Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/08/06

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Camera for a 10 y.o.
From: "Harold Gess" <Harold.Gess@btinternet.com>
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 15:03:53 +0100
References: <B7941BDA.389B%pkolodny@fibertel.com.ar>

Hi

This may already have been done to death but I think that if the child is
keen to get into photography one would really be better off with a manual
camera.

My first camera was a kodak box camera when I was about 7 or 8. It was
disappointing because the lens was pretty bad but it gave me the chance to
develop my own films in the darkroom. My next camera, about a year later,
was a Yashica twin lens together with a little sekonic lightmeter. I had
such fun with that camera and by the age of 11 or 12 I was doing all my own
monochrome darkroom work and really fell in love with the darkroom
experience.

By that stage I already understood F stops and speeds, was pushing film and
trying out all sorts of things.

Some kids thought my all-manual "ancient" camera was quite amusing until I
won all the school photo competitions and then a couple of them went out to
find a similar camera for themselves!!!

I really think that at this stage in the developmetn of photography a manual
35 mm camera is the way to go. Good user Nikons are quite cheap, early
Olympus OM series even cheaper and the quality of the second-hand optics for
both series is quite staggering considering how little they cost.

Just my 2 cents

Harold

Replies: Reply from "Mike Durling" <durling@widomaker.com> (Re: [Leica] Camera for a 10 y.o.)
In reply to: Message from Pablo Kolodny <pkolodny@fibertel.com.ar> (Re: [Leica] Camera for a 10 y.o./Estimate kids)