If your purpose is to get him interested in photography, then buy something with lots of manual controls..

I used to have a Canon 300D (called Digital Rebel), and loved it. It's 2 generations old, but can still easily out perform any point & shoot camera in the market. If you can afford about $300 - $350, this is it..

There are quite a few other DSLR's in the same price range as well, such those entry level from Nikon & Olympus..

If your budget is half of that, try the Canon S2 IS. It has image stabilization as well as lots of features and manual controls to play with, not to mention the very long zoom...

I still have my digital rebel with 18-55 lens and flash.is this too big a camera for him?..

Mf999 wrote:.

I still have my digital rebel with 18-55 lens and flash.is this too big a camera for him?.

Then it's time for you to upgrade..

I'm pretty sure your boy is bigger than this 9 yr old girl, using my XT .

Image control:Zoom outZoom 100%Zoom inExpand AllOpen in new window..

Is he expressing and interest in photography, or is it that you would like him to get interested?.

When I was young my father bought me a train set. He played with it much more than I did!.

If he is interested, then your old Rebel would be the coolest gift in the world..

If it's more from your side, the Rebel (or any SLR) might be a mistake or a waste. It might actually put him off, the size might mean he wouldn't want to carry it around with him, or whatever, and it might just end up gathering dust. In that case you might be beter off getting him a compact that he is more likely to use and have fun with..

Just a thought...

He is interested, and presently enjoys taking pictures with an P&S.I just felt that the rebel is large and not convenient to carry.Possibly a digital viewfinder of smaller size would better fit his needs?..

The canon powershot g5 might be pretty good,i think (but I'm not sure) you can get other lenses for it..

It has manual settings but can take good pics with auto on, it has a fold out lcd like a video camera witch makes it easy to take crazy angels and you dont have to have it puched against your face, I thinka kid could have a great deal of fun with that..

Its a lot smaller than the DSLRs already mentioned and might be a good step before getting something like a 300d. Im pretty sure it's cheaper than the DSLRs too..

Hope this helps..

From the P&S Fuji have made a remarkable series of F30 and later models. The immense quality of ISO performance is comparable to older DSLR easily. The batteries have no trouble to keep it up for several days and it has almost no shutter lag. Very hard and robust in build quality.This series are much closer to DSLR than 99% of the bridge cameras.http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf31fd/.

Still this has a very low focal length, so for a bit more reach I guess a bridge is the option. S9100 Fuji is also perfect in almost everything, also providing a bit more wide angle than other bridges making it very good. Also the manual Zoom on the barel is very stabile and reliable. The lens is retractable and that makes the camera smaller. Even that it is not a small camera... so....

I know I sound like an advertisment, but I am a Nikon user and I am really impressed from the performance of Fuji non DSLR cameras..

I would sugest the Rebel, because it is more fun and he can grow with it. But I guess he will carry it on field trips with school and eventually break it or have it stolen, so P&S or a bridge is the way to go.http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Fujifilm/..

Mf999 wrote:.

He is interested, and presently enjoys taking pictures with an P&S.I just felt that the rebel is large and not convenient to carry.Possibly a digital viewfinder of smaller size would better fit hisneeds?.

Maybe, maybe not..

I'd take him on a photoshoot somewhere and let him use the Rebel. Observing how he handles and either enjoys or doesn't enjoy the experience will tell you a lot..

When I was his age I was using my dad's Leica and loved it. I was then an "adult" with an adult camera! Treat him like an adult and he might grow into the role. Though I can think of kids that wouldn't.......your call..

A member of the rabble in good standing...

I like the idea of taking him on a shoot and trying the rebel.thanks for all of your ideas..

When we bougt a camera for our 12 year old, we made sure we god a pretty big viewfinder on the back, rechargable lithium batteries, and a zoom longer than 3X..

In our case, we ended up with a Fuji F650, partly because it was on sale..

It takes good pictures, the zoom is handy for a boy who wants to take sports pix, etc., and if he loses it or it gets stolen or broken (he's a rock climber, among other things that are not good for cameras), it's not a really big deal..

I usggest you get a camera from a real camera company Nikon, Canon, etc., not a computer company and if you buy new, it really is hard to not buy something very good. These new cameras are wonderful..

BAK..

BAK wrote:.

And if he loses it or it gets stolen or broken(he's a rock climber, among other things that are not good forcameras), it's not a really big deal..

Very important!!!..

I've had 35 years experience teaching kids in this age group. Interests come and go and there is a tendancy towards "carelessness", even with the best. My recommendation is, get him a nice P&S as his own camera AND allow and encourage him use the Rebel whenever he is with you either around the home or out on a "shoot". I have bought all my neices and nephews reasonably nice P&S cameras, film a few years ago, digital recently, as their High School graduation present. I have found sales on nice cameras for $100-150 and they have always been greatly appreciated..

If he shows a real interest with this and your supervised "shoots" with the Rebel, help him move up to better cameras as he matures...