Inexpensive digital camera for child

[Disney29]

Hi:

My DD5 loves to take pictures. I want to let her have her own camera for our trip next month. She uses mine at home all of the time.

Does anyone know of an inexpensive digital camera that I can purchase for her. This way if she loses it or breaks it, it will not be such a big deal.

I would like to add it to her gifts that "Mary Poppin's" leaves on the roof top the night before we leave.

:earsboy: :earsgirl: princess:

[Nicolepa]

We have been looking for the same thing. DD wants one so bad for her birthday. On the really cheap end, you can get one, that's made for kids for about $30. I think its called Kidz Cam. I saw it at compusa a few months ago.

That won't work for us, because dh told her that she should get one that does movies too. So the cheapest real digital camera I've seen in the last month is the new Kodak EasyShare C300 for about $100.

[JaxCon]

My 7 yr old got one from xmas from office max - about $25 - pictures are fine but it has no memory card and so it only hold about 20 pics at a time, fine for home use, she knows how to download them to her computer to look at them but on avaction she would fill it in a a few hours.

I believe the Kidzcam works the same way.

[oogieboogie]

Have you checked Ebay or Amazon?

If you stay under 3mp and don't need all the fancy gadgets or even optical zoom, there are some cameras under $70 to be had at Amazon.

I found this one:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00008VSCU/qid=1116265942/br=1-3/ref=br_lf_p_3//103-6478703-6028604?v=glance&s=photo&n=499058

[mom24/7]

I just found a Kidzcam for my almost 5 year old at Walmart. It is going to be a birthday present in a couple weeks so I have not used it yet. But it looks simple. Has software. No photocard to remove. Has a cable to hook up to the computer and download photos. Nothing fancy. THey had blue and purple ones. $19.67 was the price the 4th of May. DS loves using mine and that makes me nervous so this will hopefully keep his hands off mine.

[Disney29]

I looked into the Kidzcam as some of you have mentioned. I looked it up on Amazon and found that it customers rated this camera very LOW! I attached the link to the reviews if anyone is interested.

So, I am still looking......

:earsboy: :earsgirl: princess: :mickeybar

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/B0002ZONRE/ref=cm_cr_dp_2_1/102-8018071-1581737?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=toys

[pjlla]

Not sure what is considered "inexpensive" for you. We bought DD a camera for her birthday (SHHH!... it's a secret). We got a pretty nice one for $179.97 with a $20 rebate, which would bring it down to $159.97. Got it at BJ's Wholesale. Hope she treats it well!.............P

[Forevryoung]

My $.02 is that get one of the $70-$100 cameras that has an external card and that will take decent pictures- ones that you would be happy with printing out and putting all over the house. She will want to take tons of pictures because there is no film and the great ones you can print out and actually frame.

I think its silly to spend $25 and get a camera that takes 20-30 pictures at a time before you need a computer, especially for vacation.

[MrsPete]

Does anyone know of an inexpensive digital camera that I can purchase for her. This way if she loses it or breaks it, it will not be such a big deal.

This isn't a digital, but Eckerds has a deal that's good for kids. They have a camera that's basically one step up from a disposable that sells for about $10. You buy it already loaded with film, then you take it back to Eckerds when you're done. You pay for the developing, and they fill it up with new film -- free. You can't refill it as many times as you want during that year; the only stipulation is that you must let them do the developing (you can use their coupons to save on developing). If your batteries need to be replaced, they do that for free too.

The camera must be opened with a special tool, so don't think you could cheat the system; you could probably open the camera, but you couldn't close it again.

If digital is important, you can have ANY film scanned onto a CD disk at Eckerds (probably other places too). They charge about $4 for this service.

[headoflife]

It was the Sony A330, and we picked it because it was a Consumer Reports Best Buy. It is 3.2 megapixel, autofocus, and lightweight. It seems fairly easy to use and was arounf $100, though I have seem some go for less. This seller was in my area, so I saved on shipping. She paid for it with her own money, doesn't ask for much, asnd tends to be pretty careful. She also agreed to lend it to us sometimes, since our family camera is older and only 2.1 megapixel! Good luck!

[granmanh603]

I think I saw a Kodak 3.2 megapixl for $99 in the Sunday flier of Office Max. I know there are always close outs in the stores when the upgrade the model , I have seen that in Walmart recently. Also I just read something about reconditioned electronic equipment being a good deal. Often they are tested and then resold for less. Check on different sites for those too. :earsgirl: :goodvibes

[elliemae1192]

I got a 2 mp Concord duo 2000 with a view screen (which is importand for kids so they can delete mess ups) for about $35.00 after shipping. This camera sells at Target for around $90.00 if you want to buy it new. It takes a multimedia or SD card which you can get pretty cheap. My daughter is 8 and LOVES hers. She's taken it on 2 Disney trips and had a blast. It takes pretty good pics too and has a video mode but no sound with the video. Got my son a 3.3mp Vivitar on ebay and the Concord takes better pics. :confused3

Also check Overstock.com. They usually have some good deals on inexpensive digital cameras.

[daisylove]

Just to report. i got the kidscam for my DD5 for our dec trip. She loved it and took picture after picture but hardly any were actually captured. The picture countdown never worked. And the set up is very limited as to what you can do once you get the pics on the computer. Picture quality was beyond poor. I wasted the $$ that could have put towards a better one that I will get her this year. Also still have not decided what one to get.

[mareed]

I was looking for digital cameras for my DS's a few months ago, and got them the Hewlett Packard Photosmart 635 at Circuit City. They now have it online for $75. It's a 2 megapixel with 3X optical zoom. Any of the others I looked at in this price range had no optical zoom - only digital which is worthless. It uses an external SD card. I haven't had any prints made yet, but they should be fine for up to 4 X 6 prints. Reviews on this camera mentioned poor battery life, but we used rechargables and they lasted all day!

[UrsulasMyHero]

This isn't a digital, but Eckerds has a deal that's good for kids. They have a camera that's basically one step up from a disposable that sells for about $10. You buy it already loaded with film, then you take it back to Eckerds when you're done. You pay for the developing, and they fill it up with new film -- free. You can't refill it as many times as you want during that year; the only stipulation is that you must let them do the developing (you can use their coupons to save on developing). If your batteries need to be replaced, they do that for free too.

The camera must be opened with a special tool, so don't think you could cheat the system; you could probably open the camera, but you couldn't close it again.

If digital is important, you can have ANY film scanned onto a CD disk at Eckerds (probably other places too). They charge about $4 for this service.
You still have Eckerds? In the state of Florida they are no more. CVS purchased them when Mr.Eckerd died. *sigh* I do miss those stores.

[Disney29]

Thank you all.....

I am going to stay away from the Kidzcam, that's for sure,
:earsboy: :earsgirl: princess:

[mickeyluv'r]

This is a great idea. WE gave our nephew our old camera. You might try a tag sale or asking a relative if they have an older one that they no longer use. While disposible cameras are a good option, digital ones work much better, IMHO, because youcan choose which prints to buy. You can get digital prints for $.25 or less - and there is no developing fee. Kids don't always take the best pics, but out of 150 - there are usually some real jems - unique pictures from the eyes of a child. With a big photo card, they can take almost unlimited prints.

Sometimes you can get a free camera through credit card rewards programs.

[Sherrilatte]

I considered myself lucky when my head wasn't sheared off in our family vacation photos, so let's not even go there as to whether my parents would have shelled out money for a kiddie digital camera! :earsboy: LOL

[clubpeck]

I purchased two digital cameras for my daughters at Toys 'r Us. They were $19.99 each and were in the electronics section. I found that they we much less expensive than traditional cameras since I didn't have to pay for film development. Hope this helps.

[oogieboogie]

I think for home use, the $30 and below cameras are fine, but for vacation, I would go with a camera that actually takes memory cards (CF/SD/MMC, etc). Most of the cheapie cameras only have internal memory and at 8mb or even 32mb it doesn't take much to fill it up. With the way a 5yr is (mine is 4 and shutter happy), that would potentially be all of 30 minutes to fill up the internal memory.

Here's what I found at www.ecost.com
Camera: Dxg Technology NEW 3 Megapixel Digital Camera ( DXG-308 )
part #: 2599007
$70.99

SD memory card: EP Memory 128MB Secure Digital Card (SD)
part #: 2163120
$12.00 with a $5.00 mail in rebate = $7.00

Shipping = Free, S/H=$4.95
Total = $87.94

Or, there's also a bunch at www.smartbargains.com:
http://electronics.smartbargains.com/search.aspx?s=&ltype=0&edeptId=0&ecatId=0&deptId=2&CatId=29&fd=true&k=Cameras+%26+Camcorders&an=Type&av=Digital+Cameras&ev=0&evn=&sp=All+Products%2f%2f%2f%2fElectronics%7c%7c%7c%7c %7c%2f%2f%2f%2f+++++++++++++Cameras+%26+Camcorders&ob=pr

[MCazer]

Ok, this is a great camera, I had this one myself before getting a new Pentax.

Here is a link to someone on ebay that is selling one.

If she wants to print off 4x6 prints, it is great!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48530&item=7516574616&rd=1

[NCDisneyMom]

I agree to stay away from the Kidzcam. My ds got one for Christmas from his Grandma, and I agree with the other poster that the picture quality is beyond poor. Half the time it doesn't work. He still messes with it around the house, but I would not use it for vacation photos at all.

[yogibigdog]

Just back from the Disney cruise and I had the same dilemma before I left.
My son was almost 6 when we went. Last year I think I spent $70 for disposable cameras and having them developed from our Disney trip. I did a lot of research almost bought one of the inexpensive one that doesn’t have a memory card. Then I thought about quality. What if he takes that once in a lifetime picture and the quality is bad. What if I borrowed it because it was the only camera we brought to the beach? I bit the bullet and bought a Cannon. He took almost 300 pictures while we were on the cruise. Since he could take a many, as he wanted he had a blast. Took pictures of things that I would even think of and they came out great. I ended up using his camera when we only decided to take one camera to the beach. He was so proud of the pictures he took at Kennedy Space Center. He has picture he will cherish for ever.
I went over the rules for care of the camera and he did a really good job.
I think it is worth it to spend a little more and get the quality.
It would be great if one of the big digital camera makers came out with a rugged, weather resistant camera designed for kids. I think it would be a huge market.

[Nicolepa]

We just got back from Target. They have some decent looking ones for <$100. They aren't in the camera cases (where I'd been looking), but by the 35mm film. We ended up getting her a video camera that takes photos. It takes 2 mp photos, 16 mb internal memory and you can add a memory card. It was $79.

My dd is turning 5 next month. She is going to be so excited!