Camera for child

[abaazov]

does anyone have any recommendation on a small and sturdy camera for a 3 year old. my son has suddenly discovered a passion for taking photos, but he is not exactly gentle with the camera. are there any "sturdy" point&shoot cameras?
TIA
amnon

[marcmccalmont]

When my daughter was young she enjoyed the disposable, fixed focus, film cameras from costco
Marc

[abaazov]

thanks marc but i definitely want something digital, i want to make his own folder of photos.
amnon

[abaazov]

for anyone interested...
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2360171,00.asp

amnon

[Dustbak]

I gave my son his first camera at 3. I bought a second hand digital compact (Kodak, I believe). I told him it would need to last at least 6 months before I would buy another one. He dropped it after 3 months. He was without a camera and really sad for the 3 months after.

He got another one at 4 (6months later). A new one (Canon Cybershot). This one had the same 6 month period it had to survive. It still lives after 3 years of usage.

Initially I thought I would go for one of those really sturdy ones but you can buy 4 cheaper digital cams for the price of 1 one of those (more if you buy second hand digital cameras). As long as he can have it survive for at least 6 months you are better off getting cheap less sturdy cameras.

I had several wishes for his first camera. Simple, fixed focal lenght and an optical view finder.

Now he wants to have a DSLR...

[wolfnowl]

How about: http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=900000&e=storeproduct&pid=55187

Mike.

[Dustbak]

I have looked at that one too. I bought the small cheap Kodak, a real camera, for half that price (2nd hand). To me that seemed a better thing to do. I also initially opted for the Olympus Tough.

I guess the most important thing is that you buy your kid a camera, whichever one that is I am amazed with the images he has come back with over the years. It is also a lot of fun realizing you are looking through your childs eyes. By now, mine comes back, he transfers the images via Lightroom 2 into his MBP and works on it in LR2 and PSCS4 with his Wacom Intuos3 tablet (all software, MBP and tablet are my old ones). He is 7, can barely read and write yet but this is one area he is quite capable in

[sojournerphoto]

My 8 year old has a secondhand Canon G7 from ebay that she has had for about a year and still going strong.

My 5 year old enjoys disposable film cameras - you can still make an album from the prints - and recently asked for the underwater version. A sort of cheap Nikonos:) She has also just been given use of my old Ricoh GX100, which has a dodgy water damaged lcd but otherwise usually functions perfectly.

Film has the advantage of taking them in and getting some prints back, whereas digital gives them instant gratification and will (probably) cost less.

My 5 year old is the keener photographer.

Mike

[Ken Bennett]

Digital is the way to go -- we spent way too much money getting film processed when my daughter was that age, and all the photos were of her stuffed animal.

See if you can find a used Olympus tough camera -- waterproof, shockproof, etc. Try KEH.com, they usually have a decent selection of used gear. The Pentax waterproof cameras are also decent -- my now 20-year old still uses hers.

Or you can go to Costco and find a ~$100 camera. I just got a closeout on the Panasonic ZS1, with a 12x optical zoom and optical image stabilization for $120. (I bought two.)

[geesbert]

My three year old daughter really likes her vtech kiddy zoom (http://www.vtechkids.com/demo_kidizoom.cfm). the images are crap, but she's having a laugh and manages to use it. It doesn't stop her from grabbing my Leica whenever I'm not looking. I managed to persuade her to use the neck strap though.

[sojournerphoto]

My three year old daughter really likes her vtech kiddy zoom (http://www.vtechkids.com/demo_kidizoom.cfm). the images are crap, but she's having a laugh and manages to use it. It doesn't stop her from grabbing my Leica whenever I'm not looking. I managed to persuade her to use the neck strap though.

Yep, I have the same problem - grabbing the M9, Ikon or 1Ds3 to take a picture with 'Daddy's camera' has lead to some tense moments. I've also adopted the 'please use the strap' strategy

Mike

[abaazov]

I settled on the olympus 8010, a bit expensive for a 2.5 year old but my guess is any camera I get him will take a lot of abuse, maybe the olympus will survive it. Either way, it's so much fun to watch him take photos, we'll see how long it lasts.
Amnon

[NikoJorj]

Initially I thought I would go for one of those really sturdy ones but you can buy 4 cheaper digital cams for the price of 1 one of those (more if you buy second hand digital cameras). As long as he can have it survive for at least 6 months you are better off getting cheap less sturdy cameras.

I had several wishes for his first camera. Simple, fixed focal lenght and an optical view finder.

Ditto, generally.

My son began photographing last year at 4 and didn't manage to break any camera so far (NB he's just authorized to borrow, not to own, compacts and the first commandment was "Thou shall use the strap").
I approve the simple camera and fixed focal lens, but find the optical VF rather unnecessary in this peculiar case. The cheaper compacts may fit the bill nicely, in the 50-100$ range new.

[sojournerphoto]

My son began photographing last year at 4 and didn't manage to break any camera so far (NB he's just authorized to borrow, not to own, compacts and the first commandment was "Thou shall use the strap").
I approve the simple camera and fixed focal lens, but find the optical VF rather unnecessary in this peculiar case. The cheaper compacts may fit the bill nicely, in the 50-100$ range new.

I agree the fixed focal length is helpful to them - the younger's access to the little Ricoh is based on a 35mm equivalent focal length. I haven't worked out how to fix the Canon, so the older quickly learned to zoom in...

Mike

[Dustbak]

I preferred to have my son learn to compose through a viewfinder instead of holding a body at arms length hence the wish for an optical Viewfinder (I found most electronic viewfinders not very pleasant at that time).

[tom b]

Vivitar has a variety of inexpensive cameras out now. Their site has info here:

http://www.vivitar.com/products#Digital%20Cameras/81

Cheers,

[lookit]

You might consider a used digital point-and-shoot that was moderately expensive when new, because it will generally have various manual settings whose effects your child can learn from an early age.