Advice on first camera for beginner

[faithx]

Hiya guys

I'm after a bit of guidence 🙂  Which model would you recommend for a 15 year old starting GCSE photography?  Obviously, he reckons he needs an all singing, all dancing top of the range machine.  Whereas, I'm more of the thinging, he should work his way up.  I think maybe something a bit more than a cybershot, I'm thinking a NEX-3 or 5.

Any advice would be gratefully received 🙂

[c.a.g.l.a.r]

Hi,

NEX-F3 will be a great choice. I bought this model recently and took lots of high quality photos also it has a great intuitive firmware which helps a lot to make photography tricks. I read tons of reviews both were thinking in parallel, so you can count on me

[blaireau_photo]

Hello faithx - I almost welcomed you to the forums there as a new user (force of habit)

As opposed to recommending a specific camera (although I agree that the NEX-F3 would be a great starting point) I would recommend taking a trip to a reputable local camera store to try out as many models as possible. You may find cheaper prices online but at the same time a lot of stores have a little flexibility when you mention purchasing a memory card and other accessories because this is where the margin exists for the shop as opposed to the hardware (in my retail job days I was always 'forced' to sell 25% of the camera value on top in terms of memory cards which was a nightmare when someone wanted a £2000 DSLR!). On top of this, if the store has photo processing/printing facilities they will be keen to have you as a returning customer for obvious reasons

As he will be working towards a GCSE in Photography, it may also be worth looking at the GCSE specification from the exam board to see if they have any recommendations based upon the course content and expectations. I tutor GCSE French in my spare time (hence the 'tricolore' badger in my logo) and this is always the first place I go before recommending revision materials to parents. I know that this is a whole different ball game but it can't hurt to have a quick look as most of these course documents are publically available online. If you have any trouble locating them, let me know which exam board is running the course and I will take a look for you.

Thanks,

Simon