amitymamaThe Attachment Parenting Community

momof3tots · 10-25-2009, 05:53 PM

My dd wants a digital camera and I was going to get her a used one, but she is really awesome with taking care of things, so I'm thinking that things might be better moneywise by her birthday in February, or if some other things come through.

What would you suggest for a 12 yo? I am on a scrapbooking board and I have gotten suggestions for the Canon SD 1200 is. Its 10 mp, but looks like mixed reviews on photo quality. We want good pictures, not blurry. She probably won't be taking many, if any pictures in the dark, so thats not an issue.

juliebelle · 10-26-2009, 12:45 AM

the canon point and shoots are all pretty great imo

i have an sd880

Canon_Girl · 10-26-2009, 05:00 AM

What's the budget?

If she's really into it and learning photography from the inside out, I'd suggest picking up a used dslr and a 50mm lens.

If it's just for random snapshots then a point-and-shoot would be fine. Many times blurry pictures are from low-light and auto settings or camera shake, which is a problem when you zoom in for closeups. Even the inside of your house would be considered low-light. Just an FYI.

That Canon SD 1200 IS would be a GREAT choice if you want to avoid blurry...because of the image stabilization. It's what I would get if I were in the market for a pocket camera in that price-range (actually fantasizing here LOL) or the one right above it, which is about $200.
Unfortunately I think you'd be hard pressed to find better reviews for a compact camera in this price-range. The propencity to have issues with digital noise in low-light, etc. is just the nature of the beast.

momof3tots · 10-26-2009, 07:55 PM

I have a dslr and love it, but she just needs a pocket point and shoot right now.
No budget at all right now, but hoping by February there will be.

3boysnagrl · 10-30-2009, 11:09 PM

My kids and I each have Casio Exilm cameras, and they have been just fine for snapshots. They have enough settings that you can actually get some really nice pictures.

And if she isn't printing out bigger than 5x7 occasionally, a lower MP would be perfectly fine. Mine is a 7.2 and prints just fine for snapshots. I know it could go larger, but I just haven't taken any that I wanted larger. So I wouldn't look for a large MP.

The features my kids use often: the video (optimized for YouTube), the black and white option and the auto. But there are a LOT of presets that they never even use.

Oh, and theirs were under $150, I think even under $130.