Seeking advice on camera purchase

[frogprog]

I know there are a few photogs in the house so I'm seeking advice on a DSLR camera purchase. The camera will be a birthday gift (18th) for my daughter. She is going to be majoring in some sort of digital media program in college and has a few media classes this year in high school. Her teacher frequently lends her a Cannon Rebel to both film and take pictures with, so I'm guessing that is the sort camera I'm looking for. I want it to be a surprise so I don't want to flat out ask her what to get, but I want her to be happy with what I buy. As I look around, pricing and options are all over the place. Any advice you guys could give me on an intermediate level camera set up would be appreciated. Thanks!
Frogprog

[Lonk]

What’s your budget?

I currently have a canon T7i for Astrophotography. it’s a good camera but worth spending a little extra on better lens.

[frogprog]

Budget is roughly $500

[Lonk]

Then I think Canon is your best choice. The good thing about cameras nowadays is that you can do so much, without having to spend a lot of money.

Canon T7 (not the model I have) you can find for a little over $400 with accessories on Amazon. The only reason I bought the T7I instead of the T7 is the LED screen is fixed on the T7. With the T7i you can flip it, which I needed for when my camera was pointing straight up. Camera takes good videos, easy to use, really simple controls in terms of exposure, ISO and color balance (Live histogram is really useful for this).

https://www.amazon.com/Canon-EOS-2000D-18-55mm-Processor/dp/B08G6BXP4H

You could also go with a Nikon 3500, though you might need to spend a little more. I like canon because it has some features that Nikon cameras don't (live histogram). I heard good things about Sony Alpha as well, but I never used one.

I'm sure others might have better suggestions, but that's my pick.

[jingle.boy]

FWIW, when I was doing research (albeit 8 and 10 years ago), I settled on Nikon as the brand, D60 as the model for both mrs.jingle and jingle.son.  After that, I don't have much input - I forget all the reasons why, and well, it was 10ish years ago!  I do believe getting additional/right lenses for her needs is important as well.

[faizoff]

I was researching the same thing some seven years ago, I wound up getting the Nikon D5200 due to a great deal at the time. You can't go wrong with either Nikon or Canon DSLR models, the quality of the body and lenses are rock solid and it all comes down to preference on settings and aesthetics more than anything.

I looked at the Canon Rebel T7 and it looks great for a starter unit at $450, it comes with the camera body and 18-55mm lens which is the best lens to start off with. You can always buy different lenses as you dig deeper into its usage. This particular unit looks like it also has wifi, so transferring pictures has a good wireless option.


I don't have that much familiarity with Canon models as I do with Nikon models but I really like my D5200 and is an amateur level camera with a good set of features.

[frogprog]

Thanks for the input, guys. I was actually looking at the Canon T7 so that might be where I end up.

[kirksnosehair]

Budget is roughly $500

Canon "Rebel" line of entry-level DSLRs is what you need