Say cheese... {Kids and Camera reviews}... from Jenny H

So I take a lot of pictures... ok so I'll be honest, I take a ton of pictures. I started with a little kodak easy share and with one trip to Jamaica + our 1st aniversary=  and that all turned into my first SLR. It was a Pentax, still is a great little camera I keep for small outings. I had origionally went to pick up a nikon D70, but the guy talked be into the Pentax and I can't say that I regret it. It takes great pictures and is a great size. The thing is, well it's an olde goldie, aging in at 4 years old.
  So I graduated when I started taking serious pictures for people and after taking classes I felt that I should give my clients the best I could offer. I have a Cannon 40D that is a great find, but a little big for the everyday user. 
A friend was looking several months ago at buying into the SLR family, but with so many choices how does one shoose?  So I did some research for her. She has a 2 year old little girl and has gone through 2 cameras in a year and a half. She was looking to purchase a video camera and a SLR camera. This is my review incase you are in the market...

We LOVE our flip! We took it every where in Aruba. The cool thing is you can make a picture out of any clip of the video. Not the greatest quality of printed picture, but good enough to blog. I can see us using this with Eli daily for sure.  It is really clear but no comparison to a SLR when it comes to portraits and keepsakes.


SLR 101...

Things to ponder...

Add the price of the Kodak, and the Sony and all the memory cards and batteries etc... whaLLA! That could have been a cannon SLR. I know you saw that coming ;)

You will want a camera that you can change lenses and zoom to see her in her 1st recital and other things she will be in that you will want the best quality pictures of.

For an all in one…

I suggest the Nikon D3100, it's one of the smaller ones and it is good in low light. (Recitals, where you can't use flash etc) It also records with real time zoom 1080 HD!!! Retails for $640... killer deal for 2 in one. It is the same cost as the Nikon D40 that doesn't record.

For the smaller D (digital) SLR (single lens reflex)…

I would suggest the Canon EOS Rebel XS 18-55IS Kit + EF 55-250mm III (that is 2 different lenses in this combo pack…retail $600.00) is also comparable to the Nikon D40. I am a huge Canon fan but I do know from experience that the Nikon D40 is a great camera that is light weight and compact and works great under low light.. I could not find specs to compare the sizes of the two but they look about the same. My mom has the D40 and it is great for the computer challenged and if you just want a flawless point and shoot with a great lens.

I know you are totally confused by all the info, but hopefully this is a start to your research. Honestly don’t do much online… go to the store and play with the different ones. Check to see how easy they are to work with… try not to focus too much on a big zoom… which will be tempting to do because you are not use to that, but rather put your attention on the lower f number and the higher ISO.

So I think that with Eli I am going to keep the flip in the diaper bag to catch all the quick moments and carry the SLR with me for special events.

Oh and you will want an external flash... it reduces red eye and keeps pics from having the "deer in the headlights" "white out madness"; cause you can tilt the flash from being direct on your subject. (Really not complicated to learn)

Hope this helps anyone in the market for a SLR. Would love to help answer any questions. just leave a comment and I will be glad to get back with you. That is if I'm not in labor ;)  10 day count down!

EWO,
Jenny H