inexpensive digital camera recommendation for 4th b-day??

[urquie]

i want to get dd a digital camera for her 4th b-day - she loves to borrow ours and is very careful with it.

the fisher price kid tough camera doesn't seem to get such great reviews so i'm interested in an inexpensive "adult" camera.

any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

[Neatfreak]

My DD (nearly four) has the Fisher Price camera, and she enjoys posing her stuffed animals for photos, but she knows that the viewscreen sucks. She manages quite well with my point-and-shoot - it's a Canon Elph and the size is nice for the size of her hands. The viewscreen is generous. I know that the new ones are pricey, but maybe an older model would be in your price range. Or maybe a different company has something in a similar size ...

[codex57]

What's your budget? I love the Canon SD750. Not too sure how much longer it'll be around, but it's a great camera. It doesn't have Image Stabilization like the newer, fancier models, but it seems to take better pics anyways. You can get it for $160-200. I dunno if that's too pricy or not. I've gotten into digital SLRs so I'm used to seeing much higher price tags now.

[shilo]

if she's careful w/ it and you're not worried about needing the kid proof part, i would think anything in the 2-5 megapixel range with a viewscreen on the back would fit the bill just fine. maybe poke around on craigslist, ebay, overstock.com, or even your local pawn shop to try and find something older and/or used that would fit the bill?

my craigslist has stuff like this:
$20 http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/ele/672533659.html
$30 http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/ele/670205356.html
$40 http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/ele/669262983.html


good luck hunting :),
lori

[missym]

We recently went through this same dilemma with Gwen's 5th birthday present. She loves taking pictures and we didn't want her to get discouraged by using a camera which takes low-quality photos. We finally bought her a used Canon digital on ebay for $60, about the same price as the FP one. She loves it and the pictures are great.

[urquie]

thanks for all the replies!

i've contacted a few craig's list sellers with "working" cameras in the $40-$50 range but they're all about 5 years old. not sure that i want to buy one that old though.

i've also checked overstock.com and they have some inexpensive digital cameras. now, i'm wondering if the local drugstore might have something equally inexpensive with an easier return policy??

has anyone bought a cheap digital camera at the drugstore... and liked it?

[khm]

I bought a cheaper small Fuji for my daughter's fifth birthday. I started out with a kid one (not the FP, some off-brand) and it was terrible. We returned it and got a small Fuji that happened to be PINK. ;) I went to eBay and bought a skin for it. Basically a rubbery case with a lanyard. She knows she needs to wear the lanyard and she needs to be very careful with it. She has a lot of fun with it.

As a bonus, I get to keep it in my purse. My digital is pretty large and I don't tote it around with me unless it is a special occasion.

[urquie]

can you tell me which fuji you bought?


I bought a cheaper small Fuji for my daughter's fifth birthday. I started out with a kid one (not the FP, some off-brand) and it was terrible. We returned it and got a small Fuji that happened to be PINK. ;) I went to eBay and bought a skin for it. Basically a rubbery case with a lanyard. She knows she needs to wear the lanyard and she needs to be very careful with it. She has a lot of fun with it.

As a bonus, I get to keep it in my purse. My digital is pretty large and I don't tote it around with me unless it is a special occasion.

[kristenk]

We just picked up an HP Photosmart M547 camera for DD at Circuit City last night. We'd been looking for a real camera for her off and on and DH stumbled onto this website: www.retrevo.com (http://www.retrevo.com). From what DH has said, it sort of compares price and camera features and spits out product recommendations. The camera we got was marked down to $59 at Circuit City and was only available for local pick-up - which is why we drove 30 miles last night to pick it up!

[August Mom]

Don't get a Poloroid. That's what we bought for $60 and it was horrible. We passed down our Olympus 2 MP and it's been great for DS. If I bought another specifically for him, I was leaning toward a $100 Kodak. Kodak is supposed to be among the simplest to use.

[khm]

can you tell me which fuji you bought?

Whoops. I lied. I was thinking it was a Fuji FinePix, but it's a NIKON CoolPix!! :) Got my Pix confused apparently.

Anyways, its a Nikon CoolPix L10, in pink. It's 5 MP, 3x optical zoom, 2" LCD screen. I want to say it was $75.

I got it nearly 9 months ago though. Things change so fast, I have no idea if it is still available! :)

[urquie]

do you know how long that special is good for? it seems like a great deal!


We just picked up an HP Photosmart M547 camera for DD at Circuit City last night. We'd been looking for a real camera for her off and on and DH stumbled onto this website: www.retrevo.com (http://www.retrevo.com). From what DH has said, it sort of compares price and camera features and spits out product recommendations. The camera we got was marked down to $59 at Circuit City and was only available for local pick-up - which is why we drove 30 miles last night to pick it up!

[Melbel]

We felt the same exact way when we purchased a "real" camera for my daughter when she turned 6. We purchased a reasonably highly rated Panasonic camera with 7.2 MP, 6x image stabilized zoom. I did not want to waste money on a FP camera. Rather than spending $50-$75, I invested a little more and got something we both enjoy.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMC-LZ7S-Digital-Camera-Stabilized/dp/B000MW7B12/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1210461899&sr=1-6

My favorite website for digital cameras is www.dpreview.com. You can search by various criteria, including price, MP, etc.

You may want to consider a Canon PowerShot A570 IS, a highly recommended camera (both by dpreview.com and amazon.com) costing as low as $140. It has 7MP, image stabilization and numerous other features.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NK3H4S/ref=dp_cp_ob_title_2

I have found that it is nice to use my daughter's camera as a backup at times. Her camera is much smaller than my SLR and SLR like cameras. She has really enjoyed the camera, and so far so good on the wear and tear!

On amazon, some cameras are available used at a considerable discount. I am certain that there are less expensive options available, but at least these two are highly rated.

[kristenk]

do you know how long that special is good for? it seems like a great deal!

I'm not sure. I think that they're just trying to clear them out, so when the in-stock cameras are gone, they're gone. I entered my zip to check availability, and there aren't any in my area. Then, I entered a random zip that I think is Mass., and several stores had it. It's too bad that it's a local pick-up only. That definitely complicates things.

[urquie]

i just called my local store and they said the sale ends today. i think i'll go get this for dd - thanks OP!

if you go to circuit city's website you have to add it to your cart to see the $59 price.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=190962&WT.mc_n=6&WT.mc_t=U&cm_ven=COMPARISON%20SHOPPING&cm_cat=YAHOO&cm_pla=DATAFEED->PRODUCTS&cm_ite=1%20PRODUCT&cm_keycode=6



do you know how long that special is good for? it seems like a great deal!


We just picked up an HP Photosmart M547 camera for DD at Circuit City last night. We'd been looking for a real camera for her off and on and DH stumbled onto this website: www.retrevo.com (http://www.retrevo.com). From what DH has said, it sort of compares price and camera features and spits out product recommendations. The camera we got was marked down to $59 at Circuit City and was only available for local pick-up - which is why we drove 30 miles last night to pick it up!

[kristenk]

i just called my local store and they said the sale ends today. i think i'll go get this for dd - thanks OP!


I hope you and your DD like it! DD was trying hers out tonight. :)