Help gift for my daughter, please

[missnanse]

I want to buy my daughter a good camera for our Christmas trip to WDW this year, as good as 500.00 will get actually and that being said I know that you all are the smartest people I know and so will ask your advice if you don't mind. She loves taking pictures, especially at the Rock concerts she attends often. I have no clue what to look for but have been following sales and see that Sears has Nikon D40 6.1 megapixel digital LSr outfit with 2.7LCD and 18-55mm lens 449.99 nikon 55-200mm zoom lens 239.99 or both for 589.98. Is this a good buy? Do I wait until it is closer to the holidays? Can I get something better for the money? or What would you all recommend for concerts, travel, family photos? I know I am asking a lot but I am so unknowledgeable about cameras and picture taking that i need expert advice and this is the place for it. Thanks everyone for any help you can give me, Nanci

 

[YesDear]

A couple of comments for you.

First, if she is going to headliner concert she will most likely not be able to take a DSLR into the concert.

The D40 is a great starter camera. you may want to look at a higher end P&S like the Canon G10. It is a great camera yet still a P&S.

 

[missnanse]

I really wanted a little more than a P&S for her, but will look into this. Thanks

 

[MarkBarbieri]

If you really loved her, you'd buy her a Canon 5D Mark II.

 

[oregondaddyof2]

If you really loved her, you'd buy her a Canon 5D Mark II.

And after you spend that first $5000, you can buy me one too...

 

[YesDear]

Then the D40 would be a great choice. You may also want to look at the D3000. It has just been released and is current technology.

 

[MICKEY88]

If you really loved her, you'd buy her a Canon 5D Mark II.

for the same price, the Sony A900 and some pro glass wou be a better buy

 

[princess.chell]

When she goes to rock concerts is she in seats or in the general admission standing only area (if they have those at the concerts she goes to)? I go to a lot of concerts where I'm in the general admission standing only area. I get beat up in there. There is no way I would ever think about taking my dslr in there with me. However, I do take my p&s with me. I have a Canon PowerShot SD990 IS. It's the best p&s I've ever had (gone through about 5 in the last 3 years). The strap is good and the camera is "big" enough where I can hold on to it but small enough that I can slip in my pocket. The quality of both pictures and video is really good as well. That's about the only part of your question I can help you on sorry! =)

 

[missnanse]

Well this is not going to be as easy as I'd hoped, you all have valid points and she has Nikon coolpix, the Ashton kutcher camera, which is a P&S so she wanted a better camera to take more professional looking shots. Any more thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

 

[kaffinito]

I bought the Panasonic Lumix Tz5 for my "kit" camera. It's a much better p-n-s than the Coolpix (IMO) and it takes great low loight shots. There is another Panasonic that's a bridge camera that does better, the Lumix DMC-FZ28 10.1MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom. It costs a bit more, around $600.00 but it gets good reviews.

If your daughter isn't concerned with using a fancier camera at concerts, then the D40 or the D3000 are really good cameras. They work well at WDW!

 

[YesDear]

I go back to my original suggestion. The D40 is a great and popular first DSLR. I believe you will find good deals from a lot of places on Kits of D40.

I also would really recommend you look at the new D3000 when it comes out in the next few weeks. It is current new technology and would provide a longer use window.

While I use Nikon and it is my preference, you might want to take her to a camera store and let her play with other brands as well. It is the one that feels best to her that she will use.

I also highly recommend you buy her Brian Peterson's book Understanding Exposure. More professional pictures come more from knowledge of photography than the equipment. The equipment provides better tools, but you have to kmow how to use those tools to get the best results!

 

[missnanse]

Thanks everyone you have given me a lot to think about. Since I have time until Christmas I may come back & ask again for your opinions on the new ones that come out.