Digital camera for a 5 year old-V tech,Fischer Price or a real one???????

[MilaMae]

Please advise, just don't know which would be the best They all look v expensive!!!!!!!!!!

Alternatively, what about a throw away camera - much cheaper, still wondrous to a 5 year old and they get the excitement of taking the film to Boots and picking up the photos. Then if they turn out to be the next David Bailey you can buy them something more expensive..!

They are all expensive and also too fragile for kids: the screen will break when it is first dropped. My friend's 11 year old only managed to keep his for 6 months. I know the film ones are a PITA in terms of processing but just start with a reasonable disposable one and then see how you get on with it. I went to buy a digital for an 8 year old and the man in the camera sho dissuaded me... but perhaps others have better experience

I would go for this one

You can take pictures then edit them. It looks like fun.

i would get a 3 mega pixel camera off bid tv or price drop tv u can get them for as low as £16 if u watch them and they are good cameras aswell i have a vivtar 5 mega pixel one and it is fab

We have the Vtech one, my brother bought it for DD for Xmas. She loves it, it's chunky with a two eyed viewer, it takes a good picture (although I end up delelting loads of goodness knows what). It has silly faces and hats you can add to your photo and it also has a couple of games. DD really likes it, she's 5 and even her little brother (3) can use it when he is allowed.

I know they bought it from the USA as it was much cheaper and came with a bag which is very handy for storing all the leads and bits that come with it. I would recommend it.

My mum bought her a cheap digital one from Argos the year before and it was rubbish, it didn't last long

I'd get a real digital camera. We got DD a Canon Powershot (I think it is) for not much more than the children's cameras and it is far better quality and will last her far longer. DD was 4 when she got it and has been able to use more and more of its functions over the 1.5 years she has had it.

we have the vtech for 4yr old dd she loves u can also film with this one. shop around to get a good deal as we got it alot cheeper from tesco online think it was £39

I think 5 years old is too young for digital anything! Call me old fashioned....

The v-tech is very sturdy and lots of fun for a five year old, unless their younger sibling drops it in the paddling pool....

Advantage of a digital camera over anything film, IMO, is that you don't need to get all their shots of the sky or their own feet developed. I'd get a £20-£30 cheap digital camera (possibly second-hand or a discontinued model so that you get decent MP for the price) rather than the Vtech or Fisher Price, though.

we bought DS1 a real one because DH reconed that the "spec" on the Fisher Price ones wouldn't be up to much

Result - camera has been dropped so many times and batteries fall out etc that he never uses it.

I would go for the Fisher Price or VTech one - it's not as if they are goin g to take amazing pictures on the whole is it? I seem to remeber a lot of pictures of the dustbin, the telly, DS1's toys etc etc

Sorry, am I the only one who doesn't think this is an appropriate present for a small child?

Maybe this isn't the thread to air my views! But I really don't geddit.

What's next, a PS2 for his 6th birthday? Then what, a quad bike for his 7th? A car for his 8th?

Whats wrong with sticklebricks?

I'll keep my nose out.....

we got ds a vtech one for christmas last year and he was 4 at the time. He loves it and uses it all the time still. Even both the dds use it and I dont have to worry as it has been thrown, dropped, battered and still works fantastically.
Saw in woolworths today there was a fisherprice one reduced to £29 from £59 so might be worth a look.

Why nnot , small children are surrounded y technology, my DC have a vtech camera and DS is quite good at taking photos.

Why have a pretend disney camera when they can have the real thing?

Why a camera? Because DD enjoyed using mine, she was getting good at taking photos and got enjoyment from it...and it wasn't just yet another toy. 1.5y later it is still put to good use and still producing lovely phots. Seems like ti was a good idea to me to be honest.

We got DS as a product test and he had been asking for one but we couldnt afford it. He had been trying to use our family camera but I was so worried about him breaking it and the dds getting it that I think the childrens digital one was a fantastic idea.

Would you have a problem with giving a 5yo a disposable cardboard camera if he/she were keen on taking pictures, though, maidamess? If so then fine, I just generally disagree with you on the camera thing; but if not, then I reckon a £20 digital camera works out cheaper fairly quickly. "Digital" doesn't mean "luxury", and spending £20 on a birthday present isn't quite the same as buying a Playstation/quad bike/car...

I take your point pertwee, that digital doesn't mean luxury and there are some cheap and cheerful ones around.

I just wouldn't regard it as a present for a 5 year old. But I'm behind the times, techno wise!

We have hardly any gadgetry in our house at all...just not my thing really.

Re whether this is appropriate for a 5 year old. My dtwins don't have anything electronic, V tech Smiles and the like.

They are at an "outstanding" pre-school who use the Fischer Price digital cameras on a regular basis with fantastic results.
They go on regular walks around town eg looking for and taking of pictures of numbers in the environment to make number books,recording bugs found on bug huts etc.

My son isn't in to toys at all he loves books but that is about it, consequently he is a nightmare to buy birthday presents for. He has been fascinated with the pre-school digital cameras for ages and takes really good shots on mine,can frame and really knows what to focus on. Rather than get him a load of plastic tat he doesn't want or need I thought this would be spot on. It would be half from us and half from grandparents. He knows he'll be getting very little else.

I'm not into gameboys etc at all but feel there is a lot of educational value to be had with digital cameras. I used to use them with reception children a lot, this was in the days when they first came out so we were terrified of the kids breaking them. The new kids ones seem a good idea ie I won't need to hover over him pulling it off him for fear of breakage but have read some bad reviews re quality. I'm not bothered too much about quality as don't think he's David Bailey just yet but don't want to pay a lot of money for something just not worth it. The V-Tech seems quite good but wondering if anybody agrees with some of the reviews on Amazon.

Thanks for all the posts so far,have given me some good advice and info.

Sticklebricks? What that plastic modern stuff? What's wrong with a hoop or a slate? Heavens to betsy, these modern children. tut tut....

I fit into the Very Old Mums category and I'm definitely not into gameboys, Leappad etc etc, but we just bought (or grandparents did) a cheap digital camera for DD who's just 4 - pink, 5megapixels, £39 incl substantial memory card. I thought it was much better value than the kids' digital cameras which seem to be around £50, and much less wasteful than a disposable.

My dad used to be a semi-professional photographer, and I was taking black & white photos on my little half-frame camera when I was about 6-7 and even entered a couple into adult competitions

So I think 5 is fine DD loves hers, loves taking pictures of her friends/toys/trees/anything...

Just make sure you get rechargeable batteries cos they don't last long.

Where did they get that Amazonian???? Is it tough?????

A digital camera is a creative tool, whereas a dslite is usually not.

I am thinking of getting ds one for his 4th birthday.

I got DS a real digital one off ebay for his 4th birthday, as he loved taking photos with other people's cameras and that was the only thing he asked for for his birthday. He would have not been happy with a kid's one.

He is very proud of his camera, looks after it, uses it properly, and 18 months down the line it is still in poerfect condition and gets used on an almost daily basis. It was well worth the investment.

Maidamess the way I see it, it is a creative form of artwork like painting or drawing, and if a child shows an interest it's never too soon to encourage and nurture that interest.

we have this one DS1 got it for Christmas last year.
he loves the freedom to take pictures he fancies..
we have flowers and trees and lots of shoes and pavements as he takes pictures as he walks along. but to me that is the joy of it being digital. I haven't been to boots and had a film developed full of pitcures I don't want. He has a little folder on the PC with his pictures in it.

DS1 is 4.5 if that is any help.