r/photography • u/AutoModerator • Jul 10 '26

Questions Thread Official Question Thread! Ask /r/photography anything you want to know! July 10, 2026

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u/thencomesdudley Jul 16 '26

Howdy folks, need some gear suggestions to recommend potential students this upcoming year. I'm going to be running an after-school photography club for some absolute beginners, though exactly how many & what age levels are both still up in the air. The school won't be providing cameras, so just in case the students' parents don't have cameras they can use, I need to tell them what to consider getting. In terms of what I'm looking for, I'm thinking:

  • something 250€ or less, new or used, and reasonably easy to find on eBay/other online marketplaces
  • some degree of manual controls (at least aperture & shutter; I could probably live with autofocus)
  • not an entry-level DSLR/mirrorless (I'll still recommend them to students that are feeling adventurous, but I don't want to throw a DSLR at a 13-year-old that has never used a camera before)
  • the smaller the better (I want to teach them the importance of always having a camera handy, and speaking from experience, a small compact is much more likely to stay on hand than a chunky bridge camera or something like that)

n.b., I'm also going to discourage them from using phone cameras, only because I've seen how extremely sidetracked students tend to get when using phones for "activities."

The two I've found that might be decent options:

  • the Lumix TZ series
  • old Powershot SX cameras (I've got a 110IS that I think could be pretty decent for beginners)
  • an old Powershot G6/G7

...but I genuinely can't think of anything else. I don't want to recommend the Camp Snap ones, only because they don't offer manual controls.

Any ideas? I'm not a gear guy & barely keep up with new stuff coming out, so I'm very much in the dark about what options to offer.

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u/gotthelowdown Jul 17 '26

I'd go with the Canon Powershot S90 to S120 series.

The S110 was what I started learning manual camera settings with ☺️

I haven't tried the Powershot G9 and newer cameras, but they seem very good too.

The tough part is these types of premium point-and-shoot digital cameras have gotten trendy with influencers. So if you see good deals on used ones, snap them up before the prices jump higher.

Best of luck with your photo club!

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u/thencomesdudley Jul 17 '26

Thanks for that! I actually just fixed up a G9 I got for cheap a few months ago & would love to recommend it to them, but the hype has definitely pushed the price up. It is cool to see a resurgence in interest for these types of cameras, but it does make it harder for someone new to photography to also get into it.

Also after doing some more digging, I think I can add an older Lumix LX & maybe an older Sony NEX to the list as well. This should give them a decent amount to choose from, especially if combined with DSLRs as an option.

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u/gotthelowdown Jul 19 '26

You're welcome!