Good digital camera for my 10 yr old daughter?

Question

My 10 yr old daughter is wanting to get a digital camera. Can you please recommend a decent one. She wants to be able to see the pictures after she takes them. It has to be pretty easy to work, and pretty sturdy and also under or right at $100.

Thanks

Answer 1

I had the same question to answer two years ago or so, when my 12 year old daughter wanted a digital camera. I looked around, and while there are quite a few, I wound up buying her a Nikon Coolpix L-series. The models have changed, but the current one, the L18, runs around $120 at reputable stores. This ought to be at least as easy to use as my daughter's, with better quality and cool "modern" features like face recognition.

About six months later, I got a camera for my wife, who's even less technically inclined. The Nikon didn't have an anti-shake option (the new ones do), and I knew she'd benefit from that. I wound up getting her a Panasonic Lumix... and another six months later, bought a higher-end Lumix for myself as a "always carry" camera.

Anyway, my wife's was a Lumix LS-75, and today's model is the LS-80. That's also about $120. I suspect the anti-shake is a little better, and I was honestly blown away by how good their auto exposure is. I used to let her use one of my older digitals, a prefectly decent Canon, to take photos of her class kids (she teaches 2nd grade). I would load those up, optimize the photo in photoshop, and print them out. With the Panny, there wasn't a single photo that needed retouching... that's one of the reasons I even looked at Panasonic (I've been a Canon guy for years, my Dad's a Nikon guy).

Canon's entry in this class, the A470, is a bit more expensive, and lacks anti-shake technology. I wouldn't pick over either of these others.

These take regular AA batteries, and hook into a PC using a USB cable or SD card reader... I was actually kind of surprised that my daughter picked this up in no time, and never asked about it once it was set up.

This kind of camera these days can also shoot movies good enough for YouTube, if not necessarily DVD. That's likely to come up one of these days.

Answer 2

There are actually a number of cameras that would fit the bill you are looking at. An example would be (I am assuming you live in the USA) Nikon's L16 or possibly even Canon's A470. As well, Samsung has a few new models, one of which most certainly falls right at $100 even here in Canada.

Depending on where in the world you live, check out a couple retailers online (such as Best Buy, Future Shop, Circuit City, Target, Walmart... the list goes on). The vast majority of the cameras at the price point you are looking at tend to be very basic and easy to use.

Hope this helps some eh :)

Answer 3

Why don't you give her a disposable camera first, there are some that cost less than $20 with 3disposable camera.  let her expand her mind with those things first and if she did a good pictures for a month then decide and give her a gift of digital camera... ;-)

Answer 4

Try to find her one that has a viewfinder that she can use outside in bright sunlight.  The display washes out in sunlight, and she wouldn't be able to see to take a picture.  

Go to a big store like Best Buy and see what they have in that price range. Canon makes some good Powershots.

Answer 5

The Samsung S760

Camera

http://www.samsungcamera.com/product/pro...

To buy it

http://www.digitalfotoclub.com/sc/from-f...

Hope this helped

Answer 6

You're going to buy your ten year old a camera? Well, you definitely don't want to spend your money on one for that. There are really no good cameras you can get that are under 100, so don't expect them to be wonderful.

I own this camera, among others, and I'd recommend it. Canon's A430. It's small and easy to hold/handle, plus the controls are simple.  And it has the LCD screen for reviewing the photos. Canon is a very promising photography brand; you can get the better quality for less money.