To ask where the heck to start with buying DD a camera?

[HennyPennyHorror]

She's 14 and has asked for a camera for her birthday. I think she wants to level up from the phone quality pics she takes...she seems to really love photography...but I know nothing about cameras and don't know where to begin.

Also I can't spend loads. I asked her what was important to her in a camera and she said "To take pictures at night or in the dark which look good"

What's a good brand? What beginners camera won't break the bank but will be good for her?

What sort of budget are you thinking of?

I got a Canon EOS M50 and love it. Loads of features but still easy-ish to use as a beginner.

I got my DD a bridge camera ( basically I think it's the difference between using different lenses and not ) it was recommended by a photographer friend. It was about £130 from Argos. It needed a plug in memory card which you can then just transfer to the computer.
She loves it.

Second the bridge camera. DD has one and its great. A step between a standard camera versus a full DSLR.

What sort of low-light photography is she thinking? If it’s for taking snaps of her friends then I’d get her a compact camera. Although, to be honest unless you’re spending over the £200 mark it’s unlikely to take photos any better than a smartphone.

If it’s for art/photography projects and she’s thinking about perusing photography as a possible A Level choice then I’d invest in a secondhand DSLR or mirrorless camera with a cheap kit lens. She’ll be able to buy other lenses as she wants later. If you go for a compact camera and she gets into photography then the whole thing will need replacing.

I only have a mobile phone & a Go Pro
I use the Go Pro for under water photography
My mobile phone has a high spec camera, that takes incredible photos (better than a stand alone camera)
You can look on comparison websites to compare camera technical information

Definitely a bridge camera. I found the tech department in John Lewis very knowledgeable.

Just bought my 14 y/o this

www.johnlewis.com/fujifilm-xp130-waterproof-freezeproof-shockproof-dustproof-digital-compact-camera-with-5-25mm-ois-lens-1080p-full-hd-16-4mp-5x-optical-zoom-wi-fi-bluetooth-3-lcd-screen/p3467491?sku=237406877&s_kwcid=2dx92700043666605224&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-dmA--GT4gIVwb_tCh3vGgPGEAQYASABEgJDfPD_BwE

She loves it. Loads of modes, low light, filters etc. Plus had Bluetooth so she can upload easily to her phone to share. It’s tough, waterproof etc.

What's your budget?

The Sony A7 is full-frame, lightweight and relatively cheap now that lots more A series have been released. That would be a fantastic camera to learn with, it's professional level quality. A second-hand A7 body will cost £400ish and a standard zoom lens 24-70mm second hand is £150.

I use London Camera Exchange for second-hand camera gear and MPB. :)

The Go Pro you can use out of the water too
Good to use whilst moving eg on boat, bicycle, running, car
You could may be buy one for the whole family to use

What's your budget. Your idea of loads may be different to mine.

I'd recommend the Sony a6000. Quality of a dslr without the weight. You can change lenses unlike a bridge camera.

She sounds like my DD - we got her a Cannon 300D for Christmas and she's very pleased with it. DH did his research to find the best value. No idea how good it is in the dark, though!

She was not at all interested in using her fake GoPro or her brothers expensive decent one.

Try eBay canon DSLR 40d is very cheap and superb camera don't but a bridge or you will be buying again

If she wants to take photos in low light/the dark then a tripod would be really good too. I've got a cheapy one from amazon that works fine.

My wife suggested I should sign up to Mumsnet just to contribute my answer to this question, so I have! Background: my DD is 15 and has been into photography for several years. It's her big thing.

At any given budget, you could go for a "compact" (one do-it-all lens, pocket sized), a "bridge" (one lens with a big zoom = bigger camera), or (once you're in the £500+ range) an interchangeable lens camera. If you want good night-time pictures, you need two things: a large sensor (so more light hits it!) and a high-quality ("fast" in the jargon) lens.

Most compact and bridge cameras have the same size sensor as phone cameras (1/2.3") with a few exceptions. But they have bigger and better lenses, so still show an improvement over phones. If you spend more (£500ish), you can get compacts with bigger sensors (and better low-light pictures), either 1" or 4/3" (known as Micro Four Thirds).

Bridge cameras are about the same price as a good compact, and generally have a lot more buttons and dials, so they're a good introduction to stepping up to Interchangeable Lens Cameras; but are bulkier, and many of them still have the small phone-sized sensors.

If your DD is interested in portraits and landscapes and "general photography" then a good compact might fit the bill. If like my DD she wants to branch out into wildlife photography, then the size of the zoom is pretty critical.

Interchangeable lens cameras all have larger sensors (either Micro Four Thirds, or something called APSC which is even larger, or Full Frame which is larger again). But they get expensive quickly once you add in lenses. It depends a lot on whether you'll want a big zoom for wildlife (that gets expensive AND heavy). There's a separate discussion about "DSLR" versus "Mirrorless" but this is already a wall-of-text!

What we did was start with a £100 camera. When it became a really serious hobby, we stepped up to a £400; and now have an interchangeable-lens system. (I inherit her old cameras! and am starting to get into photography myself now.)

As for brands, we've been VERY happy with Panasonic cameras.

I'd be happy to answer questions or give specific recommendations if you can talk about budget and type of photography! Good luck... it's a great hobby.

I should add that those prices are for current, new, cameras. As others have mentioned, second-hand (particularly of discontinued models) would be much cheaper.

Camera shops usually have a selection of secondhand cameras that would suit. And loads of advice.

PhotoDad thank you for joining and answering! Can I ask...I don't have a large budget so maybe a Bridge would be best...also I'm not entirely sure I can trust DD with loads of fiddly equipment just yet...she's not into nature photography, more portrait and landscape.

What Bridge would you recommend which might be good in low light? Or compact?

Thanks to everyone for giving such good advice!

Maybe about 200 pounds would be a good start for budget!

HennyPennyHorror If you have a local camera shop, go and have a look! But they're a dying breed... and tend to stock an odd range of very cheap and very expensive. Or maybe that's just my local ones!

In my favourite brand, the bridge would be the Panasonic FZ82 (around £275) and the compact would be the TZ80 (around £220). Both look great to me; although they both have small sensors, they have good lenses. Some nice features on both are viewfinders to hold up to your eye as well as the big screen on the back (which is a surprising help!) and touch-screen controls (more like a phone; cheaper and older cameras don't have that, relying on the buttons and dials). The TZ80 claims to be specially configured for low-light shots but that might be just marketing. (The key here is something called "ISO setting" which your DD will want to google eventually if she gets into the hobby! Essentially you can tell the camera to make better choices about how to deal with the picture rather than leaving it on auto, which is important in the dark.)

A non-obvious thing is that these cameras can take "RAW" photos, which is a special format which allows more manipulation in PhotoShop afterwards (because it records more detail than the normal JPG files). Again, something probably for the future.

Good luck!

Me again... the FZ82 seems better-reviewed than the TZ80. Just a bit of expectation management; like long zoom for a wildlife photographer, great low-light performance is... expensive, and won't be brilliant in a £200-£300 camera. A tripod will definitely help. (The way to get more light into the camera is to keep the shutter open for longer -- and it's hard to hold the camera steady while you're doing that.)

I started with a Sony a290.
It was a really good starter camera, it did lots of different things and helped me learn a lot. I could do action, macro, play with shutter speeds etc.
If you have a good photography shop ask about a secondhand one if the budget will be tight.
They can suggest things too.