Blog Post
The best camera to buy for older kids and teenagers
Andrea Thornton • 27 November 2019
“My child wants to get into photography – there are hundreds of cameras out there – what does all the jargon mean and what's the best thing to buy? Any advice?!”
There are any number of sites that will tell you the specifications and techy bits so I'm going to concentrate on what you might want to consider before investigating further.
I suggest visiting your nearest branch of Jessops https://www.jessops.com/
because there's nothing to beat talking face to face with experts and handling some different cameras. I've always found them to be really useful, helpful and welcoming.
If it's going to be mainly snapping friends and recording social moments
then you're probably best with a compact camera.
If your child is interested in more creative photography
including wildlife, portraits, sport or night photography
then I'd recommend an entry level dSLR
So let me explain these two types of camera briefly – a compact
and a dSLR
A decent model will be able to take clear, sharp photos by having a Megapixel specification of at least 13MP. The Canon IXUS
range and the Nikon Coolpix
range are excellent examples, as are the Sony Cybershot
and the Panasonic Lumix. Your child can keep one in a pocket or rucksack, whip it out and take a photo in an instant.
All of these models record video and have a built-in zoom lens for close-ups. Many of them have in-camera effects and filters that children find fun and you can also get models that have a connection to a smart device (the Nikon SnapBridge app for example) for instant sharing and storage.
The main advantage of dSLRs over compacts is their flexibility. You can take an instant picture with the camera in fully automatic mode or you can be in complete control with manual settings.
This means that you can change the amount of light the camera lets in by setting the ISO and the shutter speed enabling you to take great pictures in low light, and you can change the aperture which is the thing that can give you that lovely blurred background effect.
Best of all, you can change the lenses – a long lens for taking things that might be in the distance like a deer or a footballer on a pitch, or a wide lens for landscapes.
Sticking with the big names of Nikon and Canon just for example, I would suggest a Nikon D3500 or a Canon EOS 2000D.
Both have a great Megapixel count and an HD movie setting. dSLRs are not surprisingly more expensive than compacts; you're looking at around £400 but don't forget the second hand market where you can get hardly used cameras for a fraction of their new price.
London Camera Exchange
is not a bad place to start looking for second hand camera equipment https://www.lcegroup.co.uk/
I hope that this very brief piece has been of some help, I'm always happy to give more specific advice if you want to contact me.
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