How Old?

[MarkBarbieri]

My first grader has recently shown an interest in photography. I've been letting him play with my old 10D. It and the 28-135 are a bit large. I was thinking about getting him a Rebel XTi, the kit lens, and maybe the 70-300 DO.

Have you ever tried teaching a youngster to use a DSLR/SLR? How well did it work? Any advice?

 

[YEKCIM]

Mark, no experience with dSLR, but did take my 8 YO daughter to a local university to practice with my dSLR-wannabe, the Fuji S5200, which is similar in some ways to a dSLR. Several suggestions I made to her:

1. Use the viewfinder, not the LCD (would not apply in the case of a true slr)
2. Keep the camera straight
3. Hold the camera as still as you can, to avoid blur

We spent a couple hours shooting, she with the Fuji, me with the D50 and I have to say that she did lots better than I did in my first experience with a camera, in the sixth grade (Kodak Brownie, Verichrome Pan 125).

She is going to inherit the Fuji, at least while we are at Mickey's World in a few weeks and I wanted her to get some experience before going down there. I've promised her an album on my Photobucket site and will post some of her stuff here, after we return. In fact, I think it would be a great thing to have a "pictures by kids" thread on here.

~Ed

 

[polkadotladybug]

And I thought I was doing good getting my 4th grader a Samsung S630 digital point and shoot for her 10th birthday 3 weeks ago- LOL - my first grader thinks she needs one too, but I don't think she needs her own quite yet - but we'll see. It's a decent little starter camera - 6.0 megapixels - 4x zoom, $99, and best of all - it's pink! It does have a manual setting so you can adjust your aperture and shutter speeds - plus it has some funky add-ons - where you can adjust the color - choose different color filters, plus some frames that are cute for that age group. She picked up the different options right away and actually went in and figured out some other settings that I didn't know existed.

She's very excited about having her own real camera - and she's the first one of her friends to have a camera - and that was important to her - it wasn't even something she asked for - but she is so excited about taking it to WDW.

I did read some "eh" reviews about it eating up batteries but we use rechargables and she can take over way 100 before it runs out - and that's with having the lcd on and fiddling with the frames, etc. I have actually been VERY pleasantly surprised because I was fully prepared to be slightly disappointed! The batteries have been fine for us but use rechargables!

 

[Master Mason]

I think I was in 5th grade or there abouts when my dad first let me use his SLR.

 

[jann1033]

it depends on the child naturally but i think the attention span of a 1st grader might be a little short for learning a dslr although he could use it on auto. i think i would start with a p&s with manual controls as well till they were in later elementary school...being i was on the downhill side of 30s when i got my own first slr ( $$$, always wanted one since pre high school yrs) i may not be a good judge though

 

[fitzperry]

it depends on the child naturally but i think the attention span of a 1st grader might be a little short for learning a dslr although he could use it on auto.

I think I concur with this, although Mark's ds is probably a prodigy and I'll be proven wrong when he wins a dpchallenge blue ribbon at the age of 9.

We got our 7yo a Nikon Coolpix p&s that has a wide range of preset image modes (portrait, group portrait, night portrait, landscape, night landscape, architecture and so on). She has gotten pretty good at judging the situation and figuring out which mode to use, although she sometimes forgets to change it and just starts shooting away. I've been explaining to her why the settings need to be different for different subjects and lighting situations, but I think that full manual control is a few years off for her. She's also been irritated lately because she realized that the video mode has no sound and the American Idol-style competitions that she recorded with her friends were mute. I do think that kids enjoy the gadgets like video mode, etc., which of course are not found in an slr, so I guess it depends on how serious he is about the actual photography at this point or whether you just want him to have fun and learn a little at the same time.

Also, Mark's ds is no doubt a big strong youth , but there's no way my teeny little princess would lug around an slr all day.

 

[Master Mason]

the other thing I would be worried about is short attention span syndrom. What happens when they see a really cool bug that needs to be played with instead of photgraphed. The camera goes down in the dirt.

 

[SueInBoston]

I think Mark wants a new toy

 

[fitzperry]

I think Mark wants a new toy

Yeah, I wondered if he was looking for a backup.

I sort of touched on this above, but I would also be concerned that it's just too darn big for a kid that age. My first-grader can take her little p&s pretty much anywhere. We got a lightweight neck strap for it and the thing is so light she can almost forget it's there until she wants to use it (which makes it less likely that she'll drop it into the dirt to go play with a bug as Master Mason wisely suggests). Carrying around an slr is a bigger chore, and most of the kids I know (heck, most of the adults I know) would get tired of that and not get much use out of it.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Yeah, I wondered if he was looking for a backup.

I sort of touched on this above, but I would also be concerned that it's just too darn big for a kid that age.

I already have the 10D as a backup. It's just too darned big for him. The Rebel is a good bit smaller, so I think it might work better for him. That's also what makes the 70-300 DO so exciting...it's tiny for such a long zoom. Sadly, it's not inexpensive.

I thought about a cheap p&s. It would be less to worry about and simpler to use. I was just concerned that p&s cameras are so unresponsive that he might get discouraged. I also liked the idea of having him use something that worked essentially the same way as his parent's camera. I find that kids pick up a lot through watching.

On one hand, I worry about the complexity of a DSLR. Keeping track of shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc seems like a lot for a little guy. On the other hand, I see what kids keep up with in video games and it doesn't seem any more complicated. My thought is to set the bar high and see how he does.

I'm just not sure where to begin. Should I try to teach the technical basics like exposure first? Or should I leave him in auto-mode and focus on composition? Should I have him learn with a prime instead of a zoom so that he gets a better understanding of perspective or would the inability to zoom take away from learning about composition?

His pre-K brother has actually started to pick up the 10D and shoot with it. It's hopelessly too big for him. I found it curious that his preferred subject is other pictures. For some odd reason he likes to take pictures of pictures. Maybe he's going to grow up to be a critic.

 

[Master Mason]

Mark,

how about something like the S3, smaller, cheaper, still gives good pictures, still has the ability to control it.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

I thought about a cheap p&s. It would be less to worry about and simpler to use. I was just concerned that p&s cameras are so unresponsive that he might get discouraged. I also liked the idea of having him use something that worked essentially the same way as his parent's camera. I find that kids pick up a lot through watching.

What about an "advanced" P&S camera: like a Canon S3, Sony H7/H9 or Fuji S9000?

All of them are very responsive (very little shutter lag, and continuous speeds as fast as 2.6fps), bigger than a fit-in-your-pocket P&S but smaller than a DSLR, and all have Manual modes very similar to a DSLR. I can't imagine any kid being dissatisfied with one of these ... I'm almost 40 and I love mine!

They've all got wide-angle, zoom and macro without needing to change lenses, so no chance of getting dirt on the sensor.

They also cost less than some of the *lenses* you'd put on a DLSR!

I think I would start with composition and Auto ... kids often have a different view on things, and training/developing his photographer's eye from such a young age could be a very good thing. You could easily break him into the complexities of exposure through the Av and Tv modes on the way to full Manual. No need to dump the "mechanics" on a budding artist anyway....

You also mention learning by watching ... but changes are he's going to be shooting what you shoot, not looking over you shoulder to see what settings you're choosing. He's going to think "Daddy's shooting the castle, so I'll shot the castle, too." I doubt, at 1st grade, he'd be wondering what aperture and shutter-speed you've set....

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I haven't used a p&s since I got my dad an S1. Maybe I'll look at them again.

I had another thought. My plan for a long time has been to set up a room upstairs as a portrait studio. The idea was to use it as a kid portrait studio because we have so many kids in the neighborhood who's parents are always asking for something like that. If I did that and had my son do the actual picture taking, I could let them pay him instead of me. That would give him earned income that would satisfy the requirements necessary to open a Roth IRA. Photography and tax savings...to great tastes that go well together.

 

[Master Mason]

I haven't used a p&s since I got my dad an S1. Maybe I'll look at them again.

I had another thought. My plan for a long time has been to set up a room upstairs as a portrait studio. The idea was to use it as a kid portrait studio because we have so many kids in the neighborhood who's parents are always asking for something like that. If I did that and had my son do the actual picture taking, I could let them pay him instead of me. That would give him earned income that would satisfy the requirements necessary to open a Roth IRA. Photography and tax savings...to great tastes that go well together.

And you could write off the equipment up to the amount of money you make as well. (or at least a portion) check with your tax guy.

 

[ukcatfan]

For teaching, I would work on the basics first like how to hold it, keeping the horizon level, filling the frame, etc. and leave it on auto. Once the techniques are down, then work through P mode to Av and then Tv. Once you master those, you already know manual even if you have never used it.

If you go with a p&s, I suggest getting one with a true optical viewfinder. Those tiny LCDs in the viewfinder drive me crazy. I would also avoid letting him know that you can compose with the viewfinder in order to teach the techniques correctly.

Kevin

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I warned him not to take it in the water. I suddenly got worried that he might see the shots we took in the pool with the waterproof case and decide to take pictures like that. Happily, he gave me the "well, duh...do you think I'm stupid?" look.

I had forgotten about the need to teach things like setting a level horizon. It's hard to know just how basic you need to get.

 

[cpbjgc]

My first grader has recently shown an interest in photography. I've been letting him play with my old 10D. It and the 28-135 are a bit large. I was thinking about getting him a Rebel XTi, the kit lens, and maybe the 70-300 DO.

Have you ever tried teaching a youngster to use a DSLR/SLR? How well did it work? Any advice?

If you get the nifty fifty too, your first grader will have a better kit than me

I haven't tried teaching my fifth grader as yet (he's more of a videographer), but he has inherited my S1 IS for now. My suggestion, too, would be a prosumer model which will allow your kid to learn the basics (holding the camera, composition etc.), having access to progam modes/manual controls, and also, give them something to aspire to once they get better at shooting (the DSLR).

Besides, as Master Mason said, I'd be a little concerned about rough handling on a DSLR, but probably less so with a cheaper P&S.

(BTW, if you want to adopt me, I've had my eye on an EOS 1D Mark III )

 

[YEKCIM]

I had forgotten about the need to teach things like setting a level horizon. It's hard to know just how basic you need to get.

...which points up the value of critiquing his/her shots, after the fact, as you review them together on the computer. Asking stuff like, "what do you think you might have done differently,to make this a better shot?". That way they, like we, learn from our mistakes, and improve our skills, one shot at a time. Also illustrates the value, IMO, of going on a few "throwaway" shoots, before they photograph a once in a lifetime or at least not-likely-to-be-repeated-soon vacation or other event.

Digital, it goes without saying (so, why am I saying it??), makes all that so much easier and less expensive than film.

Incindentally, I've also installed Picasa on my daughter's PC so she can get a little experience with some basic PP.

~YEKCIM

 

[jann1033]

sigh, i see this so differently. i'd get the kid a camera he can use himself and set him loose...i like the "encouraging creativity" aspect so much more than "teach the techniques". imo if he enjoys expressing himself he'll learn the techniques eventually. course i was the kid with the blue colored snowman picture in first grade as well

 

[handicap18]

For that age, I would not bother at all with shutter speed and aperture and ISO. They barely know their addition and subtraction and are still learning the basics of reading and writing.

I would get him a simple to use P&S camera. If a first grader shows an interest in playing the trumpet your not going to go out and spend thousands on a brass plated, silver coated trumpet. Same with a guitar. You'd get a basic small size that he can hold and use and you not worry as much about what he'll do to it (leave it outside overnight in the rain). Not a $1000 Gibson with its own amp.

While 1st graders are very smart and can show a lot of maturity, they are still 1st graders.

I am all for encouraging kids when they find something interesting. But do it at their level.

I got my first camera when I was 10. It was as basic as you can get. Litterally point and shoot. No focusing, nothing. I used that camera for a few years then moved up from there. I didn't get to use my dad's old Pentax slr by myself till I was in 8th grade. I eventually got my own sometime around junior or senior year.

Let him develope and eye and worry about the technical stuff in about 5 or 6 years.

Just my $0.02.