2 years, 9 months ago
Need a good digital camera recommendation for a FOUR YEAR OLD.
My four year old son has a budding interest in photography. My wife bought him four cheap $5 plastic film cameras (much like those cardboard disposable film cameras, except it's plastic) and he likes taking photos of things. The trouble is, he likes making the camera flash go off and winding the noisy plastic thumb-winder, so he just wastes all his photos until his film is all shot within about a minute or two. He also really likes seeing the photos he took when we get them developed, but most of his shots are of the floor or ceiling.
I'd LOVE to get him a child-ready digital camera that he can take real photos with, complete with flash and LCD to review the photos taken, but one that's relatively child-proof. Price isn't really terribly important so long as the camera can't be instantly destroyed by the antics of a bouncing four-year-old or his two-year-old little brother. As long as it has a USB connection, computer platform compatibility isn't important, we're computer geeks with a house full of PCs and Macs. I'd like something that actually takes decent photos too, at least 5 megapixels, none of the cheapie 640 x 480 cameras I see sometimes targeted for kids.
I'd LOVE to get him a child-ready digital camera that he can take real photos with, complete with flash and LCD to review the photos taken, but one that's relatively child-proof. Price isn't really terribly important so long as the camera can't be instantly destroyed by the antics of a bouncing four-year-old or his two-year-old little brother. As long as it has a USB connection, computer platform compatibility isn't important, we're computer geeks with a house full of PCs and Macs. I'd like something that actually takes decent photos too, at least 5 megapixels, none of the cheapie 640 x 480 cameras I see sometimes targeted for kids.
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M$7 Answers
Fisher Price isn't the only option: Vtech and Crayola make tough digital cameras as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Vtech-Kidizoom-Digital-Camera-Blue/dp/B000NZORB0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1250475654&sr=8-2
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Concepts-23070-Crayola-Preview/dp/B000TQR6GQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1250475629&sr=8-1
Of the three, Crayola tends to get the lowest reviews, for poor quality images, and Vtech gets the highest, for special effects. Still though, it maxes out at 2.0 megapixels, so while it's a wonderful choice for many people, it doesn't sound like it's the camera for you.
It sounds like there are two problems:
1, Digital cameras tend not to come with manual winding. And 2, you want your child to have a sophisticated piece of equipment, beyond what they make for children his age. While I hope there's a solution to both issues out there, I can't find it, so instead I suggest:
Buy any chunky, basic digital camera that he is able to hold and carry, and get him a strap to hang it around his neck. Most electronics are more sturdy than we'd imagine, and he will be dropping it a lesser distance than when I drop mine. The enjoyment of manually winding film will be reserved for play time (camera without film) and special 'film' occasions. Same situation many of us are in :)
http://www.amazon.com/Vtech-Kidizoom-Digital-Camera-Blue/dp/B000NZORB0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1250475654&sr=8-2
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Concepts-23070-Crayola-Preview/dp/B000TQR6GQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1250475629&sr=8-1
Of the three, Crayola tends to get the lowest reviews, for poor quality images, and Vtech gets the highest, for special effects. Still though, it maxes out at 2.0 megapixels, so while it's a wonderful choice for many people, it doesn't sound like it's the camera for you.
It sounds like there are two problems:
1, Digital cameras tend not to come with manual winding. And 2, you want your child to have a sophisticated piece of equipment, beyond what they make for children his age. While I hope there's a solution to both issues out there, I can't find it, so instead I suggest:
Buy any chunky, basic digital camera that he is able to hold and carry, and get him a strap to hang it around his neck. Most electronics are more sturdy than we'd imagine, and he will be dropping it a lesser distance than when I drop mine. The enjoyment of manually winding film will be reserved for play time (camera without film) and special 'film' occasions. Same situation many of us are in :)
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M$Report Abuse
Get him the Fisher Price Child Digital Camera
http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2620&e=cameralanding
http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2620&e=cameralanding
images:
videos:
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M$
We've had several reader inquiries for us to repost or revise last year's ZRecs Digital Camera Showdown, and we're seeing a lot of search traffic showing up there, so I thought it might be helpful to step in with a few observations if you're thinking about getting one for your child.
I have to admit right off that we haven't tested the many new, lousy-looking kids' digital cameras that have come out in the past year. None of them offer specs that seem better than the ones we weeded through in last year's ZRecs Digital Camera Showdown, and the prices aren't coming down yet - they are all still $50-$60 unless you are looking at something that definitely won't be around next year. So let's check in with last year's contenders:
Fisher-Price Kid Tough Digital Camera: None of the internal specs have changed, and we were quite happy with them - in our juried photo comparison, the Kid-Tough came out on top - but the housing has been redesigned to make the camera waterproof. Sounds good to us. We rated this camera a very good option, gave it our "Top Pick" status, and praised its ease of use and image quality. Every once in a while we get an angry email or comment from a parent who expects a kids' digital camera to take photos as good as their own digital camera does, and to them I say phooey. This is a toy camera. It's as good as you're going to get, at least for now; creating a padded container of your own for a used digital camera, or just holding off for a few years until your child stops being so fumbly, is always an option. But if you want a kids' digital camera, we think this is the way to go. In short:
We remain satisfied with the experience, durability, and overall quality Fisher-Price's digital camera offers for young children. The prints we made of several photos taken by all cameras consistently had Fisher-Price entries placing in the top two, sometimes turning in the best-quality shot in the group. The camera's durable design and image quality make it our top pick for children ages 2-5.
VTech Kidizoom: We stand by our original assessment: The photos suck, the file size is absurd, and the extra features are a waste of your child's precious hours of childhood. The "sale" price of fifty-some dollars seems to be the going rate now, instead of the list price of $70, but still, the F-P model just takes waaaay better pictures. Here's what we said about the Kidizoom last year:
The Kidizoom is a missed opportunity, and we'd recommend skipping its first model year in favor of the Fisher-Price option, which offers similar durable styling and far better image quality. If VTech elected to bump up its abysmal capture size to complement this camera's kid-friendly features, they may have a real competitor on their hands. For this holiday season, however, the Kidizoom's image quality, which approximates that of a good cell phone camera, is a big disappointment for parents interested in printed photos or for children old enough to appreciate focus, color, and clarity in their photos. It also takes terrible video.
Nothing has been changed in this camera's guts or exterior - it's the same camera. You've been warned!
Polaroid Pixie: We gave the Pixie a thumbs-up with the caveat that children old enough to use it might do just as well with a used "adult" digital camera. We also had some problems with the camera in our testing, but worked out that it was just the slow cycling of the flash when it was in use:
Our one concern about the Polaroid Pixie is its flash recycle time, which can run from 5-10 seconds between shots. The flash can be shut off, which means users should not experience this lag time when shooting outdoors, but for indoor shots this delay can be frustrating for children and even for adults, and could have been mitigated somewhat by the inclusion of an icon or sound to indicate when the camera was ready to take another picture.
After our review ran, however, we started hearing reports that some consumers purchased cameras that quickly died on them, which, in case you're taking notes, tends to enrage them. We used ours for a few weeks without incident before passing it on, but spotty performance will kill a product like this out of the gate, and that is what appears to have happened to the spritely little Pixie. It quickly garnered a bushelful of one-star reviews on Amazon.com and Target's website; it's now available on Amazon only through resellers (even at $40 they'll have a hard time selling a camera with a one-star customer rating) and although Target's site claims it is available "in stores only," we haven't seen one in ours, and we suspect they have gone the way of the dodo.
Which is ironic, because the Pixie's companion product, a digital video camera, is a great find. We highly recommend it. Especially because, holy cow, you can get the pink one now for $40 on Amazon.com. Do I need to tell you how great this deal is? (Guess they should have stuck with the blue/orange, which is palatable for both genders and will still run you $65.)
We can't really close this round of recommendations any better than we did last year:
Z's favorite camera to play with was the Kidizoom, which is why we described that camera as a profound missed opportunity. The user interface and special features are excellent, and she was thrilled by the options of adding borders and silly hats to her subjects. But having seen the way consumers have been divided over the image quality of last year's Fisher-Price camera, which we believe produces passable photos for a toddler camera, we would issue a warning: If Kid-Tough photos did not meet your standard, the low-water mark has been reset by VTech. A couple of examples are below; keep in mind that the rendering of JPEGs for this post actually mutes the differences somewhat, which are even more pronounced in the prints we had made.
I have to admit right off that we haven't tested the many new, lousy-looking kids' digital cameras that have come out in the past year. None of them offer specs that seem better than the ones we weeded through in last year's ZRecs Digital Camera Showdown, and the prices aren't coming down yet - they are all still $50-$60 unless you are looking at something that definitely won't be around next year. So let's check in with last year's contenders:
Fisher-Price Kid Tough Digital Camera: None of the internal specs have changed, and we were quite happy with them - in our juried photo comparison, the Kid-Tough came out on top - but the housing has been redesigned to make the camera waterproof. Sounds good to us. We rated this camera a very good option, gave it our "Top Pick" status, and praised its ease of use and image quality. Every once in a while we get an angry email or comment from a parent who expects a kids' digital camera to take photos as good as their own digital camera does, and to them I say phooey. This is a toy camera. It's as good as you're going to get, at least for now; creating a padded container of your own for a used digital camera, or just holding off for a few years until your child stops being so fumbly, is always an option. But if you want a kids' digital camera, we think this is the way to go. In short:
We remain satisfied with the experience, durability, and overall quality Fisher-Price's digital camera offers for young children. The prints we made of several photos taken by all cameras consistently had Fisher-Price entries placing in the top two, sometimes turning in the best-quality shot in the group. The camera's durable design and image quality make it our top pick for children ages 2-5.
VTech Kidizoom: We stand by our original assessment: The photos suck, the file size is absurd, and the extra features are a waste of your child's precious hours of childhood. The "sale" price of fifty-some dollars seems to be the going rate now, instead of the list price of $70, but still, the F-P model just takes waaaay better pictures. Here's what we said about the Kidizoom last year:
The Kidizoom is a missed opportunity, and we'd recommend skipping its first model year in favor of the Fisher-Price option, which offers similar durable styling and far better image quality. If VTech elected to bump up its abysmal capture size to complement this camera's kid-friendly features, they may have a real competitor on their hands. For this holiday season, however, the Kidizoom's image quality, which approximates that of a good cell phone camera, is a big disappointment for parents interested in printed photos or for children old enough to appreciate focus, color, and clarity in their photos. It also takes terrible video.
Nothing has been changed in this camera's guts or exterior - it's the same camera. You've been warned!
Polaroid Pixie: We gave the Pixie a thumbs-up with the caveat that children old enough to use it might do just as well with a used "adult" digital camera. We also had some problems with the camera in our testing, but worked out that it was just the slow cycling of the flash when it was in use:
Our one concern about the Polaroid Pixie is its flash recycle time, which can run from 5-10 seconds between shots. The flash can be shut off, which means users should not experience this lag time when shooting outdoors, but for indoor shots this delay can be frustrating for children and even for adults, and could have been mitigated somewhat by the inclusion of an icon or sound to indicate when the camera was ready to take another picture.
After our review ran, however, we started hearing reports that some consumers purchased cameras that quickly died on them, which, in case you're taking notes, tends to enrage them. We used ours for a few weeks without incident before passing it on, but spotty performance will kill a product like this out of the gate, and that is what appears to have happened to the spritely little Pixie. It quickly garnered a bushelful of one-star reviews on Amazon.com and Target's website; it's now available on Amazon only through resellers (even at $40 they'll have a hard time selling a camera with a one-star customer rating) and although Target's site claims it is available "in stores only," we haven't seen one in ours, and we suspect they have gone the way of the dodo.
Which is ironic, because the Pixie's companion product, a digital video camera, is a great find. We highly recommend it. Especially because, holy cow, you can get the pink one now for $40 on Amazon.com. Do I need to tell you how great this deal is? (Guess they should have stuck with the blue/orange, which is palatable for both genders and will still run you $65.)
We can't really close this round of recommendations any better than we did last year:
Z's favorite camera to play with was the Kidizoom, which is why we described that camera as a profound missed opportunity. The user interface and special features are excellent, and she was thrilled by the options of adding borders and silly hats to her subjects. But having seen the way consumers have been divided over the image quality of last year's Fisher-Price camera, which we believe produces passable photos for a toddler camera, we would issue a warning: If Kid-Tough photos did not meet your standard, the low-water mark has been reset by VTech. A couple of examples are below; keep in mind that the rendering of JPEGs for this post actually mutes the differences somewhat, which are even more pronounced in the prints we had made.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Its a useful article, but you may want to take a look at the mahalo guidelines for copy and pasting from other websites.
http://www.mahalo.com/copy-and-pasting-on-mahalo
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buy a cheap one whit good zoom and durable
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M$
Find out some cheap digital cameras at http://prices.coupons2grab.com/4/402/digital-camera/search_results/products where you can even compare the prices from different stores and then choose the right one for your kid.
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M$
http://www.alphamom.com/hotspots/2008/11/digital_cameras_for_kids_reviews.php
this site has some children's cameras and reviews on them. hope i can help!
this site has some children's cameras and reviews on them. hope i can help!
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
The Sakar - Crayola kids digital camera is a very good digital camera for kids who are interested in photography. It has a 5.1 megapixel camera capacity, just perfect for what you are looking for. It's also available in different colors and comes in friendly design for kids. It costs around $50 so it's really worth the price.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sakar-Crayola-5.1MP-Digital-Camera/16541086
http://www.ekidsdigitalcamera.com/
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sakar-Crayola-5.1MP-Digital-Camera/16541086
http://www.ekidsdigitalcamera.com/
images:
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M$
