Birthday Gift

[SilverUnicorn]

I’m looking for a camera as a birthday gift for my bf. He loves photography, but is very much an amateur. I need something versatile and fun that he’ll be able to enjoy and won’t completely break my bank. Suggestions please!

You'll have to specify a budget or you'll get every camera that qualifies as user friendly! ;-)

Welcome to the forums! :-)

[Weebee]

What does he like taking pictures of? Budget?

[ramcewan]

To help we need to know;

1. budget
2. size/form factor - do you want something small and easy to carry or is performance more important than size?
3. room to grow? do you just want a better camera for now or a system of lenses that can grow?
4. type of photos to be taken

[SilverUnicorn]

Thanks for your feedback guys! Obviously, I’m new here.
For budget, am I crazy if I’m trying to stay under $250?
Pictures will vary from family gatherings to outdoor scenes.
Performance will be more important than size.
As far as room to grow, I honestly have no idea. I guess I’ll defer to you guys to tell me which might be better there.

[rudimaes]

A travel zoom like the Panasonic ZS40(TZ50), could do. It's a small versatile camera.

[TCav]

The Sony H300 has long zoom lens and creates high resolution 20 megapixel images which print and display better than lower resolution images. It costs $219.99.

[ramcewan]

Originally Posted by SilverUnicorn

Thanks for your feedback guys! Obviously, I’m new here.
For budget, am I crazy if I’m trying to stay under $250?
Pictures will vary from family gatherings to outdoor scenes.
Performance will be more important than size.
As far as room to grow, I honestly have no idea. I guess I’ll defer to you guys to tell me which might be better there.

you just might be able to get an entry level DSLR or mirrorless camera w/kit lens in the budget. If you buy something like this your boyfriend can buy additional lenses as his hobby grows. Then at a later point he could upgrade the camera body to a newer one of the same system and keep using the lenses. This is what I mean when I say a camera system, the camera has the ability to change lenses.

Some to look into would be the Sony A3000, Sony A6000, Canon SL1, olympus e-pl5 or e-pm2, lumix dmc-gm1, Nikon D3100, Pentax K-50.

Looking for a refurbished one or shopping used from a reputable place like BHphoto or KEH will help to maximize your budget.

On the other hand cameras like the Sony H300 that tcav recommends or the Panasonic ZS40 provide a single camera with no ability to change the lens. If you never see your boyfriend buying another lens then these types of cameras can provide more bang for your buck, but just be aware that upgrading means throwing the whole thing out and buying new. These types fall into two groupings; compact and bridge. The Sony H300 and I'd also suggest the Panasonic Lumix FZ200 are both bridge cameras providing most of the functions of a DSLR without the lens changing. Both have superzooms that allow you to go from wide (landscape) to telephoto (zoomed in for wildlife or sports). Compact cameras on the other hand offer less zoom range but are more pocket-able.

So really comes down to where you see him going with this hobby.

[TCav]

There are no dSLRs in her price range, and I wouldn't recommend any of the mirrorless cameras that are within or anywhere near it.

[ramcewan]

Originally Posted by TCav

There are no dSLRs in her price range, and I wouldn't recommend any of the mirrorless cameras that are within or anywhere near it.

Couldn't disagree more. By recommending a bridge camera or other non-interchangeable lens camera you are only guaranteeing that he'll be getting a new everything should he want to grow like many of us have. As I said a bridge camera is a great bang for your buck when you only want to get one camera and plan to replace it in a few years.

Amazon has refurbished Nikon d3200 for $249 body only and $88 for a brand new 18-55mm, if a few other people give him gift cards he could buy a lens and have a decent start on a system.

Olympus has a refurbished E-PL5 with the 14-42mm R lens for $239 e-pl5-black-14-42mm-black-lens-reconditioned using the 25% off code SPRING, you've got a tilting touch screen interface and the current 16mp sensor which does pretty well in high ISO.

Would you seriously recommend against either the E-PL5 or D3200?

Sure they're not the newest models, but steve's reviews said both were very good cameras when they came out, what has changed?

http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...l5-review.html

http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...lr-review.html

Either way you've got a decent sensor and a body that will allow you to grow into more lenses with a clear upgrade path for the body when the time comes.

The most painful (for my wallet) lesson I've learned is that buying current generation of gear is always going to leave you sad when you see it for much less a few years later.