Type of camera to recommend

[Boomn4x4]

I'm sure many of you have been in this situation before, but how do you typically respond to someone who wants to know "what camera should I buy". Especially when they come to you with a generous budget, yet you know they won't use the camera that expensive to its full potential.

For example, I had a friend come to me yesterday telling me how much he loves the pictures I take and wanted to get a camera like mine. When I asked him what he wanted to take pictures of he said, "just like hunting stuff and pictures of my family" To me, that just screams point and shoot, or at most, a bridge camera. I just feel that unless you are really going to get into photography and learning what all there is to offer, there is no point in purchasing an SLR.

Of course, ultimatly, its his money and he can spend it anyway he wants, but do you try to push him towards a nice bridge camera that will get the job done, or do you push the over kill of an SLR?

 

[Ron Evers]

A bridge camera. If he gets serious later, he can move up to a dSLR but the chances are he never will & the bridge camera will do more than he is ever likely to want.

 

[white]

I urge my rich friends to educate themselves before buying.

But I don't have any rich friends, so this is all just hypothetical.

 

[gifarkas]

I have rich friends with fairly good (not entry level) DSLRs always used in P mode to take snapshots, it's somewhat annoying. Especially when they're trying to persuade you that using auto modes are always the way to go because the camera is smarter than you. Sigh.

To the question, I'd tell him to read up on some basic photography theory, and if he finds it interesting, buy a DSLR, if not, a good quality point and shoot. I'm not a big fan of bridge cameras to be honest.

 

[Boomn4x4]

I'm not a big fan of bridge cameras to be honest.

Can I ask why?

 

[Blake.Oney]

If he wants a camera like yours then tell him to get some entry level dslr. Whether he has a generous budget or not I'm sure he'd appreciate you recommending something that would save money because of features he would never use on the prosumer or pro bodies. I would recommend a bridge, but you know he's probably set on the idea that your pictures are good because of you camera, so as long as it's a dslr he probably wouldn't even know the difference if it's beginner.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Ive been telling people to get Sony Alpha 230 on ebay. They sell for like $240 refurbished. Cant beat that if they wont get serious. If they do, they can always buy something else.

 

[Dao]

My friend called me one time asking me about how to use a Canon 7D. It's because his sis-in-law just spent couple thousands in bestbuy and do not know how to use the camera. Since he knew I use Canon, so he asked me.

He said, she do not even know how to turn the camera on. So my advice was turn the top dial to the "Green rectangle" and then start shooting.

So once she was able to start taking photos, everything was cool! (Later on I learned that she want a big camera since other moms in her son's school had one :er


If someone has the cash, I think it's okay for them to buy expensive equipments. (help the economy as well) Just make sure the camera has a Full Auto mode so that they can start taking photos.

If they ask you why his/her photos are not as good as yours, then you can tell him/her that it is the person behind the camera.

If they think their photos are better than yours (even if they are not), you can tell him/her that "See, I told you that is a good camera!".


Be sure tell him to buy some quality lenses too. You never know, you may able to borrow them.

The bottom line is, it is the desire, not the need. How many sports car owners are race car drivers? Do you need to subscribe to thousands of TV channels? Will a thousand dollars hand bag works better than a $30 one? Do I really need a top of the line computer to play solitaire?

 

[gifarkas]

I'm not a big fan of bridge cameras to be honest.

Can I ask why?

Obviously, this is just personal preference, but I don't really see the point of these cameras. If you want to take snapshots without having to worry about the settings, a P&S is a good choice. Otherwise, an entry level DSLR is a better choice, since it offers more flexibility, usually better build quality, larger sensor, etc. at a very similar price point.

 

[Ron Evers]

Obviously, this is just personal preference, but I don't really see the point of these cameras. If you want to take snapshots without having to worry about the settings, a P&S is a good choice. Otherwise, an entry level DSLR is a better choice, since it offers more flexibility, usually better build quality, larger sensor, etc. at a very similar price point.

Bridge cameras cover a huge zoom range that would take an array of lenses to achieve with a dSLR.

 

[David-Wayne]

he's rich, he should get a couple of both, then in 6 months when he still cant use it, sell you the slr at a HUGE discount. That'll teach him for being rich!

 

[Light Artisan]

I've only shot Nikon DSLR's so that's what I recommend. I make recommendations based on what I've used, if they specifically say 'the best' - I have not used the best but will say a D3 model typically.

It's not for me to decide if they should start out with an entry level DSLR, why should they have to if they have the money to get something better? A D3 is no harder to use than a D40, in fact it's easier in a lot of ways.