SophieVP
newbie
Reged: 15/07/2008
Posts: 2
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My daughter has asked for a digital camera for her birthday, bearing in mind she will only be 8 can anyone suggest a simple, easy to use (but good!) compact digital camera?
Many thanks
Sophie
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bench_ubbster
Bench Meister
Reged: 08/08/2006
Posts: 2598
Loc: Cambridgeshire, UK
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If she's anything like my 9 year old niece she will want something which can take a knock or two.
My niece has been using my GX-20 dSLR and producing some great shots. But that is hardly compact. However, it amazed me how quickly she got to grips with the basics, so she should be able to handle a compact no sweat.
What is the budget? May be something like this? or this
I'd go for a branded camera and these Olympus look quite substantial (I also remembered the TV advert).
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Master of the Bench and Global Ambassador of the Brotherhood of the Bench
Bench or No Bench
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daft_biker
Action Man!
Reged: 11/10/2006
Posts: 7170
Loc: Doon the glen
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Welcome Sophie 
How about one of these?
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Andrew (BSRIPN) ... Pics.
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LargeFormat
old hand
Reged: 24/10/2006
Posts: 1059
Loc: Buckinghamshire and Cumbria
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I agree on the Olympus SW series. Tough as old boots and a range to choose from.
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Bawbee
Stick'in wi'it
Reged: 06/05/2000
Posts: 6737
Loc: Dundee, Scotland, UK
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Come on guys, we're talking an 8-year old here. Andrew probably has the right recommendation with a 'Pink', after all it's a 'fad' at 8 and could only 'possibly' lead to a serious hobby.
By suggesting a 'serious' camera, you are jumping on the band-wagon that is robbing our youngsters of their childhood. At 8-years old, a toy is more appropriate - buy her a Sindy doll.
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Bawbee BSRIPN
"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."
Bawbee Louis Stevenson 1850-1894
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beejaybee
Marvin
Reged: 18/07/2007
Posts: 4444
Loc: Really Here In Name Only
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Quote:
By suggesting a 'serious' camera, you are jumping on the band-wagon that is robbing our youngsters of their childhood. At 8-years old, a toy is more appropriate - buy her a Sindy doll.
Ever heard the term "patronising"?
What's your main camera but a toy?
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Malcolm_Stewart
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 11/07/2005
Posts: 2380
Loc: Milton Keynes, UK
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Quote:
Come on guys, we're talking an 8-year old here. ...
By suggesting a 'serious' camera, you are jumping on the band-wagon that is robbing our youngsters of their childhood. At 8-years old, a toy is more appropriate - buy her a Sindy doll.
Hmmm.
By this age, in 1946 I'd made and demonstrated a slide projector to my parents, and gave them slide shows using 35mm film offcuts from our local cinema.
And I'd watched my father make gaslight prints in the blacked out kitchen. I'd also made my own contact prints using printing out paper.
A crystal set came later...
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Malcolm Stewart
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Nod
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 08/04/2006
Posts: 4169
Loc: Devon, UK.
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Quote:
Come on guys, we're talking an 8-year old here. Andrew probably has the right recommendation with a 'Pink', after all it's a 'fad' at 8 and could only 'possibly' lead to a serious hobby.
By suggesting a 'serious' camera, you are jumping on the band-wagon that is robbing our youngsters of their childhood. At 8-years old, a toy is more appropriate - buy her a Sindy doll.
Ignoring the 2nd paragraph, the first isn't such a bad idea as far as going for a pink one. Bearing in mind the possibility (or even probability) that it might have a bit of a hard life, how about the Mju 850, available at around the £150 mark. If the child decides she doesn't like it much, it'll make an ideal beach camera for the parents.
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MATWSIJ.....
To avoid being offended, please insert apropriate smiley.
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Benchista
Wich Tyler
Reged: 11/08/2000
Posts: 36969
Loc: Everywhere and nowhere, baby
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Both my kids (now 10 and 6) have variants on this theme; they've got models that were one generation old when I bought them, so pretty reasonably priced. These are quite respectable cameras that produce perfectly decent results, run on AA batteries and have stood up to the sort of treatment you might expect from kids of that sort of age - my daughter has had hers for about 4 years, my son for nearly 2, and both still work! The A460 is currently available "refurbished" (many are end-of-line) via the Canon outlet on ebay for around £35-40, which makes it a steal. Those Mjus are great, but it's a LOT more money.
Oh, and if I had bought my daughter a Sindy doll when she was 8, it would've cost me a trip to A&E to extract it... 
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Nick
www.nbrphoto.com
Light and Shade II - the new blog
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LargeFormat
old hand
Reged: 24/10/2006
Posts: 1059
Loc: Buckinghamshire and Cumbria
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Quote:
Andrew probably has the right recommendation with a 'Pink', after all it's a 'fad' at 8 and could only 'possibly' lead to a serious hobby.
The Olympus SW850 is available in pink. However, having had two daugters and now two grand-daughters I know I would have been killed if I'd given them anything pink.
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sjaszczak
A Real Gentleman
Reged: 08/06/2005
Posts: 1078
Loc: York
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Yeah, I think those that are mentioning £150 cameras have lost sight of who they're being asked to recommend for. There are plenty of cameras available for well under £100 that would be more than suitable for an 8 year old who isn't going to be concerned too much with the finer points of image quality!
Just a quick look at Warehouseexpress sorted by price will bring up plenty that would be perfectly suitable around the £70 mark (perhaps cheaper if you shop around).
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Steve
My Flickr
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daft_biker
Action Man!
Reged: 11/10/2006
Posts: 7170
Loc: Doon the glen
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FWIW I wasn't just suggesting a pink camera (it's available in other colours) but one that I think has good 'gadget appeal'.
A big compact with a small screen doesn't seem as 'cool' as a small compact with a big screen IMO. As Bob says it's about buying something appealing that an 8 year old will remember they own and want to use...something they can show their friends! I was going to suggest a Canon ixus or Sony T series as more expensive options (also available in pink I believe  ).
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Andrew (BSRIPN) ... Pics.
Edited by daft_biker (16/07/2008 13:37)
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SophieVP
newbie
Reged: 15/07/2008
Posts: 2
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Many thanks for all of the suggestions, you have all been a great help. (Apart from the Sindy doll suggestion!!)
Sophie
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nspur
enthusiast
Reged: 20/07/2005
Posts: 286
Loc: Derbyshire
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I would certainly go along with Nick with the suggestion for a Canon A series. I've just bought a reconditioned A570 IS on eBay from the Canon Store for £68 (for my wife who insists on an optical viewfinder to replace her Ricoh 1RV) and it looks like the ideal first compact.
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