Digital Camera for 5 Yr Old Girl. (Toy)

Any of the camera companies make cameras for $14.99. Vivitar comes to mind. I just saw that the other day. Fisher Price makes a digital camera but one is $50.00 and one is $80.00. I would go with the Vivitar. Look on Amazon. The memory cards are. Rey very inexpensive thru Amazon.

Kid's cameras simply do NOT take quality pictures. Not even close! Get a low end, regular digital camera. They have them for around the same cost as a kid's camera! My son (3.5) has a regular, low end camera.

A real one. Hands down. It doesn't have to be expensive ($50 or less, same price as Legos!)... But TRUST me on not getting a toy.

I'm a huge proponent of real cameras for kids. Here's why.

- Decent pictures. Which is really key. 6MP will take decent photos. Kids often take amaaaaazing shots (in a slew of bad ones), just because their perspective is different. But it has to be capable of taking good pictures to begin with. But BEYOND that, kids won't keep using something that takes bad pictures.

- Use!!! As in a good camera will get used for YEARS. The Nikon CoolPix I got my son on a cyber monday deal when he was 3 or 4 is still in use (almost daily), and he's 10!!! It was a $200 camera I got for $50. Even if it were full price, that's a steal. At $50? That less than $10 a year!

- Easy Button. Real cameras are made to be easy. You can download pictures easily, and well, with no wacky software to buy or weird cords/docks/etc that simply aren't made well. Ditto, real cameras are about 100 times easier to use than the clunky toy versions.

- Durability. "Kids" / toy cameras LOOK sturdy. They're not. They're cheaply made, which crappy parts. They break VERY easily (and when they break, you're up a creek). Real cameras have built in shock protection (and stabilizing, etc.). So they're actually a lot tougher. They're DESIGNED to be shoved in pockets, dropped on the floor, driven around in shaky cars, sat on, etc. And if a real camera breaks? You mail it in and it gets refurbished and mailed back to you (or a new one). Most of the tech holiday sales are over... But if you pick up a camera at a pawnshop (or Craigslist, or a hand-me-down)... So you don't have a warranty... They're STILL able to be fixed by the company (or repair place).

- Cost. Again. Not only cheaper in the long run even if you buy full price (I wouldn't)... But DO check with friends to see if anyone has an old 6MP (or 7,8,etc.) that they've upgraded. Hand me downs are free (or $20, etc.).

.... And ON the thought of handmedowns... If she's currently using your phone camera... You can get a handmedown PHONE. It doesn't have to have service to get plugged in and used as a camera :)

Something I've personally noticed, is that kids don't CARE if it's "new". They care about GETTING it. In fact, they'd rather not have to deal with packaging. As long as its wrapped, and works, they're ecstatic.

Get the cheapest adult camera you can find. There are frequently deals on Amazon or other places of last season's models. Every single kids camera I've ever heard of takes horrible pictures and will turn off your five year old.

For what it's worth, for their fourth birthday my girls received adult Canon cameras that cost $40 on a major sale ($150 the year before!) and have loved them every day since.

So my kids also love to take pics and they use either their DS's or the ipad. My 9y/o got a sweet video camera ($100 after the extra memory card ) that also takes pics. I went and bought a really cool $120 waterproof 'durable' but still 'toy' type camera one summer for pics in the pool and it wasn't all that great, honestly.

I think for the $ you are gonna spend to get her one, I personally would get one that pulls double duty, ya know?

~I spent a lot of time looking at cameras this holiday season and they are not that cheap. :(

I agree go with a real one that takes a card and is a mid sized for durability. Many have a battery that is special to the camera, but is rechargeable. To some degree more megapixels us better, but you may not need the 15-20+ that you might find.

I'd by a cheap digitial camera. We bought my son a toy camera, it was horrible, took horrible pictures, looked like a toy..he hated it. He is now 5, we bought a new digital camera last year and gave him our old done. He does great with it and is very careful (its an old sony cypershot - so it fits in his pocket and it's light weight). This way, when we go to the zoo and other places, i don't end up with 100's of shots of trees, the ground - or anything in between on my camera to delete. If it breaks, then we'll find a cheap one for him again, as we are still using ours.

Crayola makes a fun, child friendly camera. They were on zulily last month for $20-$45 depending on the package and such.
One of my 4 yr olds is into the same thing. She will grab my phone and take pictures of anything! Usually her sister or her toys, but I even have found pictures of the tv screen when her favorite shows are on.

We got our kids the kid tuff digital camera from fisher price. The kids can take all the pictures they want, and they can delete them if they want, or you can load them onto the computer. They come with an SD slot to expand the memory as well. They don't take the greatest of pictures, but it makes the kids happy that they can take all the pictures they want. And if they drop the camera it is no big deal, because they have a huge rubber surrounding around the camera.

My 4yr son has a V-Tech kidie zoom camera and loves it; and has done since he received it at 3.5yrs. His best friend wants to play with it all the time so I bought him one of the new models for Christmas for $20 (!) from Costco. The case is $30 but it is padded and has a strap so less likely to just leave it somewhere. Great pictures and video and very easy to use.

I know everyone is telling you not to get a kids camera but my vote is for one. We just gave my daughter, who is 4, a v-tech for Christmas. I knew she would drop it over and over again and she has a little brother who would do the same so that is one reason I chose this one. It takes GREAT pictures. It does not have a flash which is my only con to it so you can't use it anywhere dark. It takes great video as well. Easy to download, stores tons of pictures, has games, you can edit on the camera or on the computer. She's still learning how to use it properly. Her only problem is trying to hold it steady. She loves it. I actually got it at costo and spent less than $25.

You want something durable and that takes quality pictures. But here's the thing. Toy cameras are durable, but take lousy pictures. Real cameras take good pictures, but won't be durable if she accidentally drops it or gets it wet or anything else a 5 year old might do. I personally would wait a couple of years or so. She's still pretty little and I'm sure there's lots of other fun toys she would love. Save the camera for more of a "big kid" gift when she's around 9 or 10. If she's filling up your phone, just tell her to ask before snapping a picture and limit her. But that's just my opinion. :)

My 3.5yr old uses my old digital camera (Canon Elph series). It's small and light so it works pretty well for her, and we just make sure to put on the wrist strap in case she "drops" it. Take a look on Craigslist and see if you can find a used "real" camera...it will probably cost you less than a "kid" camera.

My DD has enjoyed her Lego camera. You can also buy a real, but low end camera for your DD.