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DPChallenge Forums >> Hardware and Software >> First camera for a child
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02/12/2013 09:26:35 AM · #1
I'm thinking of giving a compact camera as a present to a 7 year old. She's quite keen on my spare Canon g10, but that's probably too expensive or heavy as a first own camera. What I want to introduce is an idea of manual controls over exposure, which is probably one biggest skill about cameras. What can be sacrificed is expansive zoom and mega-pixels, extreme ISO. What is needed is convenient controls for manual aperture/shutter, sturdy design, fairly quick response, fairly small size. Budget of about $200. Any suggestions or have I, accidentally, just described some sort of unattainable holy grail?
02/12/2013 09:33:28 AM · #2
I'd suggest a used waterproof/shockproof camera like the Canon D10, but I doubt you can find one for $200 or less and it lacks manual control.
02/12/2013 09:42:09 AM · #3
I am coming to realise $200 was probably too conservative... so let's eliminate that criterion for now.
02/12/2013 09:51:33 AM · #4
Go to a pawn shop. You could probably find a nice little P&S for under $100.
02/12/2013 10:00:48 AM · #5
If I was so lucky to have a 7 year old student, I would let her pick out her first camera. If she picks it because it's pink, well OK then. In a little while she'll move on to another camera, closer to the one you want her to use. I think it's more important to respond to the love of photography than it is to teach technical skills, especially in the beginning.
02/12/2013 10:27:09 AM · #6
Anything made by Nikon ;)
02/12/2013 11:55:16 AM · #7
Originally posted by pixelpig:

If I was so lucky to have a 7 year old student, I would let her pick out her first camera. If she picks it because it's pink, well OK then. In a little while she'll move on to another camera, closer to the one you want her to use. I think it's more important to respond to the love of photography than it is to teach technical skills, especially in the beginning.


Ditto. At that age, my kids were totally uninterested in things like manual control blah blah blah, but very interested in the idea that they could capture the image in the camera to see what they saw anytime they wanted. As long as it takes pictures when they press the button in the simplest way possible, I think it would be a good start. I suggested the D10 (or any similar shock/water proof camera) because I saw how my kids treated cameras at that age. My dad gave my eldest (7 at the time) his old Canon S50, which got destroyed in some kind of bicycle/photo experiment. They've dropped, submerged and otherwise abused the D10 and it simply keeps going. I did have to open it up and dry it out after one of them opened the battery compartment door while swimming in Lake Michigan.
02/12/2013 12:06:18 PM · #8
Originally posted by olbol:

I'm thinking of giving a compact camera as a present to a 7 year old. She's quite keen on my spare Canon g10, but that's probably too expensive or heavy as a first own camera. What I want to introduce is an idea of manual controls over exposure, which is probably one biggest skill about cameras. What can be sacrificed is expansive zoom and mega-pixels, extreme ISO. What is needed is convenient controls for manual aperture/shutter, sturdy design, fairly quick response, fairly small size. Budget of about $200. Any suggestions or have I, accidentally, just described some sort of unattainable holy grail?


This was my starter camera and I loved it:

Panasonic Lumix

I gifted it to a friend who is in her 50s and poses more threats to a camera than any 7 year old ever could (mishaps include: wear and tear from beach living, losing it constantly, dropping it while bowling, and once her truck burned to the ground with a camera in it.) She just keeps replacing it with the same model (or newer versions) from ebay because they are so inexpensive. Haha.

So... don't worry about your 7 year old. She'll be fine I'm sure.
02/12/2013 12:19:29 PM · #9
Make one!
02/12/2013 12:45:50 PM · #10
Originally posted by pixelpig:

If I was so lucky to have a 7 year old student, I would let her pick out her first camera. If she picks it because it's pink, well OK then. In a little while she'll move on to another camera, closer to the one you want her to use. I think it's more important to respond to the love of photography than it is to teach technical skills, especially in the beginning.


I go for this! ... and then you'll have money leftover for an empty oatmeal box pinhole camera.
02/12/2013 01:01:55 PM · #11
I remember MY first camera: a Kodak instamatic when I was 10 years old. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. And all it had was a shutter button and a wheel to advance the film.

I think you can get a really inexpensive, totally basic camera so that she learns to "see" the world photographically. The rest of the technical stuff is down the road.
02/12/2013 01:18:28 PM · #12
When I/we signed up here, Isaac had been shooting with my Olympus D490Z for a while, so for his sixth birthday I got him an inexpensive Fuji P&S. It took good quality pictures, but it didn't have a zoom feature (even the 3x), and he got frustrated by that, and pretty much stopped taking pictures. :-(

I'm not sure full manual mode is necessary for a 7YO, but I think some adjustable features would be good to start learning to control the exposure process.
02/12/2013 02:43:32 PM · #13
My first camera...my Dad didn't get me one. He had no interest. So my first camera was 'borrowing' his, an Argus. Full manual only, no flash, no batteries. I learned everything I wanted to know by reading the insert that came with the film.
02/12/2013 02:57:39 PM · #14
Originally posted by pixelpig:

If I was so lucky to have a 7 year old student, I would let her pick out her first camera. If she picks it because it's pink, well OK then. In a little while she'll move on to another camera, closer to the one you want her to use. I think it's more important to respond to the love of photography than it is to teach technical skills, especially in the beginning.


Funny you should mention picking the pink one. That is exactly what my daughter was allowed to do. She was given the choice and picked a pink Fuji P.O.S. that I hated. She used it about three times and then decided she much preferred my black Panasonic. The Fuji was a waste of $150 that sits and collects dust and my P&S is never where I keep it because my daughter keeps using it. She liked the color and size of the Fuji because she knew no better, once she had shot a few times, she liked the results of a better camera.

There is a world of cost difference in these compact P&S cameras between those with full manual control and those without. But for a teaching tool, as long as you have a 4 stop range in exposure compensation (which is in many mid range P&Ss) you have the editorial control over your exposure without full manual.

There is a tendency to think that kids can't take care of delicate instruments. I don't think that is more true of young people than any other age of people. Some people need waterproof shockproof and simple; others would be fine with a more complex and delicate instrument. it is more an issue of personality than seniority.

Message edited by author 2013-02-12 15:09:16.
02/12/2013 03:23:14 PM · #15
Two words... Camera Obscura!!
02/12/2013 04:57:34 PM · #16
Originally posted by EL-ROI:

Two words... Camera Obscura!!

I think it's a little large for a 7YO to lug around ... ;-)
02/12/2013 07:24:23 PM · #17
Like tanguera, my first camera was a Kodak instamatic that took that horrible 110 film. Fixed focus, fixed aperture (f/9.5), fixed wide angle plastic lens. The only controls were the shutter release and a wheel to advance the film. I bought it for myself when I was about 10.

After I ran 20 or 30 rolls of film through the thing, which probably took a year, since my allowance was small and I had to pay for the film and processing myself, Dad realized that I had more interest in photography than he did, and "loaned" me his Pentax SLR, which I used until I went off to college.

edit...I think Dad still has that Pentax.

Message edited by author 2013-02-12 19:30:14.
02/12/2013 07:30:20 PM · #18
get a canon 550D it'll be perfect unless she's shooting in low light.
02/12/2013 09:39:03 PM · #19
pentex optio. you cant break those things and believe me we try at work.

i gave my daughter my old Olympus p&S, she never really uses it,let alone takes care of it, which doesn't bother me since its old and i don't use it. unless you are confident its money well spent i would advise against it, 7 is just too young to understand the appreciation for the care of gadgets, at least in my personal experience.

Message edited by author 2013-02-12 21:39:52.
02/13/2013 02:22:59 AM · #20
A basic point & shoot with some fun features that they can play with like this Canon A2300 - selling for around $70 NEW: //www.amazon.com/dp/B0075SUHQC/

My 8 yr old and even 5 yr old have gotton hang of these pretty easily. They learned how to enable/disable the flash and could make the judgement call when its needed. The movie mode is one thing where they fill up the memory card with junk fast though...

Message edited by author 2013-02-13 02:23:15.
02/14/2013 01:26:19 AM · #21
Like Johanna and Ann tanguera Ann I bought my first camera in Hong Kong, the mecca of electronics in !(&^ AD (do the reverse encryption and you'll get the date) It was a Pocket Fujica 110, drop in cassette, self wind, with magnesium based flash on a stalk to prevent red-eye. My first images with it were in Hong Kong and of game parks and landscapes in South Africa (holiday). I still have it and some of the prints. Although my father instilled the interest, I chose it and paid for it myself and thus the love for photography remained and grew. Technicals came later.
02/14/2013 03:42:57 PM · #22
Originally posted by tanguera:

I remember MY first camera: a Kodak instamatic when I was 10 years old. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. And all it had was a shutter button and a wheel to advance the film.

I think you can get a really inexpensive, totally basic camera so that she learns to "see" the world photographically. The rest of the technical stuff is down the road.


My first was a Kodak 110. Kissing cousin to Johanna's by the sound of it, ultra-basic and worked well.
03/03/2013 10:14:44 PM · #23
I am giving my 10 years old daughter my old Canon D60...not 60D but D60 which I paid around $4000 ten years ago. Put that with a Nifty Fifty she is ready to go. She want to take pictures for school years book 2-3 years form now. It is a good camera to start.
03/03/2013 10:30:54 PM · #24
Originally posted by tanguera:

I remember MY first camera: a Kodak instamatic when I was 10 years old. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. And all it had was a shutter button and a wheel to advance the film.

I think you can get a really inexpensive, totally basic camera so that she learns to "see" the world photographically. The rest of the technical stuff is down the road.


Same here... Kodak Instamatic X-15. Can't tell you how many rolls of film and cube flashes I burned through. I think I was 8 years old.

I have two children and both have had cameras. I use past tense because they both no longer work - due to belonging to a young child (they are now 10 and 5). My daughter was given a camera by her grandparents that was awful: the controls were hard to manipulate with her fingers. And this is a child who can operate an iPad, Wii, or DS with ease. When we purchased a camera for our son, we picked one that has easy controls. The dial on the top was easy for him to switch between photograph, video, and review - and the shutter button was easy to find/operate. It's no fun when the controls aren't laid out easily - then you can't just grab it and go take pictures, especially if you need an adult to tell you how to get out of the function or back out of a menu.

Currently, both my husband and I have our own point/shoot cameras. His is their favorite because it turns on when you slide it open (plus it's waterproof): Sony Cybershot DX20. It is under $200 now, and comes in different colors.

I'm not sure if this helps, but good luck!

Message edited by author 2013-03-10 16:22:02.
03/04/2013 03:09:15 PM · #25
I think the Fuji FinePix S models are a great first camera choice - you can do full manual, but you can also do full automatic. Most come with an ultrazoom (10x + ), decent resolution (14 MPx), and best of all (in a yung un's eyes), it looks like a real DSLR. It is small, light, and relatively inexpensive - almost always Wal-Mart has a model available for under $200 - sometimes down in the $130 range. The series has been in that price range for years, so if you want, you could probably pick up an older one on e-bay for not a whole bunch of $$.
These are not the flat as a pancake cameras, and they do not have exchangeable lenses. I've had the S-500, S-5200, and S-710 (aka S5700) - all are decent cameras for a beginner. My "favorite" feature - they all used 4 AA batteries (I bought re-chargeable ones). They use the XD memory cards (later models use XDHD).
The beautiful thing about DPC is that you can check out the results from these cameras under the Equipment section.
My 2nd highest scoring shot was taken with the S700 (//www.dpchallenge.com/camera.php?CAMERA_ID=1635)
Added...I wouldn't go over $75 used - probably worth it to go new for the extra $50 - $100.

Message edited by author 2013-03-04 15:11:52.
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