Starting kids on photography

nickchew · 12-02-2005

Hi all

I'm considering getting a camera for my 6 year old. She has a fairly good eye for framing photos and has been bugging me to let her use my DSLR. (Not likely!)

So... what would you recommend, preferably a digital cam (cos she gets a thrill seeing what she just shot) that is cheap enough as a christmas present for a 6 year old. (bearing in mind she is going to thrash it a bit huh!)

Thanks

Nick

bmattock · 12-02-2005

At the risk of not recommending a rangefinder...

A couple of years ago, I note my nephew was interested in photography at the age of 10. I gave him a Canon T-60 with a 28-70 zoom and a 70-210 zoom. I included a flash, a tripod, a shutter release, a carrying bag, and couple rolls of film. Bought them piece by piece, cleaned them up and tested them, and I think I spent maybe $50 on the whole thing all done. He still has it and used it recently when his older brother graduated from Army boot camp.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

bmattock · 12-02-2005

OOps, just noticed you said digital camera. Sorry! I guess just about any of them, really. Maybe the lowest-end Vivitar or Polaroid or Bell&Howell at Walmart that also has a LCD display, probably looking at just under a hundred dollars? I notice Walgreens is selling those types now as well, on wire hangers, so they're commodity items now, I guess.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

derevaun · 12-02-2005

The classic camera for a kid is a Polaroid. But, depending on temperament, it can dispove the old saw that film is cheap.

A digi would be fun & efficient, but they're famously fragile and prints are a nice part of the process.

What about a Pentax Auto 110 SLR? Small, light, hard to break, and the film is still available at the moment (and it's easy to reload with 16mm B/W).

RML · 12-03-2005

My girl is seven and prefers to shoot a simple P&S like the Oly Mju. She now and then shoots my Eos 300D but it's too big and difficult with the auto focus and all. She likes my rf cameras too but again she can't focus them so I have to pre-focus them for her. No, the P&S is just right for her. Not too long ago I got my wife and girl a P&S digicam. That's even better for her, and for my wallet (not having to pay for all those films).

VinceC · 12-03-2005

Do you have an older digital that you don't use much? We have an old Canon G1 that's five years old now and has long paid for itself and been replaced in everyday use by a newer G2. I've been letting my 7-year-old shoot with it for about a year now, though her attention span comes and goes.

ERV · 12-03-2005

My five year old adopted an older Canon digital elph that we had. She uses it around the apt. and we take it on trips for her. We wanted her to learn about framing and traditional (pre-digital) photography by composing through the viewfinder, so we told her that the viewfinder was for 'picture taking' and the screen was for looking at your photos. It also helps her to keep the camera steady and not have to look at both the screen and subject with the camera extended in front of her.
It amazes me what she sees and is interested in. We also like to look a photo books together and discuss the stories , images, ideas.
Its a lot of fun although everytime I get a small box in the mail she says, "what's that Daddy, another lens?"
busted.

nickchew · 12-03-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERV

everytime I get a small box in the mail she says, "what's that Daddy, another lens?"
busted.

Ha ha sounds familiar!

I find kid's perspectives in photography very interesting. Inevitably it is a bottom up view of the world that we seldom see by virtue of our height.

Here's a photo of me she took on my m6, prefocused at F2.8 1/30, I had expected more camera shake than this.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/phot...14252&cat=5135

I guess an older 3-4MP digital p+s would be a good start huh?

Thanks

Nick

einolu · 12-03-2005

I highly recommend an old Minolta Dimage X (there are a few variations, ranging from 2-5 mp). They are really small, indestrucable, have good battery life, and dont make you use scene modes.

danielnorton · 12-03-2005

I think the perfect kid camera is the Polaroid izone, super cheap, easy to use, film is very cheap (compared to regular Polaroid) and they have sticker film which kids love. I carry one around when I know there will be kids and just hand it to them and let them play with it, from 4-5 year olds to teens, everyone seems to love it.

nickchew · 12-03-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by danielnorton

I think the perfect kid camera is the Polaroid izone, super cheap, easy to use, film is very cheap (compared to regular Polaroid) and they have sticker film which kids love. I carry one around when I know there will be kids and just hand it to them and let them play with it, from 4-5 year olds to teens, everyone seems to love it.

The izone film I found was $15 for a box of 3 packs of 12 frames each. That's quite alot of a kiddy camera. Have you found a cheaper source?

Nick

keithslater · 12-03-2005

You need to be carefull with Izone cameras. There are 2 different ones now and the film is not interchangeable. The older Izone is the long one. The new one is the Izone 200 it is shaped more like a regular camera. I would get a Izone 200, you have a better chance finding the film. I did however see a older one for $1 at the Salvation army today.
I have 5 children myself. They all love photography. They share a izone. My oldest son has a point and shoot 35mm. Sometimes I have to remind them to bring a camera.

danielnorton · 12-03-2005

I've seen it as low as $10 for 3 (on sale) I generally just keep my eye open for deals like that and stock up when I see it cheaper, but I'll tell you, because of the development time, it becomes more of a project to shoot each frame.. they don't just run around snapping like crazy, it's snap.. pull the film.. wait while the magic happens, many times I'll talk with them about the picture etc, so 12 shots goes a long way in that sense..

anyway, it might be an option as a second camera, all RFF people need more than one camera right

Keep us updated, my niece just turned 10 and is showing an interest in photography, I'm thinking of getting her an older "peel apart" polaroid to shoot positive negative film with.

smileyguy · 12-03-2005

I remember seeing at our local large grocery store that they had little digicams for around $30 or so. I have no idea of the make or resolution but I considered getting one for my 7 year old daughter. She enjoys photography and used or older APS P&S for a bit until it crapped out. We would buy her disposables for special occasions when she wanted to take pics and that worked.

A little while ago we got lucky at my wife's work. Her communication's department was unloading 35mm cameras for $10 and video cameras for $20. I took my daughter down right away to sort through the stuff. The first one she picked out was a Konica Auto S3! She handed it to me (bad move!) and kept digging. She then found one she liked more which was a standard P&S with zoom etc. We ended up getting both of them and the Konica is mine now! They also had a bag of filters etc. that I picked up at no extra charge for the Konica. Great deal!

Then I found this place and my life hasn't been the same...

RObert Budding · 12-03-2005

I bought a cheap fixed lens Kodak p&s for my son, TIm, last Christmas (he was almost 6). He loved it - shot 189 images on Christmas day. About 3 days later, he asked, "Dad, where are my prints?" Time to sit and talk - pick the 10 best and we'll print those.

Well, he used the camera for a month and then put it down. Then a few months later, he announced that he wanted a camera like mine - a Contax IIIa. I said, "You can have a Contax when you are older." In the mean time, I bought him several film cameras: Olympus Trip 35, Olympus zoom p&s, Zeiss Ikon Box Tengor. And now an Agfa Clack is on the way.

Tim loves his film cameras. And he purchased a tripod with the allowance money he's saved. He loves photography!

Tomorrow we're going to develop his first two rolls from the Zeiss Tengor. And we'll print a few, too, as this will be his very first time in a darkroom.

Robert

nickchew · 12-03-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by RObert Budding

I bought a cheap fixed lens Kodak p&s for my son, TIm, last Christmas (he was almost 6). He loved it - shot 189 images on Christmas day. About 3 days later, he asked, "Dad, where are my prints?" Time to sit and talk - pick the 10 best and we'll print those.

Well, he used the camera for a month and then put it down. Then a few months later, he announced that he wanted a camera like mine - a Contax IIIa. I said, "You can have a Contax when you are older." In the mean time, I bought him several film cameras: Olympus Trip 35, Olympus zoom p&s, Zeiss Ikon Box Tengor. And now an Agfa Clack is on the way.

Tim loves his film cameras. And he purchased a tripod with the allowance money he's saved. He loves photography!

Tomorrow we're going to develop his first two rolls from the Zeiss Tengor. And we'll print a few, too, as this will be his very first time in a darkroom.

Robert

See...
Isn't this a great way to spend time with your kids?
I find it great fun talking to my kids about the photos they take. They have learnt that the black square in the viewfinder is not where the face is supposed to be! They love it when I tell them that some adults don't know how to frame pictures too.

Nick

Poptart · 12-04-2005

I'd go with a small film camera. The Oly XA-series is a very durable little machine in a perfect size for kids.

RObert Budding · 12-04-2005

I'm going to buy Tim another digicam - he can burn through film at an amazing rate! Remember, this is the kid who shot 189 images on Christmas day! And he wants a zoom now . . . So perhaps the Canon A610 (he's now pretty careful with his cameras). It should pay for itself in about 3 weeks!

Tim still prefers film, but we'll reserve that for his "serious" work. And we'll work together with the digicam to improve his technique. He can switch to film when his percentage of keepers gets closer to 60% (below 6% now).

Yes, this is a fantastic way to spend time with your kids. This coming summer I'll start shooting large format and I will teach Tim the Zone System. He's already learned how to use my spot meter. Once he's reading a bit better, why not have him calculate the needed exposures and development times? I'll validate his work, though.

Robert

fgianni · 12-04-2005

My daugter has a Casio GV-10, it's been dropped several times, soaked in water, and it's still working fine, a really Child-Proof camera. There is a GV-20 (newer 2 Mpixel model) on sale here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Casio-GV-20-bl...QQcmdZViewItem