Which professional digital cameras should I get?

Question

My kid is studying photography and he needs to buy a porfessional digital camera. Help me with some suggestions.

Answer 1

Congratulations on your child studying photography.

I must say this and probably disillusion you a bit. Your child does NOT need a professional camera right now. What your child needs is a good camera that mimics a professional camera that also has features and options and lens availability for the future purchases.

Let me suggest a reasonably bprices camera: the Nikon D80 and the recommended lens would be, the Nikkor AF DX 18-135mm lens. The camera mimics the pro-level Nikon D200 at a great savings, and it is a robust camera (doesn't feel like a toy in one's hands); the lens has great optics for great image detail quality and is very versatile, too. In a couple of years, when your child is ready for a pro level camera, you can get a newer model and still use the lenses your child will have accumulated (and you won't have to be buying other lenses).

I have about 44 years in photography and I can assure you that a student will not learn faster or more on an expensive camera anymore than a carpentry student will not learn more or faster with an expensive hammer. What the person needs is the abailability of certain features, functions and options that are common in very expensive pro level cameras and the lesser expensive cameras popular amongst avid photographers (lens interchangeability, aperture control, shutter speed control, ISO control, etc). Save the money for other gear, such as a good sturdy tripod, a good and reliable strobe, a good printer, photographic paper and archival inks, etc. Good luck and best wishes.

Answer 2

If you kid is just studying photography, I would suggest that a professional digital camera is the very last thing he/she needs. In fact, I would purchase a basic, no frills analogue camera where all the settings have to be made manually so she/he learns what all the functions of a camera are. How often do you see on this board questions from people who have brought a high end camera like 'what is aperture'?, what is the purpose of shutter speeds'? All those kinds of things should be learned and and become second nature before moving on to some high-end, all bells and whistles, camera.

Answer 3

Canon EOS range is good