Compact for a 6yr old actually getting quite good results?
Discussion
Morning All,
My 6yr old daughter has been using my ancient Olympus C750, but it has finally died, so I'm looking for something with which to replace it. She's getting quite decent results, so I'm certainly not looking for a brightly coloured kiddy camera, and would like some advice around the following criteria..
1. I don't want to spend more than £100 as an absolute maximum, and would prefer to spend less.
2. As a counterpart to the above, I am looking to buy second-hand. There's no point having something brand new for a 6yr old!
3. It should have at least a reasonable pixel count - ideally 6mp or above would be nice.
4. Having started her on using a tripod and remote shutter release, it needs to be tripod-mountable and have at least a timer facility.
5. The wider the optical zoom range, the better. Otherwise, she gets lens envy!
6. It should be nice and compact...
7. ...but shouldn't be compact at the expense of having a proper viewfinder and A/S/M functionality.
8. Last but definitely not least, the more rugged the better! It would be nice to have something drop-proof and water-proof, but I'm guessing this would put the cost out of budget?
Any recommendations gratefully received.
My 6yr old daughter has been using my ancient Olympus C750, but it has finally died, so I'm looking for something with which to replace it. She's getting quite decent results, so I'm certainly not looking for a brightly coloured kiddy camera, and would like some advice around the following criteria..
1. I don't want to spend more than £100 as an absolute maximum, and would prefer to spend less.
2. As a counterpart to the above, I am looking to buy second-hand. There's no point having something brand new for a 6yr old!
3. It should have at least a reasonable pixel count - ideally 6mp or above would be nice.
4. Having started her on using a tripod and remote shutter release, it needs to be tripod-mountable and have at least a timer facility.
5. The wider the optical zoom range, the better. Otherwise, she gets lens envy!
6. It should be nice and compact...
7. ...but shouldn't be compact at the expense of having a proper viewfinder and A/S/M functionality.
8. Last but definitely not least, the more rugged the better! It would be nice to have something drop-proof and water-proof, but I'm guessing this would put the cost out of budget?
Any recommendations gratefully received.
Simpo Two said:
I'm not sure why you'd really want 6Mp.
She was already getting frustrated that hers at 4Mp didn't look as good as mine (from a Canon 450D) when printed off at A4! Given the number of compacts that seem to be sporting 10Mp+ specs these days, I wouldn't have thought 6Mp would push the price up too much, would it?
Simpo Two said:
One thing to watch for when bying s/h is battery condition, ie holding a charge. You may need new ones so check they're available first.
I hadn't really thought of that. The C750 takes 4xAA which was extremely convenient. I just used to carry a spare set of rechargeables, and in the worst case, bought some disposables. I hadn't realised any compacts had proprietary batteries.She sounds good for a 6 year old if she's moaning about print quality
This might be a little more manual than you're looking for, but I was really impressed with my mums and the resulting picture quality. It also has room to grow, with full manual.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SONY-CYBERSHOT-DSC-V1-DIGITA...
It's a bit more interactive than the current breed of ultra slim compacts.
I liked it anyway
This might be a little more manual than you're looking for, but I was really impressed with my mums and the resulting picture quality. It also has room to grow, with full manual.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SONY-CYBERSHOT-DSC-V1-DIGITA...
It's a bit more interactive than the current breed of ultra slim compacts.
I liked it anyway
jon- said:
She sounds good for a 6 year old if she's moaning about print quality
It's only when she's doing a direct comparison alongside mine. The poor little thing is convinced it's because she's rubbish at taking pictures. She's not, but I'm not about to let her loose on my camera to prove the point!Probably almost anything fairly recent will do. Plenty listed under £100.
Do you like the small and dainty stuff with dedicated Li-Ion batteries or something a little chunkier that takes AAs? Have a look on the Canon Outlet site on on eBay. They usually have a selection going through. Typically 'refurb' but always with 12 months official Canon warranty.
For spare batteries try 7dayshop.com. The Lithiums seem to struggle to retain good charging ability after about 18 months no matter how much they are used. Is she happy to use the camera's screen for composition or does she like to use a viewfinder? If viewfinder then the choice is a little restricted anyway.
HTH.
Do you like the small and dainty stuff with dedicated Li-Ion batteries or something a little chunkier that takes AAs? Have a look on the Canon Outlet site on on eBay. They usually have a selection going through. Typically 'refurb' but always with 12 months official Canon warranty.
For spare batteries try 7dayshop.com. The Lithiums seem to struggle to retain good charging ability after about 18 months no matter how much they are used. Is she happy to use the camera's screen for composition or does she like to use a viewfinder? If viewfinder then the choice is a little restricted anyway.
HTH.
I think you're seriously limiting yourself with all those requirements. Drop-proof and water-proof compact cameras are fairly uncommon; adding an optical viewfinder and a manual and semi-auto exposure control to that list for under £100 is asking for a lot. My guess is that you're going to have to settle for one or two of those requirements and drop the rest.
SamHH said:
I think you're seriously limiting yourself with all those requirements. Drop-proof and water-proof compact cameras are fairly uncommon; adding an optical viewfinder and a manual and semi-auto exposure control to that list for under £100 is asking for a lot. My guess is that you're going to have to settle for one or two of those requirements and drop the rest.
I think you might be right there. 
The C750 UZ this is replacing actually did everything required except for the drop-proof, water-proof bits, so I'd thought maybe a slightly newer replacement for that (which was a good 6+ years old) would be an option, but I'm shocked at how many don't have optical viewfinders and A/S/M on them.
She might only be 6, and she's only just learning, but it seems pointless to teach her bad habits that she'll only have to unlearn later.
As it is, I'm now thinking I'll be better off doubling the budget, forgetting about the optical viewfinder, shortening the zoom requirement and getting something like a Powershot D10. Certainly not what I had in mind when I started this thread, but at least we'll both be able to use it for under water shots!
I'm vaugely looking for a compact camera and that D10 looked quite nice but the thing that put me off (apart from being too expensive) is that it only goes to 35mm equivalent of 35mm wide. I've given up completely on the idea of finding one with a good viewfinder; a 3" screen is obviously way more saleable. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any demand for a cheap 'enthusiast's' camera.
SamHH said:
I'm vaugely looking for a compact camera and that D10 looked quite nice but the thing that put me off (apart from being too expensive) is that it only goes to 35mm equivalent of 35mm wide. I've given up completely on the idea of finding one with a good viewfinder; a 3" screen is obviously way more saleable. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any demand for a cheap 'enthusiast's' camera.
Good points.I've just been taking a look at the Olympus µ 1050 SW. Available new for £100 inc. P&P on Ebay, waterproof, shockproof and at least extends to 28mm.
Canon Ixus 70 should be cheap enough and with optical viewfinder but not shock proof, etc.
Co-incidentally I have just been re-considering the D10 as a suggestion for my eldest who seems to have a lot of bad luck with cameras though these days the blame is laid firmly at the paws of her cats and their ability to upset large containers full of water. I suspect the reality is rather different.
Co-incidentally I have just been re-considering the D10 as a suggestion for my eldest who seems to have a lot of bad luck with cameras though these days the blame is laid firmly at the paws of her cats and their ability to upset large containers full of water. I suspect the reality is rather different.
Kermit power said:
SamHH said:
I'm vaugely looking for a compact camera and that D10 looked quite nice but the thing that put me off (apart from being too expensive) is that it only goes to 35mm equivalent of 35mm wide. I've given up completely on the idea of finding one with a good viewfinder; a 3" screen is obviously way more saleable. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any demand for a cheap 'enthusiast's' camera.
Good points.I've just been taking a look at the Olympus µ 1050 SW. Available new for £100 inc. P&P on Ebay, waterproof, shockproof and at least extends to 28mm.
They rate the D10 very highly. The Oly SW line have never quite been quite up to scratch image quality wise, being a bit behind a 'normal' compact as you can see from the review.
An even better bet than the D10 may be the panasonic FT1 (or TS1 if you're american). It's 28-128mm, waterproof and shockproof, and the image quality is about on par with the D10. It's smaller too. Can be had for around £225. I'm quite tempted to get one as a family compact so I can let my four year old play with it - she loves cameras, but I only have a D40 at the moment.
tybalt said:
Kermit power said:
SamHH said:
I'm vaugely looking for a compact camera and that D10 looked quite nice but the thing that put me off (apart from being too expensive) is that it only goes to 35mm equivalent of 35mm wide. I've given up completely on the idea of finding one with a good viewfinder; a 3" screen is obviously way more saleable. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any demand for a cheap 'enthusiast's' camera.
Good points.I've just been taking a look at the Olympus µ 1050 SW. Available new for £100 inc. P&P on Ebay, waterproof, shockproof and at least extends to 28mm.
They rate the D10 very highly. The Oly SW line have never quite been quite up to scratch image quality wise, being a bit behind a 'normal' compact as you can see from the review.
An even better bet than the D10 may be the panasonic FT1 (or TS1 if you're american). It's 28-128mm, waterproof and shockproof, and the image quality is about on par with the D10. It's smaller too. Can be had for around £225. I'm quite tempted to get one as a family compact so I can let my four year old play with it - she loves cameras, but I only have a D40 at the moment.
LongQ said:
Canon Ixus 70 should be cheap enough and with optical viewfinder but not shock proof, etc.
Co-incidentally I have just been re-considering the D10 as a suggestion for my eldest who seems to have a lot of bad luck with cameras though these days the blame is laid firmly at the paws of her cats and their ability to upset large containers full of water. I suspect the reality is rather different.
Ixus 70 was going to be my suggestion!Co-incidentally I have just been re-considering the D10 as a suggestion for my eldest who seems to have a lot of bad luck with cameras though these days the blame is laid firmly at the paws of her cats and their ability to upset large containers full of water. I suspect the reality is rather different.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-IXUS-70-7-1-Mega-Pixel...
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