Camera for photography a level

[AgainstTheOddsNo2]

We have a basic dslr but it is a big heavy bit of kit. I was thinking of getting my teenager a compact or a bridge camera for more everyday use.

Any recommendations would be really appreciated. There is such a range and I dont really know what im doing. I would like to keep it under £200.

Also any tips for the editing software we should get? Full photoshop seems eye-wateringly expensive!

< mum with no real clue, lacks the budget to go wild! But wants something half decent that will do a proper job.

Thanks!!!!!

Does the teacher have a recommendation? It is often helpful to work with them.

If you have any independent camera shops near you, or a branch of CEX you could look second hand which would keep cost down.

Thanks. The teacher just says anything is fine! But seeing the difference between phone pics and dslr pics I know there is a whole world of difference.

Look at mirrorless cameras - a lot of people I know are switching from DSLR to mirrorless now. I still prefer my DSLR but my mirrorless Fuji is much smaller and lighter.

In the teachers defence I think they are trying to make it more about composition and making it more accessible to everyone no matter what their budget. Which is absolutely the right way to approach it.

I just want to A- foster something that actually sparks an interest. B- Gives a sense of pride and achievement that can be a bit lacking. C- actually buy the kid that has never wanted anything something nice for xmas

Aren't these REALLY expensive? Dont you still need loads of different lenses? Would you use the same lenses or would you have to start again.

Basically we got a cheap dslr during covid as something we could do together but obviously had to figure it out a bit on our own

No idea on cameras but the Adobe suite is way way cheaper for students. You just need a school email to subscribe. If that's not an option then affinity software is good and a one time purchase.

I bought a canon powershot sx70 recently and it’s great - it was over that price though. Don’t know if you can get a second hand one.

Our niece did a course on photography and the tutor recommended they simply use their phone. Most phones now have a resolution better than many older digital cameras and he was interested in making them aware of composition and content. A poorly composed photo on a quality camera is still a poorly composed photo. Once you understand and know what your doing with composition and 'seeing' the picture you can spend more on s quality camera.

Check with them what editing software they recommend and do you get a student discount for it if it needs to be purchased.

My daughters a level photography teacher recommended a fuji mirrorless it was great. Used for her fine art degree later too. The teacher had some second hand ones so we bought one of those. Its been v good.

Second a fuji x system mirrorless. For a compact package I can recommend the 27mm pancake lens to go with it, as it is tiny - and forces you to be a bit more creative with the photos as you can't just zoom in or out.
Have a look at the well respected second hand camera sites like https://www.mpb.com/

https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/brands/fuji?filterQuery[modelCategory]=Fujifilm%20X%20mirrorless%20cameras&sort[productPrice]=ASC

And

https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/product/fujifilm-xf-27mm-f-2-8

Oh sorry, when I bought an xf 27mm lens a few years ago it was £100 ish, they seem to have massively gone up in price!