wife wants camera for 'stuff' and grandchillens

I've looked at the previous posts WRT starter DSLR's and they are honestly dated, so starting a new thread.

She who must be obeyed passed on her Christmas 'want', a new DSLR kit.

All I know about photography is I like to see the end results, I'd say her skills are about the same.

budget to $1k, She'd like general snapshot type ability, the occasional long distance or zoom, and macro is a definite must, she wants to capture her flowers and corals in a tight setting.
Interchangeable lenses appear to be a must have, auto focus or at least auto exposure with manual focus to minimize the fussing.

According to her kidz she's a technophobe, her husband thinks she can figure it out, provided the learning curve isn't like trying to sip water out of a firehose.

Son has her convinced Nikon is the route to go, Seems as if the D3400 is popular, or heavily advertised ATM.

All 'kits' I've seen on amazon are minus a macro lens, and I've yet to search and research those yet.

Interested in any and all suggestions or direction, I am lost...

Nikon is fantastic. The D3400 would serve her well, but staying under budget will be tight for adding a good macro lens. I would suggest starting with the kit and using extension tubes for macro until you are ready to invest in another lens.

IIRC you can go up to 10:1 with the standard lens. I have never needed a macro for anything I wanted to shoot with my Nikon. If she is going to shoot coral and flora, I really think she will find it is not needed.

Got the D3400 kit, and a handful of diopters to enhance the close-ups.

Decided against the 'kit' and DIY'ed one; Body with 18-55 and 50-300 lenses, flash trigger, speed light, tripods, case and extra batteries and SD cards.
In it under the $1k benchmark too.

WayneB said:

Got the D3400 kit, and a handful of diopters to enhance the close-ups.

Decided against the 'kit' and DIY'ed one; Body with 18-55 and 50-300 lenses, flash trigger, speed light, tripods, case and extra batteries and SD cards.
In it under the $1k benchmark too.

Click to expand...

Congrats! I think you will be happy with it.

Good job on DIYing. Yep, the diopters will definitely help with close up. That basic kit should keep a MWC (Mom With Camera) happy for quite some time.