So I'm thinking of getting the girlfriend a good camera, she's done artistic photography in the past but hasn't had a good camera in years. I was thinking of getting her a good starter digital SLR and I was thinking of getting the Cannon EOS Digital Rebel.

What do you think? Recommend it, or recommend another?

 

The canon g11 is a really awesome point and shoot with a lot of the manual manipulations of a DSLR. Aside from the disadvantage of a fixed lens, this camera is practically on par with the rebel series. If she's serious about getting in to photography then you hit the nail on the head with the rebel as a good starter. The reason I suggest the g11 is because it's a lot less to lug around, but is still decent enough to use for art shots.

 

i love my canon so far. the only gripe though is that the camera doesn't have wireless remote availability out of the box. you can get a kit for that, but I don't have the funds for that. instead I bought a wired remote off craigslist for 10 bucks that gets the job half way done. I have the Rebel XS btw. i saw some really good deals on craigslist though... really good deals.

 

jay kay!

 

what's your budget?

 

If she isnt the picky type get her a used Canon 20/30D with a brand new 50mm 1.8 for $400-600 OTD

I cant stand any Canon w/o a dial. Most "user friendly" cameras in the low budget range are opposite of user friendly IMO

Tho most Canon stuff is on rebate special right now til Jan FYI if you buy new

haha so true.

 

i been shooting with Nikon's for years now..the D40 is an excellent beginner camera, and runs for about 450ish brand new with 18-55mm kit lens, or you can buy it on craigslist for alot cheaper. Canon or Nikon, you wont go wrong with either one

 

Everyone recommends Canon and Nikon and I say **** you guys. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think they are bad cameras. I use a Canon 1Ds myself from time to time. But that is simply no way to buy a camera. The first thing you need to do is take your girl to a camera store and decide which brand fits the best in her hands and what is COMFORTABLE to use (go to Keeble and Schuchat, they are pretty snobby but they will have the widest selection).

Until you start getting paid for your photographs you should worry more about how YOU feel when taking the pictures rather than the number of megapixels or how smooth the skin tones are; because it wont matter how capable your camera is if you don't use it regularly. My daily use camera is a Sony A700 paired with a variety of zeiss and 25 year old Minolta lenses. It's NOT the BEST camera in the world. It IS the most comfortable and natural feeling for my hands, and it has all of the features I need.

 

Canons:
Canon XS, XSI

Nikon:
D40

 

Check the SlickDeals forums (wow, they totally blanked out the name of the site when I typed out the URL), usually they post the best deals on cameras, especially DSLR's. The rest just comes down to bringing a memory card or two with you and testing out the cameras yourselves at stores. A site like dpreview.com's good for just pure information to narrow a list down of cameras to look at.

 

What's your price range? Honestly, I'd give her an IOU (maybe see if a camera store has an empty camera box, and put a note in that) and let her pick out the camera she wants.

 

^ i like

 

Ask your gf what kind of cameras her friends have.

If you get her the same brand as her friends, then she'll potentially have more lenses to try out and borrow.

Otherwise, +1 to go with whichever is most comfortable.
I've been told the Nikons are more intuitive and feel better.

I'm a canon guy myself, cuz I've been using canon for a long time, and the lenses they offer fit my needs.

 

Although I agree that she should pick up and feel any camera she's considering, it's stupid to discount someones suggestion for Canon or Nikon. They are the top of the camera food chain for a reason.

I'd look at Canon or Nikon if she's serious about her photography. She will find someone she likes within those two brands. If she's really more doing it for fun, and doesn't really care the Sony Alphas make great cameras because their are cheap, have built in image stability within the body (ie: not in the lens) and the lenses tend to be cheap as well. Good market for older pentax lenses that fit and work fine.

I use Nikon. I've used both Sony and Canon. I prefer Nikon due to the ergonomics and the size. I have normal to big size hands and most Canon's less than a 40d are too small.

 

Good advice.. Also, a gift certificate or something will set you at your price range and let her know what she can get. A buddy just bought his wife a Canon G11 after she really liked my G10 but then my wife hates the G10 because it's SOOO BIG. I mean it's huge.