18 y.o. wants grandfatherly advice on camera

[#1]

TBH I'm not  a good giver of advice, but clearly will have to try. Her request contains "

I’m currently limited to my old iPhone camera which is very basic - I want to be able to try the fancy stuff like blurry backgrounds!

I was wondering if you knew of anything I should think about when researching. I know I don’t want a heavy DSLR however I would like something with more features than a point and shoot. 

I’d appreciate any thought/opinions/recommendations you have."

First thoughts are that he/she needs to become acquainted physically, as far as possible, with how models feel, what a 600x zoom produces (joke).

So, guys, what would you add or subtract from the above?

[#2]

There are plenty of entry level DSLRs. She really needs to visit a camera shop and try them out for comfort & ease of use.

Talk to the salesmen they will give good advice. Beware ! She'll quickly outgrow whatever she buys and the must have list grows & grows......

It's an expensive but absorbing and rewarding hobby.

Also Google "photography beginner" there are a lot of good sites

[#3]

If a DSLR is out of the question, then take a look at some bridge cameras. There are some pretty good ones about for a reasonable price and could be just whats needed. Mine has various settings for portrait/still, night, sport etc. and goes right down to macro from 10x zoom. 

On sports setting, concentrating on the main frame (i.e. moving sports car), the car will be in perfect focus but leaves the background blurred.

Also remember that some of the 'fancy stuff' can be done in a photo editing prog. 

[#4]

Look at the range of panasonic Lumix bridge cameras.

I have a FZ1000. Excellent camera, cost around £ 550.

@shutter put me wise to this range of bridge cameras.

Got rid of my DSLR and lenses, the cost of one of those lenses was more than I paid for the above camera.

You would be hard pressed to find anything better for the money, there are other Panasonic bridge cameras in the FZ range that are cheaper than the FZ 1000 all have a good user rating.

[#5]

I suppose if I was asked the question my first reply would be what else besides blurry backgrounds as to achieve that all she needs is a camera where she can manually set the aperture and focus (the wider the aperture the lower the depth of field)
The next thing is how portable does she want it to be - does she want it to fit into her handbag (I assume they still use those)

[#6]

@Luzern...... Certainly can recommend the Panasonic FZ series.... the first one I had was a replacement for a FUJI with 10X optical zoom... Panasonic FZ28. had 16X optical zoom... 

then I upgraded to the FZ72 with 60X optical zoom.. https://www.ephotozine.com/articles/panasonic-lumix-fz72-hands-on-review-22588/images/highres-Panaso...

You can see some of mypics on my flickr page https://www.flickr.com/photos/32369450@N02/

Scroll down the page for previous pages for "older camera pics.".

If you want a "pocket rocket" with some good zoom on it.... have a look at the TZ range...

https://www.ephotozine.com/articles/panasonic-lumix-tz100-review-29020/images/highres-Panasonic-Lumi...

The FZ72 is a very wide angled lens... and gives good quality pics at 60X zoom.... but you can increase that by digital means 4 fold.... and also by dropping the Megapixal count...  ( but obvously, that will degrade the pics)...

I`ve had my FZ72 for a few years now.... you can still get them from about £220.00    the battery lasts quite well,.... and on  hols I can take (say) 200 pics on one day... and still have plenty battery left for the next couple of days..

[#7]

To address the O/p's granddaughters query. The problem with phone cameras, bridge cameras and small auto-focus cameras in general, is that they have auto-focus lenses, which are great for the point-and-shoot brigade but, if you want to be a bit creative - fuzzy backgrounds - as indicated by the O/p, you really need to be able to set a lens for manual focus, and learn a little about depth-of-field, f-stop settings/shutter speed settings. Not something fully automatic cameras are particularly good at.

For this kind of work you really do need a DSLR for the results you want.

[#8]

Because it is a long time since I bought a camera I did a quick check and the sort of feature she want only seems to come with the more expensive cameras now that they all seem to have gone down the "more automation is better" route which means that it will be expensive so an even better first question is how much is she willing to spend

[#9]

@petlew NO !  ... you don`t NEED a DSLR... you can set the aperture and the shutter speed on all Bridge Cameras, in the "manual"mode... Here are four examples.... NOT taken with a DSLR... but with my trusty Panasonic FZ72 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/32369450@N02/35275166352/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/32369450@N02/26369850082/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/32369450@N02/20300435510/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/32369450@N02/13469622514/

  also many of the "pocket rocket" handbag type point and shoot cameras also have this setting.

Many "modern day" bridge cameras have a set of menus that you can adjust many aspects for "creativity".. however.. to gain full advantage of ANY camera... a novice.... new to photography, would do well to read some excellent "Online" new to the hobby courses... where they will learn all about the "technical aspects" of "creative" photography. including "Depth Of Field" , or DOF, as it is generally referred to... this is the process that gives the "fuzzy background, and is quite easy to achieve with a bridge camera, or a pocket rocket camera using the manual settings...

The main difference between DSLR and good Bridge Camera`s is the size of the "sensor" where the DSLR has a much larger sensor, and also the quality of the very very expensive lenses... none of which will make any difference to the DOF settings, except, maybe, to be sharper in focus on the actual subject in front of the DOF area behind..  For a novice... that difference would be imperceptible, and a total waste of money on the equipment needed with a DSLR setup.

[#10]

Doing some digging and if I was in the market for a camera which has the features she wants I would look at the Panasonic LX100 as that has manual aperture control via the lens

[#11]

@Luzern  Free "on line" course...

http://photographycourse.net/http://photographycourse.net/

(fuzzy background   aka DoF . .. )  http://photographycourse.net/taking-advantage-depth-of-field/

Some useful "user" information for "Brdige" cameras,... here... and it does, indeed, mention the Panasonic FZ72  ! ! !

http://bridgecameraphotography.co.uk/how-to-use-a-bridge-camera/http://bridgecameraphotography.co.uk...

[#12]

Having used a Canon DSLR for many years along with several expensive lenses and comparing the photographs taken by the FZ1000 and Canon you would not find it easy to tell what has been taken with what camera.

I do not have one but would not be surprised if some of the latest and more expensive phones either have or soon will have software that allows dof.

[#13]

I have one of thesehttp://www.fujifilmusa.com/products/digital_cameras/s/finepix_s9200/ had it a few years so am looking around for a new one i like the one @shutter has

Edit @shutter try again

[#14]

@rongtw OOOps    "Page not found" ....  Yea!   working now...  I had an  "earlier version"   the S5200..

[#15]

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@Oldjim wrote:

Because it is a long time since I bought a camera I did a quick check and the sort of feature she want only seems to come with the more expensive cameras now that they all seem to have gone down the "more automation is better" route which means that it will be expensive so an even better first question is how much is she willing to spend

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I thought to put that question to her just after the OP, having the view that expense is the prime issue.