Buying adviceX-M5 or X-T30 III for my 14 year old? (skateboarding videos + photos)

Hi all, first post. My son is 14 and basically lives at the skatepark. He's been filming his friends on his phone and asked for a real camera for his birthday in December. I don't know much about this stuff, but the guy at our local camera store pointed me at Fujifilm and said either the X-M5 or the X-T30 III.

Budget is around $1,000, maybe a bit more with a lens. He wants to do both photos and video, and slow motion would be a plus. Which would you pick for a teenager who is definitely going to drop it at least once? And is there anything I should get with it, like a strap or a memory card?

Thanks, Greg

x-m5. the flip screen is the whole thing for skate clips, he can hold it right down by the board and still see what he's getting. no viewfinder but he's 14, he won't care

For skate stuff what he'll end up wanting is something wide for the low, close angles, that's the look. Kit zoom is fine to start. Get a fast card that's rated for the video mode he'll use, and a wrist strap rather than a neck strap. Neck straps and kickflips don't mix.

Whichever one, assume it'll get dropped. A used one hurts less when it does.

ben_carrick said:

Neck straps and kickflips don't mix

Ha, noted. Sounds like the X-M5 is the call for the video side. Is the kit lens wide enough or should I be looking at something else right away?

kit is fine. let him use it for a few months and see what he's missing. trust me he'll tell you lol