very, very good because they inherited their mother's (grandmother's) artistic understanding of composition, and they are able to grab pictures at a moments notice with their cellphone. Obviously they will never be able to enlarge these very far but they are happy with what they are doing with them through e-mail, facebook, computer screensavers, digital photo frames and the occasional trip to Wal-Mart to have some 4x6 prints made. If I had to judge by my family (admittedly a relatively small sample) this is the future and we are the anomaly at the very tail of the bell curve.

[reeftool]

Yeah, the cellphone camera is the camera of choice with much of the younger crowd. Direct from the camera to Facebook instantly where it's shared with friends, relatives, etc instantly. I think sooner or later they want something better. They get a great shot and try to view it on a large screen or make a print and they realize that what's OK for Facebook doesn't look good on the wall. In a way, things haven't changed all that much. Back in the day, the 110 Instamatic was the camera for the masses and the cellphone has taken it's place. While it was adequate for most, some moved on to 35mm when they wanted to do more with photography. It's always been a big step for a parent when the kids wanted to move up to an SLR. Even in the film days it was a big expense.

[DaveHolmes]

Most of my K-x's photo's end up on Facebook...

If she really doesn't want Pentax and wants a Nikon, buy her a Nikon... Better that you can go out together and take pictures together than not... You still be able to show her a thing or two (at least for a while) and she may switch brands later...

[Lowell Goudge]

I think that if I were starting out today, I might have selected a different system, it is hard to say, but having 30 years invested in pentax equipment, for me there was no option. Having said that, I got into pentax initially by buying a Ricoh XR-2s (the poor man's K2DMD) because at the time it was the best value for the money. I can imagine doing the same research today and coming to the same conclusion about pentax compared to the others.

The youth of today, however, places a different lable on value conscious people, they call them cheap

[Alizarine]

I agree with Dave also. It's better to keep the relationship with the daughter good, switching brands can come at a later date, when she's outgrown her brand preference due to peer pressure and really start thinking for herself

[mrpromod]

Ok guys thanks for all the input and info, so i am not going to try to change her mind anymore its a waste of my time and energy. So she looking at a Nikon d3100factory demo package with a 18-55 lense and also a 55-200 lense from cameta for 620.00 . Any opinions good or bad please.

Thanks
John

[link_1111]

My girlfriend recently got a nikon D3100 and the kit lens has been pretty horrible, they have the cheap 50 1.8G [you need the G not the D since the D has no inbuilt motor] or the 35 1.8G which was alot faster than the kit lenses, but then again maybe its best to start with the kit lens and work out what focal lengths they like best?

One thing your daughter needs to know is that with the D3100, she/you will need to be paying alot more for lenses since there is no inbuilt screw motor in the camera so you need to use the lenses with the motor built in the lens meaning more expensive etc.

You should also give the layout a try. I tried my girlfriend's D3100 and my mind just exploded at how complicated it all is compared to the pentax layout!