As above. For our son to have for himself. Thanks all.!
When they came out years ago, I had a Fuji and a Canon. Both were good. However, I just use my IPhone now.
My daughter is 21 and the "thing" for a lot of her college friends are the GoPro. She also has the new mini polaroid but mainly she uses her IPhone as well.
we have a cannon and since my flip phone takes crummy pics i usually use the cannon (power shot) its easy to use, and i am a dummy when it comes to cameras.so if your kid is responsible enough i would go with that one. i got mine for around 130$ and use it for all the field trips and outingw where the cannon rebel we have is too cumbersome to lug along.
I have a pretty nice Fuji that I bought, ohhh... 8 or 10 years ago. I haven't used it in yeeeaaars, though, because I just use my phone. That's what most kids use. If you (or he) are wanting to actually learn photography, well that's a different (more specific) question.
How old is he?
Is he likely to lose it or break it (and how upset would you be if he did, and would you replace it)?
An iTouch has a pretty good camera - we got one for our son when he finished 7th grade.
Besides having a camera he can store music on it and play a few games.
Our son has a docking station that doubles as an alarm clock.
It looks like a cell phone but it doesn't have a data plan, it isn't a phone and you only connect through wifi connections or a cable to a computer.
We've used it for vacation pictures with great success.
It's multi purpose useful, he hasn't outgrown it and he's had it about 4 years.
If you don't want it to do anything but take pictures/videos, there are a lot of digital cameras out there for a really wide range of prices.
It's a trade off between being compact enough to take with you everywhere vs storage space, lens/focusing options and other features.
A camera is only a camera - you can't do anything else with it.
If it's it likely he'll get bored with it quickly - don't get anything expensive.
Both of our kids (ages 7 and 9) have a Fuji FinePix XP80. It is waterproof, shockproof, freeze proof, and dust proof. It has decent zoom on it, it takes movies, it's easy to transfer pictures to the computer, and it plugs into the wall to charge the battery. I've been impressed by the quality of pictures they take. I know lots of people say they get great pictures with their cell phone cameras, but I rarely get pictures as good as pictures taken with a camera. Especially if I try to zoom in on anything. (But, being the daughter of a photographer I might be a little snooty when I comes to photos.) We got them at Target for about $100. It's a very simple point and shoot and I think a great first camera.
I had a Canon PowerShot until I upgraded to more than a point and shoot camera. It was a great camera! But, not waterproof or shockproof. Or getting left behind at a festival proof. :( I think it was a little closer to $150 about 9 years ago if I remember right.
Both would be good starter cameras.
About a month ago, I got a Nikon refurbished (looks brand new, not even a minor scratch anywhere on the camera) from Groupon. I had to play with it to know how to use it but it takes pretty good photos and short video. In some cases, it was too good. And it takes regular AA batteries--no charger to lose or not have when out and about. I paid about $65 total. We also have a Canon camera but I can never find the charger for the battery.
I like many, use my smartphone now but in the past I found Canon cameras to be pretty easy to use. You may try one of those. I know places like Walmart have them on display where you can test them. Good luck.
A Nikon or Cannon with over 12 megapixels can be under $100. Check eBay. Pretty easy to use also.
Are you looking for a basic point & shoot - pocket portable, simple, no fussing with lenses? Look at the Canon PowerShot ELPH models. They range about $100-$200.
https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/product...
I have a Cannon that I like that I was able to get a camera store for about $250. I've tried other brands (can't remember what they are right now) but I really like the Cannon brnd. In fact, my whole family has Cannon cameras.
You might be able to get a better deal someplace that sells more than just cameras like at Target or Walmart, but if you can, I'd suggest you might want to consider going through a camera store. the store Ii bought mine offered insurance for the first year I owned mine and it proved helpful the first month when the camera quit working. Come to find out, it was defective, and the store replaced it for free. Just something to consider.
I would also suggest getting a camera that is not a phone, just in case something happens to the phone. If you lose the phone, or have to replace it, then the photos are gnu. Plus, you have to keep paying monthly fees to use the phone, but once you've paid for the camera, that's it.
Good luck.
My girls use their iPhones.
I find no good reason to get a camera. My phone now does everything and more in good quality. Most kids wind up with phones in elementary school...even if they're hand me downs.
