Our daughter has asked for a DSLR camera. I’m proud of her and the reason that she wants it, but fairly horrified that she wants such an expensive gift.
 
Does she specifically want a DSLR or is she interested in interchangeable lenses? If I was starting out and getting a new camera, I'd be all over one'o them mirrorless cameras. That might just be the GAS talking, though :p
 
She admired my little Sony mirrorless when we originally had our conversation about cameras and then we discussed Canon Rebels. Mirrorless are more expensive though and a lot less user friendly. There is way less used stuff around locally and with a Canon she could borrow some of my stuff.
 
Our daughter has asked for a DSLR camera. I’m proud of her and the reason that she wants it, but fairly horrified that she wants such an expensive gift.
The canon 450d is about 10 years old, but is still a decent 18mpixel camera that uses SD cards, and is about $100 - $200 on ebay without lenses. You can go older, but the models before then use compactflash, and you'd probably want to get a compactflash-->SD adaptor (that's what I use on my old 400d).

Of course, then you're just lending your expensive lenses out, so get a package with two old starter lenses so she has little reason to borrow yours and see what happens. If she's careful with the cheap one, you could lend the expensive one from time to time if she has good reason, such as shooting video.

These cameras don't seem to lose much value over time. I'm surprised that the camera I bought over ten years ago for $650 still commands over $100 as a used item. But that also means that if it doesn't work out and she gets bored with it, it'll still have some resale value a few years from now.

It should also help her understand that the difference between an inexpensive camera and an expensive one is not a big difference. Big enough that it can be worth it, but you can get great images and learn just as much from a low end model as a high end one.

That may still be an expensive gift (it certainly would be in my family!) but it's probably the way to go vs getting a body incompatible with your current lenses, and you may find times when you'd like to take a camera out but don't want to risk your nicer one, so it could benefit you as well.
 

fade

Staff member
I still love my 8 year old Canon T2i. I think you can get one of those for fairly cheap online. And you can update the firmware with Magic Lantern to add in a lot of the software features of the higher end models. Takes great video, too.
 
Wait a minute!
Wait!
Wait.
I’m having a thought. Oh yes, oh yes.
I’m going to have a thought.
It’s coming.
It’s coming.

…It’s gone.

—Patrick
 

Dave

Staff member
Got a hit today for a 3 hour Karaoke DJ gig in Lorton, NE. I asked what their budget was because it is a private birthday party for about 15 people. They responded $350 plus tips. Too much, I replied. Yes, I told them they would be overpaying and that $200 would be closer to the mark. I then started asking about wi-fi as with it we have about 25,000 songs in the library. Without it we have about 5,000. Before they answered they changed the location from Lorton, NE to Lorton....VIRGINIA!

Yeah, that $200 price tag just went way, WAY up!
 
Got a hit today for a 3 hour Karaoke DJ gig in Lorton, NE. I asked what their budget was because it is a private birthday party for about 15 people. They responded $350 plus tips. Too much, I replied. Yes, I told them they would be overpaying and that $200 would be closer to the mark. I then started asking about wi-fi as with it we have about 25,000 songs in the library. Without it we have about 5,000. Before they answered they changed the location from Lorton, NE to Lorton....VIRGINIA!

Yeah, that $200 price tag just went way, WAY up!
Doesn't that mean that they had originally intended to pay you $350+tips for a private party almost 1200 miles from your home?
 

Dave

Staff member
Doesn't that mean that they had originally intended to pay you $350+tips for a private party almost 1200 miles from your home?
Well, I checked the logs and found that the only hits we'd had were from North Dakota & Nebraska. So I doubt the really mean VA. But until they respond, I won't know.
 
I find it unprofessional how in TV shows they have a character puke off camera, but forget the splash sound. If their's no splash sound its not puking, its dry-heaving.
 
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