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Choosing a Camera for a Young Child
By Cristina Mulberry
Many kids these days love receiving electronic items as gifts. A digital camera is often one of the first of such items that captures their imagination. Indeed, a camera can be a great gift as it stimulates a child's creativity, promotes learning, and the development of cognitive skills such as attention and concentration. Only a parent can determine when they feel their child is ready to handle a camera. For children as young as 3 to 6 years old, parents would obviously want to limit the expense of the device based on the potential for damage and the uncertainty of how much time the child will spend using it. Clearly, spending time with a child in learning how to operate any camera and providing feedback on their efforts will go a long way in assuring the safety of the camera and the ongoing interest of the child. The first task however, is finding the right camera. When a child as young as 3, 4, or 5 years of age is the recipient, there are some specific features to consider. In these instances, megapixels and sensors generally aren't the primary concern. Here are a few things to consider: -- Ease of operation. Ideally, the camera would have minimal controls; a shutter button and perhaps an on/off for the flash. Oversized buttons are ideal for such young users. -- Ease of handling. Children ages 3-6 will capture better images if the camera they use has a "grippy" exterior and dual handles. -- Durability. Face it, kids can be rough on things; dropping is certainly not unheard of. Searching for cameras designed to withstand such accidents is good pre-planning. Affordable, specially designed kid cameras are sometimes quiet rugged, and even waterproof. -- Ease of viewing. Kid cameras with "binocular viewing" are easier to use. Rather than peering through a single viewfinder lens and squinting, two eyed viewing is more natural. -- Ease of reviewing photos. A decent LCD screen is a gigantic plus just as it is for adults. Being able to see what the camera sees and to be able to review it immediately, is a great learning tool. Picture quality certainly matters, as does the quality of the flash and so forth, but for kids who are just starting out, having a rugged camera that is easy to use is more critical. Disposable cameras are sometimes recommended based on their low cost and certainly these can be tried, but if they don't have some of the features above, success may be limited for the youngest of aspiring photographers. Cameras such as the Fisher-Price Kid Tough Digital Cameras and even the Jazz UnderWater digital camera (and others) can be found for $50-$100. They offer reasonable photos, kid friendly features, and pricing that can meet most budgets. |
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The advent of digital cameras has allowed for our children many possibilities of creativity of a kind that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. What a great tool this is for stimulating the young mind and imagination! You deserve credit for bringing this to our attention.
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This intel was contributed by mulberry
mulberry
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May, 2012
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