re: DSLR camera and lense buying advice

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One: you can get the phone for much less than 600

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IF they happen to be ready for an upgrade

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Two: the phone does a hell of a lot more than take pics

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So does the phone I'm sure she already has

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Three: she'll only use it 10 times max

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Oh. We're making up stuff now? Cool

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Four: you said it yourself, the cameras true potential is only captured in the hands of a master.

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Sure. But the phone has no potential. It's a point and shoot. The DSLR gives you that flexibility and potential if you want it and who's to say she doesn't? Not you.

FWIW Amazon is going to have a Nikon D5100 on their daily deals at 9:50. I dont know what the discount will be, but worth a look.

I think it is a great buy. I did the same when my first child was born, spend around $1500 for camera and lenses. I got a Nikon mainly because their lenses are a little better than Canon IMHO. I don't remember the model of camera right offhand, but I bought a 35mm prime lens and a 18-200 zoom. I keep the 35 mm on it almost all the time, it is great for family pics, birthdays, etc. I only use the zoom if I am using it outdoors, which is not very often.

I don't use mine a ton, but it is great for taking pics for Christmas cards, etc. Take a few shots, upload to tinyprints, get the cards delivered in a day or two without paying for a photographer.

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I'm leaning towards the nikon d3300

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We got this camera in Sept with the 55-200 lens (don't think it was the 300). Anyway we used it a lot for the kids football games, great shots. I didn't think we would use it as much as we do thinking the wife would revert back to just using her phone.

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My wife wants a dlsr camera for Christmas, primarily for taking pics of our one year old.

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What you want is a DSLR camera. Your deal on the Nikon sounds pretty good. The zoom lens is a nice feature, but you will definitely want either a 50mm or a 35mm prime lens for portraits indoors.

Best advice is to find best price deal with entry level DSLRs under the following brands only:

Nikon (I'm partial)
Canon
Sony
Pentax
(maybe) Panasonic (iffy)

You should be able to find some deals with a couple of lenses included in the deal in the $400-$800 price range at Walmart, Target, Kamart, H.H. Gregg's, Sam's, B.J.'s, **Amazon or online camera stores like Wolf Camera and others.
And unless your wife is a really good photographer to begin with, go with the best priced deal. If she later shows extraordinary talent and sticks with it, y'all can look at higher quality cameras and lenses later on.

And for processing simplicity, download Picasa (it's free). Don't spend bucks on any other processing stuff unless she is clearly skilled beyond the ez to use bells and whistles Picasa offers for no cost.

Also, "like" the Digital Photography School site on FB. It's free and they'll link you to all kinds of great photography pointers and helps.

Get a Panasonic GH4 with a 25mm lense and never look back. If you have kids,not is an incredible tool. It takes exceptional 4k video and top-notch pictures. All in, with a lense, you're probably looking at $2,300, but it is well worth it. I live mine.

I bought my wife the D3200 with the same 2 lenses and a bag and 64g memory card for $550 on cyber Monday

Get either a Canon or Nikon and a 50mm prime lens with the largest aperture you can afford. Learn to shoot in Aperture Priority mode with the lens wide open and no flash. You will quickly outgrow the 18-55mm kit lens that comes with the camera. Budget for more expensive lenses in the future.

A bottom of the line DSLR is 10X better at taking photos than a top of the line phone camera.

IMHO the D5300 is a lot more camera for the money than the D3300 esp if you are going to use the WIFI. No adapter necessary it is internal on the D5300. I would get what you like and learn to shoot with it before you start adding lenses for a newbie. Giving a person to many variables to control at one time can be a bit overwhelming.
Either camera will take photos that a phone is not capable of, although camera phones have come a looooong way in the last few years. If you are looking for a starter camera and want to upgrade in a bit go with the D3300 if you want to buy one and be done with it go with the D5300. There is no comparison between them when it comes to moving/action shots and these is what you will want as her proficiency with the camera increases and your child grows. As has been stated above Nikon has an endless array of lenses that will work with either.


Placebeaux those are some excellent shots with your phone, quite lovely. However try to take a picture in less than optimum natural lighting or of a moving subject and

My professional photographer with children input:

I dont know anything about nikons, ive always used canon. T5i has some pretty good package deals if you can find them. The kit 18-55 will cover you in almost any scenario for photos of the kid. You will definitely need a zoom at some point when the kid get into school (plays, awards, sports, etc).

You need to look for a camera that works great in low light. In other words, find one that has a large ISO. Dont get a camera that has a max ISO of less than 6400. The 35mm prime is great, but the 50mm prime is almost as good and only about $100.

With lenses, the lower the aperture number (1.8, 3.5, etc) the faster the lens is in low light situations. Also, those low aperture numbers allow you to be able to create a better bokeh effect in the background when done right.