My son, who is nearly 15, is getting interested in photography. We have set up a darkroom and he wants a camera for his birthday. Can you recommend a good camera for a beginner? When I was in college, I used a Pentax K-1000 and have seen them advertised for as little as $179 (with an F 2.0 lens). Is this a good camera for a beginner? Is this a good price? What do you recommend? Our price range is probably in the range of $150 - $250. Please inform. Thank you. Alan Morrow

-- Alan Morrow (Bethany@loclnet.com), March 26, 1998

Answers

Yes the K1000 is a great camera for a neophyte (and advanced) photographer and I believe it was developed to be simple, rugged and inexpensive for use in schools. Since it is fully manual it gives the student full control, allowing them to master the art of exposure. You'll also find that there will be a great selection of used Pentax lenses for it, although I'm not sure whether it will work with the autofocus models. Most of the major camera manufacturers produced beginner models and you should be able to find a good range of used cameras and lenses at any good photography store in the price range that you are working with. I would definitely keep away from point and shoot cameras since you have little control and no choice in lenses.

-- Andy Laycock (agl@intergate.bc.ca), March 28, 1998.

Keep on eye on the classified ads in your paper. Sometimes great deals will turn up on manual focus cameras and lenses that are nicer than the K1000 (e.g. Canon AE1, Minolta X700). I've heard mixed reviews about the ruggedness/reliability of the K1000.

Mike

-- Mike Dixon (burmashave@compuserve.com), March 29, 1998.

Nikon F. The simplest, most elegant, most ergonomic 35mm SLR ever made. You can pick up a used one with a 50mm f/2 or even f/1.4 lens for $200 to $300, depending on condition, no more than a toy like a Pentax. The non-AI lenses for it are a bargain too and can be had for a fraction of what they're really worth. Of course, don't count on the Photomic (meter) finder working. But a beginner shouldn't be centering needles in the viewfinder; a beginner should be _learning_ about exposure.

-- Peter Hughes (leonine@redshift.com), September 20, 1998.

I am barely 16 and have just gotten into photography. My parents bought me a Pentax ZX-50 camera and I have learned lots on it. It's very user friendly (it has to be for someone like me). I know I don't learn much if I have it on automatic , but when I want to concentrate more on the positioning of things and shadows of the picture and stuff, the automatic takes great pictures. Something like that would hopefully work great for your son like it did for me.

-- Lexi Mitchell (LuvGrand@aol.com), November 04, 1998.