Too young?

My oldest daughter is showing an interest in photography, but the only digital cameras she's ever messed with are DSLRs. She has asked for one for her 11th birthday and I was thinking about buying her one, but was curious if she was too young to get into it at a DSLR level.

I never really got into it to the point of wanting to learn my way around a camera/lighting, etc until I got a SLR. When I had point and shoots, I would just snap photos randomly and never gave much thought to the process until I got my first SLR.

Would an entry level DSLR (older Rebel series) and some photography books be an appropriate gift for an 11 year old? Or should I go a different route to get her introduxed and test the waters?

11 is fine to me. My daughter is 9 and shoots with my EOS M3. Se doesn't grasp all the settings (not even close) but she is learning more every time she uses it.

When I was in grade school, one of my teachers had a keen interest in photography and had us using film SLRs and darkroom developing - I guess I would have been nine or ten at the time.

It wasn't "my" camera and equipment, but I wouldn't think eleven is too young for a camera.

It's ultimately up to your judgment of how well she takes care of her other possessions.

Not too young.

At all.

Even if she stays on the green box.

Biggest concern would be size and willingness to carry it around.

nrowensby wrote in post #18553379
My oldest daughter is showing an interest in photography, but the only digital cameras she's ever messed with are DSLRs. She has asked for one for her 11th birthday and I was thinking about buying her one, but was curious if she was too young to get into it at a DSLR level.

Would an entry level DSLR (older Rebel series) and some photography books be an appropriate gift for an 11 year old?

.
I think that getting her a DSLR is entirely appropriate. . If 8 and 10 year olds can masterfully operate laptop computers, smartphones, gaming devices, and smart TVs, then why on earth wouldn't an 11 year old be capable of operating a DSLR?

In fact, DSLRs are actually much less complex than most of the technological devices that her age group already use on a regular basis.

You mention "some photography books". . That might be a good idea, but there are a lot of people who learn things better when they are shown how to do something, instead of being told how to do something. . If she is one of these people, then a better idea might be to set up a playlist on YouTube for her, in which you include videos that do a great job of showing how to use her gear.

Some of us just learn a lot better from videos than we do from text, and if she is one of these people then a playlist of videos would be much better than a stack of books. . The videos will be watched, replayed, and referenced for months/years to come, and the books will likely go unread.


.

I would think age has nothing to do with it.

Instead, it would be more about what's comfortable and likely to be used, such as something that is big and heavy, versus something a lot smaller that will fit in their hands and not be a pain in the butt of too self-conscious about it to want to take it and use it often.

Mine has been doing it since about between 2~3 years old, is now 4 years old, and loves cameras large and small:

At 2ish years old, it was the EOS-M & 22mm pancake. She loved it. So easy to use (just like a cellphone, just look at a screen with WYSIWYG and touch it and it takes a photo).

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rJea​oH

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Ys4k​eB

Been handing off my 40D and 18-270 to my niece since she was 9; giving her the kit for her own this coming 4th of July, for her 11th bday. So, no, she's hardly too young, IMO.

Awesome, I didn't think so... Actually picked up a Rebel T3 off Craigslist for her today. It was practically free, so I couldn't help myself! I look forward to seeing what she does with it in the coming months and thanks for all the input!

Here's a pic of her from 2007 taken with my first DSLR... Hehe

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #18553407
Biggest concern would be size and willingness to carry it around.

Plus how good she is at loss prevention, especially if she goes out without an adult or a group of friends. Valuable items can disappear and never turn up in Lost & Found.

I'm a bit late to the party to offer advice, but congrats on finding an acceptable camera for her.

A bit over a year ago, I picked up a used XSi/18-55 for $75, and gave it to my grandson, then 7. He shoots primarily on P-mode, but is starting to get inquisitive about settings when he doesn't get what he wants. He can dial in settings if I make him use Manual mode. He understands its, but he prefers to point and shoot. He's 8, now. Whatever you want kid, just keep shooting.

I don't know what your camera preferences are but you can get a dirt cheap older used light crop as suggested. The Canon 18-55 and 55-250 STM are pretty amazing when it comes to IQ. They still blow me away and sometimes I take just those 2 and my 7D2 on a trip if we travel light and are on the move.

Give her a chance to change lenses so she can have some fun. If it does not work out easy to sell.

OhLook wrote in post #18553451
Plus how good she is at loss prevention, especially if she goes out without an adult or a group of friends. Valuable items can disappear and never turn up in Lost & Found.

Totally agree ... gone in 30 seconds. I've lost gear that way ... just a point-and-shoot but, still, a good one and the best/only point and shoot that I owned. That's with a seven or eight year old--really keen on taking photographs and getting the hang of it--who, in the end, just couldn't maintain concentration, put the camera down somewhere, and in no more than the blink of an eye it was gone forever.

You can't get mad at a small child for losing something ... especially a camera you entrusted to them to help build their interest in photography. You are the only one to blame and you just have to soak up the pain.

Cameras for children should be small, include only a basic set of controls, and be cheap enough that you are happy to risk losing them. They should be tough enough to withstand a straight drop from at least three feet onto concrete.

She got the camera for her birthday yesterday and mom took her to the park to put it through the paces today.

Awesome!

She's a natural .... looking for the shot.