Advice on a nikon for a teenager

[lolabird]

Just hoping for a few wise words about what to consider before purchasing a camera for my 14yr old. I bought a D90 just over a year ago and since then she has been snapping everything and anything on my old canon point and push. She seems to have been bitten by the bug and is in a photography club etc at school so i would like to get her a small Nikon so she can share lenses with me (Gulp!!). I thought maybe a decent second hand D40 or D60 to start with and also advice where to buy. Any tips would be gratefully received.

[Eyeayen]

Do you have a budget ?

Most camera shops do second hand and usually with a warranty. So you'd have some come back if anything was to go wrong.

The D40 and D60 are quite old now, the D60 was replaced by the D3000 and seeing as that's just been replaced by the D3100 you might be able to haggle with the shop and get one cheaper, as I said though I don't know what budget you're working to so difficult to advise, I'd image you could get one of those for about £250 or thereabouts.

The D3000 is a great camera as it contains a really useful 'Guide' mode, it explains what settings achieve what results as you use them and when to use them, it would help her understand what she needs to do more with each control. That said the D40 and D60 are both great camera's and I'm sure you could get one real cheap if you hunted around. London Camera Exchange and Jessops both do second hand camera's, they're nation wide so you could try them ?

Your very brave letting her share your lenses

[chris-p]

Hi Lolabird, I think you're right. A second hand D40 or D60 is exactly where is start...

[OldBoy]

I would forget the D40/D60 and go for a D70, D70s or a D50 which you can get for under £200. They may be first generation cameras at only 6mp but they give cracking results and are very easy to use, also taking nearly all Nikon lenses ever produced..

[Eyeayen]

Something to bare in mind, the D40 and D60 don't have drive motors for the lenses where as your D90 does. So if you want to get lenses that work on both cameras you'll have to get ones with in built motors, this should be a problem as there are plenty about but if you have ones without it because you don't need them for your camera your daughter will have to focus everything manually !

[amk1977]

I'd also avoid the D40/D60 models for the reasons mentioned above by Eyeayen. The lack of a body focus motor means that all "D" type lenses will only operate in manual focus.

A D70 or something similar, with a kit lens would be a great place to start. Add to that with probably the best value Nikkor portrait lens that money can buy (50mm f/1.8 around £60 on ebay for mint used copies). You can also get the Nikkor 55-200mm VR for £135 from buyacamera.com or even cheaper used on ebay.