Camera for a 3 year old

markrichardson

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My 3 year old daughter is constantly keen to take photos with my camera, my phone etc. I thought a camera would make a nice Christmas present but torn between buying one designed for children that age and buying a cheap small (probably second hand) P&S. She's perfectly capable of taking a photo with a phone and with my Fuji X-T1 (in auto! and with some help holding it).

Would welcome the thoughts of anyone who's bought a camera for a young child.
 
My daughter and son both had VTECH ones. The image quality is awful but the interface is geared up for kids and the camera is packed full of gimmicky stuff that kids like. They're quite expensive for what you get but unlike many toys etc... we've had a good value out of them.
 
We let the grandkids play with a very old Canon powershot. They did get a few interesting images, mainly with fingers covering the lens. That is another thing, children tend to get sticky fingers on the lens. Oh, and dropped a lot. I suppose a few of us adults, have done similar with our cameras. :)

You will be able to get something for a tenner, in most second hand shops.
 
What about an old phone like a Nokia?

Then she can see the pics she took on the small screen and they would also be stored - probably wouldn't even need a Sim card as long as it had some memory or a memory card.
 
A friend of mine bought a cheap used Canon P&S from FleaBay for her son who was taking an interest at a similar age - he is now nearly six and (using the same camera) is developing a good eye - takes after his mum! Yes a lot of his shots are straight in the bin (like mine!) but he has a truly creative approach to composition and gets some really good shots.
 
My 3 year old daughter is constantly keen to take photos with my camera, my phone etc. I thought a camera would make a nice Christmas present but torn between buying one designed for children that age and buying a cheap small (probably second hand) P&S. She's perfectly capable of taking a photo with a phone and with my Fuji X-T1 (in auto! and with some help holding it).

Would welcome the thoughts of anyone who's bought a camera for a young child.
A list of cameras that says, " The 8 best kid friendly cameras to buy in 2018". The rundown even says " perfect for kids, three to nine years old". :)

https://www.lifewire.com/best-kids-cameras-493410
 
)Just bought my great nephew and niece V-Tech ones for Christmas ( both coming up for 3 yrs old), I've read nothing but good about them but buy a memory card + spare batteries if you get one.
 
There is an RX100 MKII on eBay at the moment with the title as Sony Camera

Could go for cheap enough to be worth giving to a 3 year old if nobody spots it :)

Edit: Just seen it's up to £31 now with 2d to go so looks like it's no longer a hidden gem ha

It was at £5 for a while
 
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Thanks all! In the end I picked up a Fuji XP170 for £30 new - waterproof, drop proof etc. She's used a similar size camera so confident it will be good.

Thanks for all the suggestions!
 
There is an RX100 MKII on eBay at the moment with the title as Sony Camera

Could go for cheap enough to be worth giving to a 3 year old if nobody spots it :)

Edit: Just seen it's up to £31 now with 2d to go so looks like it's no longer a hidden gem ha

It was at £5 for a while

Tried to find this for my wife but couldn't track it down...
 
Thanks all! In the end I picked up a Fuji XP170 for £30 new - waterproof, drop proof etc. She's used a similar size camera so confident it will be good.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Result! I’ve bought an old Nikon S30 for my 2 year old son, a rugged/waterproof compact. He also loves playing with my Fuji (and 5D before that), so hopefully this will keep him entertained without breaking anything expensive.
 
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