Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Cameras for children

About a year ago, LOML and I decided that it would be a good idea to get Boo a camera for Christmas --- she was showing way too much interest in our (not particularly high-end) digital camera, wanting to take photographs with it, and we thought that if we gave her her own, it would be a great way to give her ownership of her photos, a sense of achievement.
Unfortunately, we were a year ahead of time. In my shortsightedness, we decided that we shouldn't spend too much on it, and neither of us considered the (really sensible) idea of buying a refurbished model.
We ended up buying a polaroid --- I forget the model number, but it was a really low end camera --- and the results have not been good. Its behaviour in low light is appalling, even with flash, and in good light it is out of focus most of the time. In short, avoid low end polaroids, in our experience!

Nonetheless, Boo has managed to take some remarkably fine shots for a now-five-year-old! I downloaded a hundred or so shots this afternoon (she had found the camera again after a hiatus) and of those, there were perhaps 5 really quite good candid shots of LOML and me. And considering that about 80% of the shots were rubbish because of the camera, I think that's a pretty good ratio!

It's almost tempting to spend much less this year on a much better camera for her:-)

Yours, in a David Bailey's parent moment,
N.

2 comments:

kenju said...

Before digitals came out, I gave my oldest grandson a camera; not an expensive one, but a passable 35 mm. He was forever running out of film or batteries! Now that digitals are much cheaper, I think it would be a good idea to give him another one. He did manage to get some good pics before.

carmilevy said...

I believe Fisher Price sells a digicam specifically designed for kids. It's won all sorts of design awards and is a very in-demand gift for the upcoming holiday season.

We're thinking about getting one for our 7-year-old. Our other kids have received our older digicams, and the results have been wonderful so far. They love following in our photographic footsteps!

Glad to hear you're having a wonderful Thanksgiving. I popped by from Michele's to send you our best on this important holiday. Even north of the border, we need to take time to give thanks.