Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/12/11
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Jayanand's question about the most suitable camera to give to a young child deserves a better answer than we Luggers gave. The best way to learn photography is to take pictures. A lot of pictures. Forget about the old cameras in your drawer, even the Leicas. Too much prior knowledge is required about the mechanics of photography to make it a good learning tool. Loading the film, setting the exposure and focusing are all challenges. In fact forget about any camera using film. For a child a day's delay between clicking the shutter and seeing the picture is intolerable. I have five grandchildren, all 12 or under and their span of attention is measured in minutes rather than days. The best camera I have found for a young child is a cheap digital P&S. I favor the Canon brand but any other will do. Many models are available using AA batteries, a real convenience, and costing less than 100 USD. Optical viewfinders are favored by children. Sad to say these have almost vanished from the more expensive P&S cameras intended for adults. Children's eyes can tolerate the small peepholes. Kids snap a lot of pictures and can see the results immediately on the digital screen. This is important. Every few days an adult can extract the memory card and load the pictures on a computer to view them on a big screen. Finally, kids will drop cameras or find other imaginative ways to ruin them. The low cost of a basic P&S camera makes replacement tolerable. A good camera alternative is a later model iPod Touch. The iPod camera is actually better than the early Leica Digiflex. But even the cheapest iPod is a good deal more expensive than a P&S. <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Kid_s+camera.jpg.html> Larry Z