Spec me a camera for my daughter

[fatiain]

My 12 year old has caught the photography bug and wants a "proper" camera for Christmas.

She's had a point and click camera but since using the one we inherited off her granddad (It's some Sony DSLR) and she now wants one of her own which has to be a "proper" camera, with removable lenses!

Budget of up to £150, so I'm obviously going to have to go second hand.

What's the best bang for buck at that price range?

 

[D.P.]

No idea at that price point but a Canon or Nikon DSLR with a kit lens that fits within budget will be fine. Later on you could add a 35mm or 50mm prime (you can;t zoom in or out) later on would then expand her abilities a little.

I gave my Dad my old Nikon D70 ages ago and he got on with it. The images themselves are actually decent but limited dynamic range. Biggest issue when I used it a couple of years back was noticing how small the viewfinder was and more limited Auto focus. I gave my sister my old D90 a few years back as well, images are still stunning and ergonomics and viewfinder a big step up from the D70. I think if you could buy a D90 second hand it would definitely be worth it over a Nikon D70 or D80 (or D50, and various bottom end older D3000 cameras). It will be similar on Canon, something like a D550 i think would be similar.

 

[Abraxaz1]

Tbf I don't think a DSLR is the way to go for a 12 year old. I get fed up of dragging my kit around and I'm a fully grown adult.

You could probably pick up a reasonable olympus m4/3 body and a cheap second hand lens for that price.

Smaller and lighter than a DSLR.

But that's just me

 

[Razor-BladE]

I'd agree with Abraxaz1. You can still get all the control that you need from M4/3 in a much smaller and lighter body, especially for someone so young.
If you raise your budget a bit (I'm sure exactly the second hand prices) you could probably pick up the OM-D E-M10 II. Or if you can't stretch that much, maybe the original Mk I version of it. Plus, it looks quite cool.

 

[fatiain]

Cheers guys.

I shall tell Santa!