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WTB: Noob friendly DSLR camera


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My girlfriend has expressed interest in picking up photography as a hobby so I figured I'd kick start this hobby by picking up a camera for her for Christmas. Both her and I know pretty much nothing so this should be interesting

Is a budget of $300 for a "starter" camera attainable?

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It doesn't have to be new or the latest model (read: I'm cheap and not sure if she will follow through on said hobby) but prefer it come with original box and manuals for her

in that case, start scouring ebay or craigslist.

cannon is the old standby for dslr

You might contact scottb, his wife kelly is a photographer, and might have some professional grade stuff she's not using anymore.

Edited by magley64
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The Nikon D200 would be a nice camera that shouldn't depreciate any further for quite a while. That is just a bit above your budget and would still leave you i need of a lens; which is more critical than the camera body when it comes to creation of good photographs. With Nikon your options for quality glass would be very plentiful dating back to old manual focus lenses from the 70's.

http://www.keh.com/camera/Nikon-Digital-Camera-Bodies/1/sku-DN029990945020?r=FE#

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I have been using a Nikon D50 for years and have never outgrown it. If you want a camera to learn on, then something like that would be a good starter and because the cool kids all need much better cameras, you can pick them up relatively cheaply. Getting quality lenses off the bat may be putting the cart before the horse. Better to learn the basics with a kit lens and then make an educated decision about what lenses you want to acquire.

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I have a D40 and it does everything I need it to. The D50 that bam bam recommended can be had for dirt cheap now a days and is a great camera as well. The good thing about those two cameras is they are easy to learn on and make the transition from P&S to DSLR easier I think... A how to book or video might be a nice addition to the camera to help her understand aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc. and how it relates to the final product.

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I have a D40 and it does everything I need it to. The D50 that bam bam recommended can be had for dirt cheap now a days and is a great camera as well. The good thing about those two cameras is they are easy to learn on and make the transition from P&S to DSLR easier I think... A how to book or video might be a nice addition to the camera to help her understand aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc. and how it relates to the final product.

that is an excellent idea! I learned all that in my high school photo class but its been so long I hardly remember.

I'll have to look into the D40 and D50 then! Thanks guys!

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It doesn't have to be new or the latest model (read: I'm cheap and not sure if she will follow through on said hobby) but prefer it come with original box and manuals for her

I was basing my recommendation off this statement :D The 3100 is better than the d40/d50 and others mentioned and is a beginner DSLR. The current Nikon lineup is awesome as is Canons. You should be able to find a good deal on a 3100. I would go with it for sure.

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