Suggestions on a good kids camera?

staypuffinpcstaypuffinpc Registered Users Posts: 80 Big grins
edited September 21, 2006 in Cameras
hey all, my soon to be 4-year old's birthday is coming up and he loves taking pics with my digital camera. Of course, I am very anal about how and when he does it and I change the settings to make sure it comes out alright when he does (zoom all the way out, etc.). I'd like to get him a good kids digital camera. The only thing I can find that seems to be decent (and only then slightly) is the Kid Tough digital camera from Fisher Price. What I like about it is:
  • it's durable
  • it has an LCD viewer, so he can see his pics right away, which he's come to expect (pshaw! kids these days)
  • It's simple to use
  • It's got fairly good reviews.
For only 640x480 resolution, and 8MB, I find $70 a bit pricey, but if it's the only thing available...

Anyhow, I thought I'd just ask for suggestions. I know you're all probably used to discussing cameras at the other end of the spectrum, what suggesetions do you have for a fairly inexpensive, yet durable camera with an LCD? He's good with buttons, so if it's a little more complicated to learn, he can figure it out. It doesn't have to be a kid's camera if there's a good low-end camera someone can think of.

Thanks in advance.
{something witty here}

Comments

  • UT ScottUT Scott Registered Users Posts: 175 Major grins
    edited September 21, 2006
    My younger brother has a Kodak C310, it's small, 4 MP, 5 times digital zoom (no optical), 16 MB internal memory, and takes suprisingly good pictures. It goes for under $100.00 pretty much anywhere.

    Pretty much all of the Kodak easyshare cameras are fairly cheap and easy to use.
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  • BeachBillBeachBill Registered Users Posts: 1,311 Major grins
    edited September 21, 2006
    Last April I was looking for a new camera for my son (age 8) for the same reasons.

    I would stay away from "kids cameras" as they usually lack the features to keep kids interest (i.e. limited memory, the need to dump pictures frequently, proprietary cable/software to get the images off the camera, poor image quality).

    In checking out the low end cameras at Wal-Mart and Target, I found the Canon Powershot A410 on clearance at Target. It appeared to be a well-built 3mp compact camera with 3x optical zoom and uses SD cards and AA batteries. I bought the store display (after completely checking it out) for $70. It was in new condition and has held up well as it's very durable. He can shoot all day (1GB card) without downloading and he takes some surprisingly good photographs. I'm thinking about setting up a gallery for his photos. By the way, my avatar here was taken by my son with his A410.

    Anyway, what this all boils down too, is a I would suggest checking out the basic low end consumer cameras and look for clearance or store displays. Just stay away from digital-zoom-only cameras--I would stick them in the same category as the "kids" toy cameras.

    P.S. I just remembered I have two pictures of Kenny Loggins on my site that I took with the A410. We were at the Hollywood Bowl one night and ran into Kenny at the Artist's Entrance. Luckily my wife had our son's camera in her bag so I snapped a couple of pictures with it... http://gallery.primarycolors.com/gallery/1730509/1/85486375
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