advice on camera for daughter for college

[james norman]

my daughter will be entering USC next fall majoring in photography. she wants t o do studio-type fashion work, i think. i was planning to get her a used hassel blad 500cm w/80mm to start. the lady she is apprenticing with uses a hassy for color work and a nikon for her b/w work (her specialty), and my daughter thinks she would rather take a nikon to college. i cant afford both, and dont want to intimidate her with a medium format camera if she wont carry it around and use i t like she would a 35mm. if 35mm, she wants auto-everything, whereas i would ra ther get her an F2 or F3. on the other hand, i cant help but feel that the futu re of photography (other than what we do with LF, of course) is in digital - my cousin has moved almost entirely to digital for his commercial work, and frankly it looks pretty darn good at 8x10). what do you guys recommend that i send her off the college with?

[sheldon hambrick]

Wait to see what the instructors reccomend for her classes/assignments/projects. I have a HARD time believing that a photog major wants a "wants auto-everything" camera!

[sheldon hambrick]

Well, as SC grad-school alum, I guess I can be a little more constructive in my answer. From what you say, it doesn't sound like you daughter will need/appreciate a Hassy at this point. Nor do I think that she needs one. Medium format is great, but for learning purposes, an inexpensive twin lens reflex would be very adequate. This way you can afford to get her a medium format and a 35mm.

As for the 35mm, I guess it's OK to get an "auto-everything" camera, as long as she doesn't ONLY use it in that mode. You don't have to go as ancient as an F2 though to appreciate manual (I have one, and it's heavy with the MD, and frustrating sometimes with the older metered finder). I'd suggest one of the mid-level AF Canons or Nikons with a 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.8, and a 85/105/135 f2.8, and a nice TTL flash - but that's just me. I still say wait and see what the instructors say.

What is she using now?

[Michael Kadillak]

Ask the instructor before you send her off to college what equipment would be advisable (or even necessary) to meet the objectives of the class. I would bet that her first classes will focus on the fundamentals. Therefore, any pre-purchases on your part would not be advised.

I would bet that the course requirements are a simple 35mm manual camera and a 50mm lens. You can always rent equipment for very reasonable rates from the photo department for specialty project work. I had a friend that completed a photo degree with minimal photo equipment of his own. After graduation he got a business loan and then got the Nikon setup. Save your money for tuition. Attending USC is a long hard financial pull.

[David R Munson]

Michael brings up a good point regarding actual equipment requirements. I'll be entering Ohio University's Fine Art Photography and Photo Illustration programs as a freshman in the fall and the only required equipment is a 35mm camera with a 50mm lens f/1.8 or faster. That said, something more than just that basic setup would probably be very much appreciated, but by no means essential. Chances are that most photo students will arrive at school with minimal equipment. There are exceptions to that rule, like me, having devoted 3.5 years worth of minimum wage to my exploits in photography, but I'm a fluke, a photographic freak if you will, so don't think that you have to supply your daughter with a truckload of equipment. I'll be taking my Nikon, Mamiya, and Linhof stuff, and chances are I'll use only the 35mm stuff to complete the actual work I'm assigned in the first year or two. I'll use everything, and you can take my word for that, but mostly for personal shooting. What's appropriate to give your daughter should be the best balance of what she needs to get her work done, what you can afford, and what she needs for her own personal photographic pursuits. Whether that balance dictates the purchase of a Nikon F2, Hasselblad 500CM, or something entirely different is what you need to determine. The Hasselblad would definitely provide for higher image quality than the Nikon, but it would also probably be more prone to breaking down and additional lenses and accessories would definitely cost a heck of a lot more. Whatever you decide on, there will be tradeoffs, so try to choose the system that will provide the best overall value. Talk to your daughter and find out exactly where her interests lie and go from there.

Good luck!

[Paul D. Robertson]

Don't forget that many schools/full-time students get discounts on the purchase of (at least) Medium Format equipment. It may be worth contacting the school and/or the manufacturers to see what's available.

I do agree with the post about finding a used TLR- if she's not too embarrassed to use it, she'll get good use out of one.

I'd kill for a student discount on a 645 system at the moment

Paul

[Dan Brown]

Indeed, check out the Bronica web site. With a student ID, you can buy an ETRSi set up at 35mm prices. Maybe they offer discounts for Toyo as well?

BTW, it seems to me that taking a photography class at you local junior college would qualify you for the discounts from Bronica.

[james mickelson]

And entry level Toyo monorails. Check out the Toyo. James

[Tom Keenan]

If it was my daughter, I'd sneak the following into her suitcase. A Nikon FE with a MF 35/2 and a MF 85/1.8. That would fit your budget. I would urge her never to compare equipment, only images. I would not spend a lot on medium format. I'd buy her the biggest cheapest wooden 8 x 10 large format I could find. A couple of lenses from ebay and she'd be on her way. I'd show her how to swing, tilt, contact print and maybe even add some platinum or palladium to the mix. I'd try to convince her that autofocus, matrix metering and image stabilization have really very little to do with creating memorable images.

[Pete Andrews]

I don't know how much things have changed since I went to college, or if things are much different in the States, but Large Format gear was supplied by my college for communal use, as well as studio lighting and darkroom facilities etc. If I were you, I would ask USC what equipment is provided, and what they recommend for the course. It may be that your daughter will be able to try out a range of equipment in the first year or semester, before deciding what suits her best. The most important things to have are the silly little bits and pieces like a focussing cloth, dark-slides, a decent cable release and a studio flash-sync lead of your own! Plus a good supply of film and a bit of extra money for "props" and set-dressing materials. Consider also that by the time your daughter finishes her course the world will be an even more digital place, and a few years further down the road old wet process dinosaurs like me will be very close to extinction.