Camera for Daughter

jeveretts · Jul 12, 2014

So my 20 year old Daughter was over. And I just happened to get a OM-D E-M5 in the mail while she was here. She played with it and really loved it. Said something like "You should buy me a camera Daddy".
So here is the deal. She is a good kid, and this month she is graduating from Nursing school. So I was going to buy her something anyway. But, she is pretty irresponsible with things, and tends to leave pricey items in her car for months at a time, things get broke, lost, stolen, you name it. So something that is a lot of money is probably a bad idea.
I was thinking Olympus E-PM2, at around $330 with a 14-42, plus she has the benefit of being able to borrow from my lens collection.
What do you think about this camera at this price point. Anything better I should consider for equivalent money?

bif · Jul 12, 2014

Check out the used Olympus Pen E-PL1 with 14-42mm "kit" lens from amazon. Two that look pretty good to me are:

Used - Like New $159 + $7.99 shipping from ghostriderinthesky (98% positive rating)

Used - Good $194 with free shipping from Amazon Wharehouse deals (98% positive rating)

I got one of these a few years ago on "open box special" to try out the m4/3 system and when I sold off my Canon stuff and went all Panasonic I gave the PL-1 to my brother-in-law and he's still using it. It's a very neat working fairly rugged camera, got stolen out of his truck once and recovered by police in undamaged condition. Add an Olympus VF2 external EVF and it's a very easy to use camera.

jeveretts · Jul 14, 2014

Well.. I didn't get the response I hoped for. But for the reasons above I did buy her a E-PM2 with a 14-42 kit lens. I bought it brand new, but after digging and searching online. I ended up getting it for $265 shipped.
We shall see how it is, but I suspect is is going to be a brilliant little camera. Looks like it has the same sensor as my E-M5 which takes great photos, it just doesn't have any buttons or dials for settings. I suspect at least at first, she will stick it in auto and go.
Plus at that price, if it gets left at the beach, it isn't the end of the world.