I would probably have them look at the Nikon FM3a. Availabe new, and not totally
outrageous. Other cameras to look in addition to the FM2 and FM3 that you
mentioned
would be a good used OM1, OM2/2n, Pentax K1000 or MX. For a kid with lots of
potential I would not worry so much about what they start out with. Once they
find
their 'wings' so to speak they will probably move on to soemthing elses anyway.
One
instructor I know encourages the kids to buy basic manual cameras to learn on,
and
when they either decide photography is not for them, decide it is and upgrade he
encourages them to sell the old camera to a new student.
If they are looking to buy their first 'real camera' and planning to hold onto
it, I
would advise essentially waiting, until they have finished the course and have
some
idea what they want to do with photography. This will have a large
determination on
what they should purchase. For example, I love the Olympus system because it
works
well for what I want to do. If my main interest was wildlife photography
though, I
would probably go with a Canon system because of the availabilty of fast, long,
IS
glass.
Jim Couch
"Barry B. Bean" wrote:
> Given the news that the OM-2000 appears to be temporarily or
> permanently unavailable (B&H no longer lists it), what are you
> advising students who want to buy their first "real camera"?
>
> As much as I'm a loyal Olympus fan, it's hard to tell an 18 yr old
> kid with real potential as a photographer that they should buy into a
> system that the manufacturer seems intent on abandoning. Since I'm
> already heavily invested, it makes sense to "run with what brung me",
> but why should a student have to search Ebay, internet mailing lists,
> and pawn shops just to find a particular lens?
>
> For the moment, I'm looking at the Nikon FM10, FM2 and FM3 being
> essentially equivalent with the OM10, OM1, and OM2, and I figure if
> Oly wasn't available, I'd probably go Nikon (that was my 2nd choice
> when I got into photography in the 70s). Is there any reason those
> three bodies wouldn't be good starters for serious students?
>
> Please forgive the heresy.
>
> BBB
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