My 9 year old nephew wants to get into photography and doesn't want a mirrorless camera yet, he still loves the easy to use and pocketable p&s cameras. I'm looking to get him a used one that has a fast zoom lens on it. And before any of you rant about "just get a used phone", he wants a camera and his parents don't want him having a phone.
So far I've only seen the Sony ZV-1 that seems to fit my budget of around 500 or so maximum. Are there any other cameras some of you might recommend? He does want to take some video ,so nice video quality would be a bonus. He doesn't need 20+ megapixels so I'm open to looking at cameras with lower megapixel count. I'm also open to any brand.
Consider one of the older Rx100 models, say version III. It has a f1.8-2.8 24-70 equivalent lens so it gathers light pretty well. Video is good but not 4k. To get 4k you need to get version IV which has the same sensor and lens.
Yeah I saw that too, but they are usually priced a bit higher. Seems like the m4 model and above seem nice. I guess it comes down to which one I can find at a better price. The RX100 does seem a bit better from the photos I've seen, it seems to have less of a digital look than the ZV1.
I was looking at the Canon g5x too but the image quality seems pretty bad.
The old Lumix LX# series - LX 7, for example. Zoom lens has f/1.4-2.3 aperture and prosumer enough to start fiddling with manual controls, should he want to.
I used the old Sony RX100 models in the past, and was very dissatisfied with the lack of manual controls and, to be honest, image quality. Maybe I just don't like the "Sony" look.
I keep seeing the matchups on how the ZV-1 takes much better photos, but I'm checking out photos and videos on youtube and to me it seems like the LUMIX lx-100 absolutely destroys the Zv-1 when it comes to photos,even the video looks a bit better (seems more sharp).
I'm going to look up the cons of the lx-100 but I feel like I should maybe be pushing my nephew for that camera unless it has bad autofocusing or some big weakness I didn't see.
I had the LX100. You're right. Absolutely fantastic and blew the RX100 out of the water. Again, probably because of the much greater ability for manual control. But I also liked the output more. I just wouldn't call it "pocketable" unless you have some pretty big pockets.
I wish the LX100 ii was more affordable, my nephew absolutely loved the video/photos I showed him and now he's open to a small mirrorless camera. For him that would be the perfect camera for quality/video & size but you can't have all that at a great price, even the used market is super pricey for it.
But I think I dug myself into a hole now. Minus the lenses, there are some small mirroless cameras out there like the zv-10..so I'm on the lookout for a really small mirrorless camera that has a few pancake lenses available. I'm guessing most of my choices are going to be down to Fuji or Sony. Panasonic has some nice cameras but all their lenses seem slow and bulky.
Now my nephew sees the huge difference in quality when it comes to the photos but he still wants to take some nice videos..I was going to go for the Sony ZV-e10 but it looks like it has horrible rolling shutter when using video..but with the Fuji cameras I don't want to get one with crappy autofocus.
Maybe the LX 100 is still a good option if I could find one for a decent price, I just wish they had a mic input on there since my nephew has been loving the microphone I just bought for my iphone.
Braindrain232 wrote:
I had the LX100. You're right. Absolutely fantastic and blew the RX100 out of the water. Again, probably because of the much greater ability for manual control. But I also liked the output more. I just wouldn't call it "pocketable" unless you have some pretty big pockets.
I just found a Nikon z30 creators kit on this forum for a nice price! It's a tiny bit bigger than the ZV-1 but it comes with a microphone and tripod/stand. Ever use one of those?
The LX 100ii prices are insane now..I just found the Z30 and hopped on this forum and found it which was awesome. Checking the reviews the camera seems great for both photography and video and it looks leagues ahead of the ZV1 with quality.
Never owned or used a Nikon before. Gotta check out the lenses, see if there are any pancake lenses to get for it. I'm sure my nephew is going to be surprised when he sees it. It's going to make a great beginner camera for him.
Prices on all P&S cameras are absurd today. Old cameras that you could not give away a few years ago are now selling for more than they cost new. You can provide much more camera for less money with almost any MILC system.
I really wanted to get my nephew the Panasonic LX100 ii, out of all the cameras that was perfect for him, especially when I saw the regular pricing of 400-500 for them used.. but now they are going for 1200-1500!!
Olympus E-M10 mkIV and a 17mm or 25mm prime? There is a nice-looking one FS over on MU-43. It's not a P&S, but it's a pretty basic ILC. Closer to $600 though.
I really wanted to get my nephew the Panasonic LX100 ii, out of all the cameras that was perfect for him, especially when I saw the regular pricing of 400-500 for them used.. but now they are going for 1200-1500!!
A clean, used Sony a6100 with 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 II can be had for what some of the P&S cams are going for. If you really want to a faster lens, get a body alone with a Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN C. That's probably one of the best APS-C lenses ever made.
jeffbuzz wrote:
A clean, used Sony a6100 with 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 II can be had for what some of the P&S cams are going for. If you really want to a faster lens, get a body alone with a Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN C. That's probably one of the best APS-C lenses ever made.
I'm still kicking myself in the ass from months ago, there was a sony A6100 with a kit lens for 200 bucks local, excellent condition. It's the only time I've ever seen a camera for a great price around my area.
I already bought a camera for my nephew the other day off this site. Brand new Nikon z30 with kit lens,microphone and grip/tripod for 550. I was going to wait for my nephew to try it out more before getting him a prime lens but the Nikon Nikkor 40mm is def on my list to buy now, just waiting to see if I can find it for a decent price. Then I'll see later on if he needs a wide angle prime or if theres a really nice lens for video.
I never had a Nikon before either so it's new for both of us. The Nikon seemed like a great fit for him, while it's not pocketable like the zv-1 it still is pretty small,they have a nice amount of really small lenses,its nice for video and photo, only thing that I know he would want would be a flash.
I did want to go all Sony for him but the Nikon with the smaller lenses seemed like a better fit for him. If he ends up loving photo/video then his next camera will for sure be a Nikon and if he outgrows I know his brother will love it once he gets older.
Joeydgraffix wrote:
I'm still kicking myself in the ass from months ago, there was a sony A6100 with a kit lens for 200 bucks local, excellent condition. It's the only time I've ever seen a camera for a great price around my area.
I already bought a camera for my nephew the other day off this site. Brand new Nikon z30 with kit lens,microphone and grip/tripod for 550. I was going to wait for my nephew to try it out more before getting him a prime lens but the Nikon Nikkor 40mm is def on my list to buy now, just waiting to see if I can find it for a decent price. Then I'll see later on if he needs a wide angle prime or if theres a really nice lens for video.
I never had a Nikon before either so it's new for both of us. The Nikon seemed like a great fit for him, while it's not pocketable like the zv-1 it still is pretty small,they have a nice amount of really small lenses,its nice for video and photo, only thing that I know he would want would be a flash.
I did want to go all Sony for him but the Nikon with the smaller lenses seemed like a better fit for him. If he ends up loving photo/video then his next camera will for sure be a Nikon and if he outgrows I know his brother will love it once he gets older. ...Show more →
Excellent. I didn't realize you had purchased the Nikon you mentioned previously. Same concept as the a6100. Your nephew is nicely set up for the foreseeable future.
jeffbuzz wrote:
Excellent. I didn't realize you had purchased the Nikon you mentioned previously. Same concept as the a6100. Your nephew is nicely set up for the foreseeable future.
Thanks, yeah he should be set for a while. The other reason why I went with Nikon is that I've always heard about Sonys horrible menu system,so I didn't want him to get frustrated or confused trying to use the Sony menu system if that was the case and I did want to get him a camera before the summer was over. The other Sony's were a bit out of my budget and I didn't run into any other 6100's for a decent price.
I tried to get him to go Fuji since I absolutely love the Fuji colors but the autofocus in my Fuji camera turned him away from anything Fuji lol.
If video is a big priority, the ZV-1 still probably takes the cake under $500, it has a great mic, fast lens, and real-time eye AF. But if you're open to used models, the Panasonic LX10 and Canon G7X II/III also punch above their weight for casual vlogging or video clips. And they’re small enough not to intimidate a beginner.
I really wanted to get my nephew the Panasonic LX100 ii, out of all the cameras that was perfect for him, especially when I saw the regular pricing of 400-500 for them used.. but now they are going for 1200-1500!!
That's just nuts! I haven't looked since forever. No idea they were going for such ridiculous prices.
Braindrain232 wrote:
That's just nuts! I haven't looked since forever. No idea they were going for such ridiculous prices.
Yeah the pricing is just way too much. I'm glad I got him to go with a slightly bigger camera. I got the Nikon z30 creators kit (comes with microphone,grip/stand with Bluetooth remote and 16-50mm lens )never used for 575 shipped and I just bought a Nikon 40mm f2 for 130. A zv1 new would have cost me similar,even used prices on eBay are around the 450 + taxes , and that doesn't include a microphone or in new condtition.
I want to test out these small cameras too cause I'm thinking of getting rid of my 50s II.
