Looking for suggestions for a Kids camera

[awahlster]

<p>Ok here is what we need small (not DSLR like) short zoom or no zoom auto flash USB or removable card SD or Micro SD best and as few buttons and choices as possible 3-5mp optical viewfinder and screen.</p>

<p>Our grand daughter who is yet 3 is nuts on taking photo's to the point I think we are going to need to feed the demand. I looked into the various "Kids" cameras and to put a fine point on it they are all total crap.</p>

<p>So anything out there in the used digital world I should be looking for? Budget would be under $50.00.<br>

If I can't find anything this year I guess next year we can upgrade the good old Canon G3 my wife uses and pass that little work horse down.<br>

I also thought about a cell phone camera to hold her over but they tend to be complicated to active the camera part.</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>I have found that kids, especially younger ones, tend to derive satisfaction merely by mimicking the action of taking a picture - looking through a viewfinder and pushing a button - so a viewfinder is important. I would think for a 3 year old, a 3-pack of disposable cameras should satisfy her curiosity.</p>

<p>From my experience, any meaningful correlation between pressing the button and seeing the results doesn't really occur till about age 7, so until that age, robustness will be more important than quality. Almost all fragile digital cameras will be toast after the first drop.</p>

[dave_redmann]

<p>I agree that all of the "kids" cameras are (hey, the moderator said it!) "total crap". But to think you'll get any benefit from putting anything better in the hands of a three-year-old sounds like wishful thinking.</p>

<p>So what to do? If you want to do something, find a used camera on Craigslist or eBay. I wanted a cheap (but decent) camera to throw into my car, to have handy whenever I wanted it. Proceed to eBay, buy a Fuji FinePix A700 for $30. It's a not-too-ancient 7 MP model. The zoom is only 3x, and it lacks an optical viewfinder. On the other hand, it's decent enough, even at ISO 400. I've been glad to have it several times, when an unanticipated photo opportunity presents itself.</p>

<p>For whatever it's worth, my older two (now ten and eight) have had disposable and near-disposable film cameras going back some years, and we gave the oldest a Canon PowerShot A1000 for his birthday last year (or could it have been two years ago?). He enjoys having it at times, and takes a few keepers. But the stuff from a five year old is almost all junk. My youngest, who is almost 28 months, is very advanced in many ways, but could never put a camera to any real use, even though he understands what they do and is interested in them.</p>

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[awahlster]

<p>well having had my grand daughter age 2.9 take about 40 photo's yesterday with the wife's Canon G3 and the results showing about 8 very nice family snapshots. I can tell you this little girl is very interested in the results and a fake camera would just end up in the toy box as interesting to her as a wood block.</p>

<p>She takes the shot and then always checks to see the results on the screen. SHe has also sat on my lap for an hour watching me edit photo's on the puter and waiting for them to come out of the printer. So I'll stick with my original quest.</p>

[yog_sothoth]

<p>I am looking for something for my 5-year old. I was thinking no zoom, but video is a must. He loves making movies more than pictures.</p>

[bugger_hobs]

<p>I was looking into the various cameras for "Kids", my baby is only 3 year-old. Recently, I got compact camera with dual view. It means LCD is on front and back. Good things with this camera(ST550) supports children mode. As this camera is set "Children mode" on, it shows animation on front LCD. Kinda interesting. So i can take shots my kid easier. If you guys have a baby like me, consider it. </p>

[phule]

<p>Canon A480. Dirt cheap, decent output.</p>

<p>Or, buy a battle-ready Olympus Tough 8000 for a lot more but it'll survive anything she'll throw at it.</p>

<p>No optical viewfinders on either though.</p>

<p>My 3 year old? Right now he's shooting with an Olympus Stylus Epic and Ilford XP2.</p>

[john crippens photo site]

<p>Cameras for Kids: Fun and Inexpensive Projects for the Little Photographer <br />Cameras for kids is a fun filled book full of projects for young children. The projects are fun, simple and inexpensive to create. The book was made to stimulate art and creativity at an early age. Most of the supplies can be picked up a places such as the dollar store. Kids do not need computer knowledge as long as parents can print the photos for the projects. Along with photography, kids also have an opportunity to learn about nature, animals, and green technologies. Check it out!<br>

Paperback: 72 pages <br />Publisher: CreateSpace (August 30, 2009) <br />Language: English <br />ISBN-10: 1449502350 -<br>

<a href="http://www.camerasforkids.info">http://www.camerasforkids.info</a> (or go directly to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cameras-Kids-Inexpensive-Projects-Photographer/dp/1449502350/ref=sr_">Amazon</a>) <img src="http://www.camerasforkids.info/images/CFK_Logo_1.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="219" /></p>

 

[phule]

<p>And your next book should be called: "How I spammed photo.net and was deleted"</p>

 

[marcie m]

<p>From my own personal experience: my daughter was given a Barbie digital camera at age 4. Her biggest thrill was simply snapping the photo and seeing the (blurry) image appear on the view screen. Image quality was not of importance. Two and a half years later, after it's been dropped, thrown and kicked, she still plays with it. It is only recently that she has been asking to output any images. Most of those cameras on that level are under $50.</p>