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03-29-2012, 01:39 PM   #1
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Good beginners DSLR for an 8 year old...

Just found a ist-ds body going incredibly cheap...

Anyone used one that can give feedback as to ease of operation?

How user friendly is it?

Is it 'sub-menu-crazy'?

Thinking as a cheap starter DSLR for the lad (8 years old)... He's fairly technologically savvy and I'm certain he could work in aperture-priority with no problem and I have both AF and Manual zooms and primes I'd be happy to let him abuse (the ones from the shelf NOT the ones from my bag!!)

03-29-2012, 01:50 PM   #2
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Personally at that age I'd start him on a Bridge camera. Still has all the manual controls for experimentation later, but for a child instant gratification is important and to begin with Auto modes that can do everything from macro to panos to HDR should be fun and that's what photography should be especially at that age.
03-29-2012, 02:00 PM   #3
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*ist DS or K100D.

The *ist doesn't have SR or scene modes but it is slightly smaller and has a pentaprism rather than pentamirror.
03-29-2012, 03:14 PM   #4
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Kids these days are pretty savvy when it comes to tech stuff. I would not be too worried about the menus and so on. If it is not complicated he might think it is a just a toy. I would think teaching him to use Av mode would be a good start. Teach the difference between snapshots and making pictures. Teach basic photography principals. Get him entered in some contests.

My lads are a little too old for that, and no grand-kids, yet, either....... But that sounds like fun.

03-29-2012, 03:19 PM   #5
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Hi, Dave
https://www.box.com/s/c362d247a5d1dd92aa44

He is 6. The istds is on a flash grip.
03-29-2012, 03:20 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by DaveHolmes Quote
Anyone used one that can give feedback as to ease of operation?
Yep, ironically, my son got one when he was 8 and does really well with it...
03-30-2012, 12:44 PM   #7
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I pulled the trigger on it... At that price I couldn't not!!
Should arrive next week... Gonna give it a check over before I let him know about it... Might wait for his birthday treat... Donnington for the Dunlop Touring Car Champs!!
Cheers guys... Appreciated!

Ps... It's the silver version...

03-30-2012, 12:49 PM   #8
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I'll use just about any thread like this as an excuse to post these

I no longer have the K200D, so I guess next time I'll have to let him use my K-5






Last edited by dgaies; 04-01-2012 at 07:37 AM.
03-30-2012, 01:39 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by DaveHolmes Quote
I pulled the trigger on it... At that price I couldn't not!!
Should arrive next week... Gonna give it a check over before I let him know about it... Might wait for his birthday treat... Donnington for the Dunlop Touring Car Champs!!
Cheers guys... Appreciated!

Ps... It's the silver version...
I agree, you've done well with the purchase - I didn't realise there was a silver version! My *istD has gold lettering and I thought that was fairly rare, as it was an Australia-only issue.
03-30-2012, 09:16 PM   #10
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It looks like this...
04-01-2012, 03:20 AM   #11
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I purchased a *ist DL with some lenses from Ebay for pretty cheap not too long ago. I really only wanted the lenses, so I gave the *ist DL to my seven year old son. I set him up with an account here, and now we go out together trying to find good pictures for the weekly and monthly contests. It gives us something to do as a family, that gets us out of the house. The *ist DL is perfect for him, because he can just set it to auto, and focus on the basics (the manual features will be there when he is ready). I got him two lenses (a Quantaray 28-90mm and Quantaray 70-300mm) that are cheap enough for me not to care if they get damaged by accident. He also has a little sling pack to carry around his gear in. He actually gets some pretty amazing pictures with the camera, and some unique perspectives because of his height and the level he is shooting from.

I hope you and your child have as much fun as I am having with my son.

Here are a couple pics of him on one of our outings.




Last edited by Cooter; 04-01-2012 at 10:29 AM. Reason: resizing pictures
04-01-2012, 03:47 AM   #12
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I have an X70 bridge camera that's surplus to requirements....

Regards
04-01-2012, 04:44 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by DaveHolmes Quote
Just found a ist-ds body going incredibly cheap...
How cheap was cheap? The prices I've seen for these thing locally has been nuts (> $300-350 Canadian). At that price I've had options to buy a K100 with lots of change to spare, a K10 and almost a K-x.
04-01-2012, 06:05 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by MSL Quote
How cheap was cheap?
I work in Sterling... ist's (K100d's too!) generally go for £180-£200ish here...

Significantly (think half as much) less...
04-01-2012, 12:36 PM   #15
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Those are great shots of your sonS DG & Cooter !
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