In thinking about this a bit more, and reading some of the replies, I'm
going to revise my suggestion.
If the impoverished graduate were wanting to start making money right away
by doing weddings, events, etc. I would suggest a used E-10 (or E-20 if one
could be found cheap enough) and a powerful flash. The gifts bestowed could
be in the form of memory, batteries, software, etc. No doubt said student
would already have a computer--AFAIK most do now anyway, right? Reason I
suggest this is that there are many who are making good money with this
camera and truly pleasing their clients. It is the ideal way to get kicked
off in digital photography, which as was aptly pointed out, will be the
future eventually--may as well get started now. The income generated will
move this new aspiring professional towards the new Olympus system
(hopefully) when introduced, or a DSLR from one of those other, more
mainstream, pro camera makers.
If this aspiring graduate were going into photojournalism I would suggest
investing in a professional used body that *is compatible* with the present
and future from one of the big two, a basic (but high quality) used lens,
and a powerful flash (some of which may need to be part of the gifts). To
spite the instructor (and because I tend to favor them) I would opt for a
used EOS 1, or something of that ilk. Join CPS (Can*n Pro Services) to rent
high end glass and digital bodies. This, again, because of the limited
budget and the possibility of making some money right away using lenses from
the employer and/or CPS.
For nature (good luck to the aspiring student) or studio work I defer to the
list experts.
Also, wouldn't this graduate be most likely to become an assistant at first
anyway? What's wrong with the gear they used all the way through
school???????? Wouldn't a student have gear their accustomed to working with
already? The more I think about this (a bad thing), the more I realize just
how strange of a final exam question this really is. You professor types out
there, what kind of exam is this anyway?
Mike Veglia
Motor Sport Visions Photography
http://www.motorsportvisions.com
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