Best camera for a four year old?

[gingajewel]

My four year old wants a camera for Christmas, can anyone recommend a cheap but good camera for that age? She has a kiddizoom but I don’t think they are that great!

[Pbbananabagel]

The kiddizoom duo is the new upgraded version and has a load of games and features built in, just bought two for my nephews (3) and I definitely don’t see them being outgrown in a year as there’s so much that they do

[gingajewel]

Thanks all! Tbh the kidizoom is a bit basic and picture quality is rubbish. Dd2 has dd1 old one and I just think it’s a bit babyish for her!
I think I’m going to go straight for a digital camera, thankyou! Now to find a cheap and cheerful one as I don’t want to spend a fortune on one!

[Blackbear19]

to the random carpet shots, I know the feeling.

Nicking my camera is the reason I want him to have one of his own. Every time I pull my camera out he is off with it.

[wibdib]

I’d go straight for the Nikon - one of the reasons we gave one to ds at 4 was because he had always loved taking pictures - days before smartphones with good cameras I always had a small compact in my bag plus a dslr when we went out and he had been using both for as long as I can remember. We went to a wedding and one of the things that kept him happy and entertained was taking pictures - which meant I didn’t have my little compact to hand much as he had it. He took some great shots - interspersed with loads of the carpet and random patches of wallpaper. I missed my camera though so it was as much to reclaim my camera as for him to have one! But I knew he could use and be trusted with it early on.

If they want to do things with the pics, if they have access to a tablet that you can put the pics on to (having backed them up safely elsewhere first!) put a few apps like Snapseed and other fun manipulation apps or ones that turn them into comics and let them edit them out of the camera - they’ll still have lots of fun, you’ll end up with great pics and they’ll have denveloped skills without noticing!

[Blackbear19]

@gingajewel

My four year old wants a camera for Christmas, can anyone recommend a cheap but good camera for that age? She has a kiddizoom but I don’t think they are that great!

I've just reread your first post. Are you thinking the Kidizoom is a waste of money outgrown at 4?

I really can't decide do I go straight for the Nikon or get a Kidizoom and upgrade in a couple of years? He'll be just turning 4 at Christmas.

[Blackbear19]

I'm bouncing between the Kiddizoom and the Nikon S150.

DS1 has an earlier version of the Nikon and its great he got his a 5. I cant decide if 4 is too young for it or if i should just go for it.

[thatwouldbeanecumenicalmatter]

I got both of mine second hand kiddizoom on ebay, excellent condition about £8 incl postage. It eats batteries and I had to get a decent sized memory card as I got sick of having to repeatedly delete photos as they'd just take a gazillion of the floor then moan it was full. BUT it's the best I found that's robust, cheap and does the job.

[wibdib]

Oh and avoid some of the really cheap brands like vivitar as they are t very strong and don’t take great pictures - keep an eye out around Black Friday etc for good deals (and there are some good price checkers to monitor models you’re interested in).

Also avoid Polaroid type models - lots of fun to get the pic there and then but if you have a snap happy kid it could rapidly become super expensive so stick to a digital camera! And use a site like free prints if they want prints to get them cheaply.

[wibdib]

When ds1 was that age he wanted a camera and had the forerunner of the Nikon w150 which was great - waterproof, fairly rugged, some fun functions and filters for kids, even animation (shot by shot!), a simple operation mode ( most used by dh; ds progressed off it, dh didn’t ), proper decent lens and results. I used to borrow it if going where I knew I would be encountering wet or messy conditions to save my dslr).

There’s also a fujipix 130 (something like that!) that’s simularly waterproof and rugged and simple that’s supposed to be good too.

They are a handy camera to have in a family to take if you’re going to the beach or in the rain etc

If budget is more checkbout other rugged or tough models. Or something like a go pro.

If less, see the earlier models of these ones - for a 4 yr old they’ll still work ŵell and having the latest features isn’t such a big deal, it can be a good compromise between features and cost - but double check as sometimes the older ones can suddenly go up in price too!

[AriettyHomily]

I got mine cheap digital cameras at that age, they then moved on to old phones that we had in the house with no SIM.