Choosing the Best Camera for Your Child

Since Day 1 my daughter has seen me with a camera in front of my face so naturally she wanted to an “a-tographer”, too. Seriously, that is how she said it I never wanted her to say it another way!!!

So now your little-one (or teen) has asked for a camera for their birthday or Christmas…what do you do? What do you buy? Are they too small or too irresponsible for a camera? Here are some tips on finding the perfect camera for your kiddo.

Here’s my kid with her first little princess camera. I can’t handle the cutenesssss!!

There are loads of great little cameras out there nowadays so which one do you choose for your kid? There seems to be gear for kids of all ages which I think is pretty great! My first camera was a little Kodak point and shoot in elementary school and, boy, was I terrible!! There was NO way my dad would ever have given me an expensive camera!

Pre-School Age

1. V-Tech Kidizoom Due 5.0
About $50

This is a great little, durable camera for the tiniest of photographers. At 5 megapixels you will be able to print out your tots’ creations and display them for others to enjoy or to giggle at 10 years down the road.

These cameras have a little LCD screen on the back, covered with a shock-absorbing rubber and giant buttons for those little baby hands. As an added bonus they even have an MP3 player and some games on them for when the excitement of the camera wears off.

ELEMENTARY AGE

2. Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Instant Camera
About $90

These are cute little mini cameras perfect for your elementary-aged kiddos who are suddenly interested in taking photos of themselves and their friends. It even has a dedicated selfie-mode and mirror! And the instant photo satisfies their need for photos RIGHT NOW!!!

With several options for colors this little camera is light, durable and pretty user-friendly. The one downside I see would be that the film can be used pretty quickly and refills can add up.

TEENS (OR CLUMSY ADULTS)

3. Olympus Tough
About $450 but you can find older versions for much less

Okay, THIS is my all-time favorite camera!!! We actually used this on our honeymoon and several vacations afterwards. It’s no secret that I am the world’s most clumsy person so this was the perfect camera for me!! Not only is it shock-proof, freeze-proof and shock proof but it’s also completely waterproof. I’m not talking getting-stuck-in-the-rain waterproof but I LITERALLY attached this camera to my bathing suit and went snorkeling! And it takes great photos underwater!!

This camera is literally tough and can handle pretty much any environment. We’ve had it in salt water, pool water, hot springs, lakes, the Caribbean, Hawaii …. ALL OVER!! It has great filters, a large LCD screen, and you can even photograph on manual mode. Even as a photographer I just stick with auto because who wants to mess with settings on vacation?

This camera is awesome for teens since it is soooo incredibly durable….or clumsy adults like me!

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I really hope that peoples’ want for actual cameras never fades-out especially with the advancements in the photo quality on phones. I think it’s so important to encourage our children to be creative and think outside the box with their art. Using a device other than a phone not only fosters their creativity but takes away that additional distraction so they can really concentrate on what’s on the other side of that lens!!!