Camera for a 7 year old

[ann_rubin]

I'm looking for an inexpensive digital camera for my almost 7 year old daughter. I did a search re cameras for a child before posting, but

the previous posts/answers were a couple years old, and some links to cameras no longer worked, so thought I'd ask again.

 

My daughter is about to go to England to visit family, and, as it's almost her b'day, and she loves to take pictures, we thought this would

be a good time to get a digicam. (We only have an older canon rebel that's too big/heavy for her to use independently.) She also won't

have any other children to play with there (all her cousins are adults), so we're thinking of things to help in a very adult-heavy situation.

 

Up till now she's really only used film cameras -- disposables, a polaroids, an old XA-2 -- but we'd rather not take a film camera/film along

on the trip. We'll have a computer along that she can download her photos to. She will end up printing photos -- not just viewing them on

a computer, or sharing via the web. (She may print the photos and make related drawings, stories...)

 

Like a number of previous posters, I'm looking for the simplest camera (hopefully under $150) that is not a "toy" camera, that is easy to

grip -- but that will fit her hands -- which are rather small for her age. The fewer the bells and whistles the better so the attention is on the

photo experience rather than the electronics. (She picks things up very quickly, but can be easily distracted/has some attentional

issues.) Something with a fixed lens, or not a lot of "zoom" , and that could "grow" with her would be ideal...

 

Any suggestions?

thanks,

ann

[charles_stobbs3]

You might try the Kodak refurbished camera website - http://stores.ebay.com/Kodak-Outlet - they have some very simple cameras, maybe a camera with no zoom might be a good starter camera.

[digitmstr]

<a href=http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/542271-REG/Canon_2463B001_PowerShot_A580_Digital_Camera.html>This</a> is within your budget and FAR from being a toy.

[robert lee]

I'd suggest a waterproof digital P&S. The reason isn't really for the waterproofing specifically (although having it PB & J proof isn't a bad thing.) These cameras also tend to be shockproof. They also don't have telescoping zoom lenses that little fingers love to just push back in.

 

I don't know the specific models very well, but both Pentax and Olympus has a bunch of models.

[gunar_c.]

There are many easy to use cameras out there. Some better than others.<br /><br />

 

I'd recommend anything in the Kodak C series (C613 is very very popular) or any Samsung camera in the S series. Both of those classes are the low to midrange cameras that are designed to be easy to use.<br /><br />

 

In fact, my 7 year old nephew has a Samsung S860 and it takes better pictures than a camera I spent $200 on (Kodak EasyShare M873) and he loves it.

[mark_uhde]

I would look at an Olympus SW series shock & waterproof camera. They're also very easy to use. 7 year olds are smart and a zoom lens

and some niceties would be used by her more than you'd expect. The current 850SW that I just bought is about $250, so if that's too

expensive then I'd look at a Samsung, Canon, or Sony. All three make good cameras that'll serve her well.

 

As someone who is very much ADHD myself, I can tell you that those distracted attentional issues will lead to creativity behind the

camera and should not concern you a bit :) Your daughter sounds like the kind of kid I *would* give a camera to because of that. The

"normal" ones will never get creative enough :)

[ann_rubin]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Any thoughts comparing all the above -- re size for a child w/small hands? Or re image

quality?

 

(Just in re the attentional issue/getting a camera -- we have no question that she's very creative and will do very well

with a camera. The only concern on the digital front is can become distracted playing with mechanisms/electronics -- in

a camera context that might be make the lens zoom go back and forth, pushing buttons, etc. -- so then losing track of

what she'd wanted to do originally....)

 

thanks again,

ann

[aramat57]

I just got my 6YO and 8YO grandchildren a couple of Polaroid digicams. One an i633 and I think the other is an i533. They had both been marked down, and one had a $20 rebate, so one was $40 and one ended up being $29. If you click my portfolio there are a couple of pictures taken by each of the children. They enjoy snapping and actually do as well as many adults. A 1GB card is plenty for a 5 and 6 MP camera. I monitor the usage of their cameras, though. No matter how good the intentions are, most children that age need some prompting on taking care of rather delicate electronics. One little drop and the camera would be toast. Even though they were inexpensive, I don't want to toss $70 out the window. I have made it a rule they may not pick up their cameras unless the strap is around their neck. So fa,r so good! Hope your daughter enjoys her new hobby!

[dave_redmann]

Any decent digicam has the potential to be complicated, but most of them, at least once initially set up (by you) will work pretty well in point-and-shoot (a/k/a push here, stupid) mode.

 

I'd look closely at the Canon Powershot A590 IS. Last time I priced it, it was $155 at B&H and $152 through Amazon. We have the predecessor model, the A570 IS, which is nice for what it is. In 'green box' (full auto) mode, it should be pretty easy to use, assuming she can control on/off, zoom in/out, and the shutter (half-press to focus, then the rest of the way to release the shutter). The 590 is or was Canon's cheapest model with optical image stabilization, which IMHO is a great feature. You can get a 2 GB Sandisk Ultra II SD card for about $25, and it will hold over 600 pictures at the highest quality settings or about 17 minutes of video (which it does pretty well) at the highest quality settings.

 

For whatever it's worth, my daughter took some nice shots with the 570 shortly after her sixth birthday, and I'm planning to get my son his own camera for his ninth birthday--very likely the 590.

 

I know there are cheaper options out there. However, I did some looking on Craigslist and eBay, and straight up, what was available in the $50 - $75 range was either ancient (in digital camera terms) or junk, and if I'm going to spend $100+, I'd rather buy a new Canon 590 for $155.