Help Needed for Christmas Present

Hi all,

Please excuse this post from a complete novice at photography - I'm looking for a Christmas present for my wife, who does know what she's doing, but obviously I can't ask her about it.

She's always been against the idea of digital photography, complaining that the images look a little flat, though to be fair, her only real experience has been with photos taken by me on a Fuji Finepix 4700 thing, which is none to special (or the guy holding it). So I'm thinking that because she's always been a 35mm fan with additional lenses, that a digital SLR might be the way to go. I forgot to add, she's now decided that digital photography is the way to go, so I want to get her something that will suit her.

I looked at the sticky at the top of this forum, and am hoping that if I can give some answers to some of the questions posed, I might be able to get some suggestions, so here goes:

[1] Do you like PC / Photoshop?

Yep, and she's keen to learn more about it, though I think she'd also like to take some decent pictures without having to manipulate too much. 50/50 on that one I guess.

[2] How large do you want to print?

Not too large - I would say that 10" to 14" would be the absolute max, whilst most would be standard 6 x 4


[3] Tripod or Carry?

Carry for sure.

[4] Type of Subjects?

Landscapes, people and wildlife - definitely no sport for her.

[5] How important is photgraphy to you?

Well, she used to do all her own developing and it's something she's wanted to get back into but has never had the reason or the kit to do it, so I'd say it's pretty important as a serious hobby.

[5] Budget.

Well I was hoping to do something pretty reasonable for £400 - £500 - the lower end would allow me to buy her a card and some wrapping paper, but if it boils down to it I'd rather spend the extra to get the right thing.

After reading a couple of threads on here, I picked up that the Nikon D50 was a good buy, but that you needed to go for a non standard lens and a few extra odds and sods. If people here think that is a good option, I'd be very grateful for any specs that would fit within the price range specified.

As I said I'm a total non photographer, so all suggestions are very welcome. Thanks in advance,

Will.

What made you opt for Nikon?
Does she still have any 35mm equipment?
If she does, and it's Nikon, that pretty much makes the decion of which make to buy :)
And perhaps which model too, as you don't need to worry about the kit lens.

Hi,
Thanks for the reply - I haven't decided firmly on anything - I just saw a couple of posts that said the D50 was a good camera, but I'm wide open to suggestions.

My wife doesn't have any 35mm equipment any more, so I'l lbe starting from scratch,

Many thanks,
Will

what DID she shoot with, if she liked nikon or canon there was prob a reason and might want to stick to teh same brand.

Sorry for the sporadic replies - I'm doing my best to keep this secret from her. As for what she used to use I have no idea, so I'll try to find out over the weekend - thanks again :)

Look at the D50s in the Nikon line, the new model has pushed down the price of the old models ...
Canon is almost he same, the new 400D looks like a very good starting point (but a little expensive|) and should push down the price of the 350D.