Camera advice
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I'd second the suggestion of a second hand DSLR.
If he's happy to do without video, then an older <10Megpix model may well be plenty 'powerful' enough.
For my money (and I openly admit my Nikon bias here!), something like an old Nikon D50 or D70 may be just the trick. In my experience the quality is just as good as a compact with twice the pixels (I often printed to A3 size from my old D50 with no noticable issues).The reason that I suggest these old Nikon models, is that they will accept lenses dating right back to the 1960's. Such old lenses will of course be manual focus, but they are ridiculously cheap, and there is a huge choice. (Pentax cameras also have very good 'legacy' support for manual lenses).
This will mean that, should he really 'catch the bug', he will be able to expand his system much more cheaply than with a more up to date model - often it's the accessories that are the 'budget killer' even if you begin with a cheaper camera body.If he's the kind of kid that really enjoys experimenting and learning, the lack of 'bells and whistles' may even be a bonus - there's nothing more satisfying than knowing that a great picture is the result of your own skill, unassisted by automation - and for some styles (e.g. still-life, landscape, macro), auto-focus etc. really are little help anyway.
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Steve's Digicams has reviews complete with sample pictures:
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If you looking ~200$ pocketable camera. Then, if still available, this is pretty good http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canonsd4000is/
For bit larger one, maybe I'd look on Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35... NEX-5N may be already too expensive when comparing to 200$ budget. Used DSRL might be also a good option. -
Oh and I forgot that I think one of the most important things is that the camera have the ability to shoot in some sort of RAW mode where it does not process the jpgs in the camera. That will allow your kid to process the image afterwards, just like the darkroom process. Having the ability to really control the post-processing might be the most important thing if your kid is planning on being in a photography club.
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@solo said:
How is this deal?
Spotted that you (or the wife) wanted camera with more "body". So I think that's pretty good does for the prize.
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