[WillWeaverRVA]

Maybe pick up a K200D used? Great camera, lightweight, weather-sealed, and excellent IQ. Also fairly easy to use.

[TER-OR]

I don't think a DSLR is too heavy for a 7-yr old. It all depends on the kid. Some really like to dig into the technical aspects, others will drop everything, leave things laying around etc. Certainly a K10 or K100, 200 etc. with kit lens won't break the bank, and give the girl a powerful tool to learn on. I've lent my camera to my great-nieces and they've taken to it immediately. Just make sure they use the camera strap.

[pathdoc]

If you want something cheap, go for an *istDL rather than *istDS in my opinion, with a 50/2 Pentax M or A lens on it; if she breaks it, it won't cost the world a precious analogue-TTL-capable body or a rare/expensive lens. On the other hand, she can learn all the essentials but she still has the automatic backup if she prefers to concentrate on composition and focus at first. And because it doesn't have shake reduction, she will also learn the importance of keeping her shutter speed up (wherever possible). The ISO range is nicely within the range offered by amateur/enthusiast colour films, and those 6.1MP sensors deliver a decent image quality while the file size in JPEG high-quality is not onerous if she decides that spray-and-pray is the way to go.

I am sort of torn on the whole digital-versus-film thing for kids; I recognise that there is an advantage in teaching neophyte photographers the benefit of planning and treasuring every shot (film is best for this), but OTOH knowing at once what happens when you go wildly out of bounds in shutter speed or aperture terms - or how different settings at "correct" exposure change things - is a valuable learning tool.

The ability to guess at both shutter speed and aperture in a Sunny 16 sort of way and know at once whether you were right (or at least in ballpark) can also be a useful thing to learn early.

[jtkratzer]

If you want something cheap, go for an *istDL rather than *istDS in my opinion, with a 50/2 Pentax M or A lens on it; if she breaks it, it won't cost the world a precious analogue-TTL-capable body or a rare/expensive lens. On the other hand, she can learn all the essentials but she still has the automatic backup if she prefers to concentrate on composition and focus at first. And because it doesn't have shake reduction, she will also learn the importance of keeping her shutter speed up (wherever possible). The ISO range is nicely within the range offered by amateur/enthusiast colour films, and those 6.1MP sensors deliver a decent image quality while the file size in JPEG high-quality is not onerous if she decides that spray-and-pray is the way to go.

I am sort of torn on the whole digital-versus-film thing for kids; I recognise that there is an advantage in teaching neophyte photographers the benefit of planning and treasuring every shot (film is best for this), but OTOH knowing at once what happens when you go wildly out of bounds in shutter speed or aperture terms - or how different settings at "correct" exposure change things - is a valuable learning tool.

The ability to guess at both shutter speed and aperture in a Sunny 16 sort of way and know at once whether you were right (or at least in ballpark) can also be a useful thing to learn early.

We're starting digital. She'll get to film eventually. I may even use small memory cards or fill them part way to prevent the "spray and pray" approach. Picked up her and my son from after school care and she asked to use the camera again today. I have a KM and KX at the house that she can use down the road. Maybe not that far down the road depending on how she does after I get her something.

[pathdoc]

We're starting digital. She'll get to film eventually. I may even use small memory cards or fill them part way to prevent the "spray and pray" approach. Picked up her and my son from after school care and she asked to use the camera again today. I have a KM and KX at the house that she can use down the road. Maybe not that far down the road depending on how she does after I get her something.

I was about to suggest both a small card and maybe even putting it into raw mode to cut down the available shots and simulate developing film, but the latter might be a bit onerous and enthusiasm-killing for a seven-year-old; her mileage may vary, of course.

For small hands I would have thought an MX would be handier - but if you already have the K-models, it's pointless buying another film body; run with those when she's a bit bigger and see how she gets along.

[mattb123]

I gave my son my old K-x with the 18-55 kit lens at about that age. It's a good size, runs on AA batteries (I gave him some Eneloops and I charge them for him) and he likes using it. I already had it but whatever older and not too big camera you can get cheap should probably do the trick. Lower MP count is probably better than higher at this stage.

[jtkratzer]

I gave my son my old K-x with the 18-55 kit lens at about that age. It's a good size, runs on AA batteries (I gave him some Eneloops and I charge them for him) and he likes using it. I already had it but whatever older and not too big camera you can get cheap should probably do the trick. Lower MP count is probably better than higher at this stage.

Might snag an *ist DL for $70, pick up a DA 50 1.8 and call it a day. K-x or K-r has more features, but she doesn't need them yet. I don't want her to mess with post. I'd actually like her to just enjoy and have fun and as she grows, work on getting it right "in camera" and hopefully moving to film down the road.

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Last edited by jtkratzer; 03-07-2017 at 12:07 PM.

[mattb123]

Might snag an *ist DL for $70, pick up a DA 50 1.8 and call it a day. K-x or K-r has more features, but she doesn't need them yet. I don't want her to mess with post. I'd actually like her to just enjoy and have fun and as she grows, work on getting it right "in camera" and hopefully moving to film down the road.

My approach was to just let my son have it and see what happens. I gave him a A 50/1.7 a year later and he has used it all quite a bit now. I offer help when he asks but generally leave him to discover it as he chooses once he has some basic knowledge.
A year after that he won best of show in a local competition, beating me in the process! Now he is shooting less but uses it for school projects or fun photos every now and then. He has the skills and confidence to just pick it up and take a decent shot if he needs one now.

[pathdoc]

Might snag an *ist DL for $70, pick up a DA 50 1.8 and call it a day. K-x or K-r has more features, but she doesn't need them yet. I don't want her to mess with post. I'd actually like her to just enjoy and have fun and as she grows, work on getting it right "in camera" and hopefully moving to film down the road.

The irony of this is that you will likely find a brand new DA50 for cheaper than you can have almost any used, film-era autofocus Pentax fifty (with a manual aperture ring). The single selector dial makes handling things a teensy bit awkward in manual mode - the price to be paid for the crippled mount - but it's just another one of those slow-you-down things that will make her think about what she is doing.

And let's face it - if she cheats and puts it in Av mode, that's really no worse than putting an ME, MV or MG series body in her hands, is it?

[jtkratzer]

The irony of this is that you will likely find a brand new DA50 for cheaper than you can have almost any used, film-era autofocus Pentax fifty (with a manual aperture ring). The single selector dial makes handling things a teensy bit awkward in manual mode - the price to be paid for the crippled mount - but it's just another one of those slow-you-down things that will make her think about what she is doing.

And let's face it - if she cheats and puts it in Av mode, that's really no worse than putting an ME, MV or MG series body in her hands, is it?

Found an *ist DL for $50. I have an F50/1.7 I hardly use. I'll put a filter and a hood on it and hopefully that helps if there are any spills. With a strap, hopefully there aren't any serious drops. If that's not wide enough, I have an M28, a kit 18-55 and several other options I can throw on there. I'm not telling her what the other functions do for now. I'm not concerned with manual focus on a digital body because it won't have a focusing screen and I heard tonight that KatzEye closed shop a while back, not that I'd spend the money for a split focusing screen for a decade-old digital body. This is just a test to see if it's a fad or if she really enjoys it and hauls it everywhere. I hoping she sticks with it an eventually wants to try film.

[TER-OR]

There are some other options for split screens, you'll find some threads here. The kit zoom should suffice along with the F50, I'd think.

I remember back in the late '70s and early '80s I used my Dad's fully-manual Minolta (I was a bit older than 7, though). That foundation stuck.

[E-man]

I learned the foundations of what I know about photography between the ages of 18 and 22. The first 35mm SLR camera I ever used was a Minolta SRT-102, which was very similar in form and function to a Pentax K1000. My high school had two of them that were used in the photography classes and by the school newspaper and yearbook. One had a 50mm lens and the other had a 100mm telephoto. It was dead simple to figure out. Set the desired shutter speed, keep the needle in the circle, focus and shoot. It would be a few years before I learned the relationship between aperture and depth of field in a photography class I took in college. It was taught in the physics department so lots of math was required. I never learned the formulas even though I comprehended the basic concepts of exposure. In the time between taking those two photography classes my last semester of high school and my last semester of college, I acquired my first 35mm SLR, a Minolta X-570, and developed a decent eye for composition.

I don't know how a younger child would pick up the basics of photography. I'm sure every child learns differently and some would grasp the technical stuff right off, while others would more likely gravitate toward focus and composition. I know that as a child with ADHD, I would have wanted instantaneous results and wouldn't have had the patience to figure out things like f-stops and shutter speed. Before taking photography in high school, I can count on one hand the number of times my parents allowed me to shoot a roll of film with an old instamatic camera. My results were consistently horrible because I was too excited to hold the camera steady. I couldn't learn from my mistakes because it would be literally years before I'd have another opportunity to shoot another roll. Although the technology didn't yet exist, I think a DSLR would have been a great learning tool for me as a child since I've always been a non-linear, intuitive learner. I would have been able to see my results immediately and perhaps figure out what I did wrong or at least how I could do it better.

[pathdoc]

Found an *ist DL for $50. I have an F50/1.7 I hardly use. I'll put a filter and a hood on it and hopefully that helps if there are any spills. With a strap, hopefully there aren't any serious drops. If that's not wide enough, I have an M28, a kit 18-55 and several other options I can throw on there.

What a steal! Especially since you already have a more-than-passable medium-fast normal prime (no need to go hunting for that DA50/1.8). Okay, you're good to go. Best of luck to her.

[awscreo]

I'd get a used Oly M43 camera, I think there's one in the buy/sell section here. It's small, compact, durable enough for a kid to try it, and lenses aren't too expensive (oly 12-60 or panasonic 12-42 etc). There's also room to grow there

[pathdoc]

I'd get a used Oly M43 camera, I think there's one in the buy/sell section here. It's small, compact, durable enough for a kid to try it, and lenses aren't too expensive (oly 12-60 or panasonic 12-42 etc). There's also room to grow there

OP found his daughter a very cheap *istDL (a few posts up) and already has a normal prime for it. He's done, at least until he knows for sure how serious she is about it.

I certainly can't fault your suggestion as a longer-term solution if she turns out to be rabidly enthusiastic, though if she can handle the *istDL now, growing into its more advanced functions or into another Pentax DSLR won't be an issue for her, and may make more sense for OP's family than a separate camera ecosystem . She can strike out on her own when she's a teenager or something.