£200 Camera for art/design college work : suggestions pls

[JoeF2k2]

Hi,

Im posting on behalf of my mum as im the "technical" guy within the house. She is wanting to buy my younger sister a camera to go with other presents for xmas, she wants to spend roughly £200 on one so im wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to which i should be looking at or comparing for this price?

She is 17 and will be using it for her college work where she is doing art & design and stuff like that. She suggests Nikon but i dont got a clue what to go for or look out for in a camera really.

So any advice or links will be appreciated

thanks

[DanHamer]

Are you looking at compact camera's or SLR's ?

[senu]

Good question . Ive edited your title. Just A bit more will get a DSLR like the Nikon D40 which would give excellent results and is relatively newbie friendly

[JoeF2k2]

Hi,

i still need to speak with my mum as to what she may use the camera for. I have been looking at the nikon and suggested something like this and she does not mind paying a little more. Ive also been looking at panasonic lumix's range and also came across one similar in looking to that of the nikon d40.

to answer your question about compact or slr, i am not sure. I guess there will be pros and cons to both, im not sure.

[senu]

Originally Posted by JoeF2k2

Hi,

i still need to speak with my mum as to what she may use the camera for. I have been looking at the nikon and suggested something like this and she does not mind paying a little more. Ive also been looking at panasonic lumix's range and also came across one similar in looking to that of the nikon d40.

to answer your question about compact or slr, i am not sure. I guess there will be pros and cons to both, im not sure.

Apart from size and Lens range ( initially) there is no advantage to a compact
She can get a lens later to cover the ranges the standard lens doesnt cover
In terms of size, a small DSLR like the Nikon D40 is not pocketable but isn't really bigger than the compacts
and
Image quality is so much better and speed of operation nippier

[JoeF2k2]

so in terms of what she will be using for, a dslr will benefit her more in the long run? ability to change lenses etc (are these expensive) ? Also the fact about having more control etc over your picture taking.

Also, the d40 says 6.1mp, now a compact at 10mp, mind says this would be better? but is that me basing a camera on the more mp the better? which no doubt is a wrong thing to do?

the panasonic one that looked similar to the d40 was Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3
but there was also one with the same name that looked like a compact one alot smaller in size?

[senu]

Originally Posted by JoeF2k2

so in terms of what she will be using for, a dslr will benefit her more in the long run? ability to change lenses etc (are these expensive) ? Also the fact about having more control etc over your picture taking.

They can be used on Auto as point and shoot to start with. Lenses are not dirt cheap but she can save toward an affordable one and use the kit lens for starters
In truth she may not need more than 2 or 3 max

Also, the d40 says 6.1mp, now a compact at 10mp, mind says this would be better? but is that me basing a camera on the more mp the better? which no doubt is a wrong thing to do?

Absolutely a 6mp DSLR with a sensor almost twice as big s the compact 10Mp is a good thing