Camera for a 5-yr-old

Well, you could get a disposable camera; can't get much simpler than that...

 

Disposables are bad. Nowadays we are living in a world where using plastic packaging and disposables are increasingly considered a crime against future generations.

Give this 5-year old a light fixed-focus camera without any controls. A Minolta x-700 is much too heavy and complicated.

And please constraint yourself imposing your hobby on other persons.

 

Instax camera and film. The 1 Hour Photo kiosk is just not fast enough for a 5 year old's attention span, not to mention keeping her on task to take 36 photos before you drive over there.

 

That is a good idea faberryman, because you can see an immediate result. I recently tried out a Fuji Square SQ6, but I wouldn't recommend it because it has too many control buttons. I guess a Mini 9 in a suitable color would do.

 

Many disposables are reused.

https://petapixel.com/2015/08/04/this-is-how-fujifilm-recycled-disposable-cameras-in-1998/

Please constrain yourself from making sweeping generalizations...

 

Amazing isn't it, but that is how they did it in 1998 when they were sold million-wise. Nowadays disposable camera's are incinerated and in the near future they are banned like drinking straws, plastic shopping bags and coffee cups.

 

Of course, no one could ever reload a disposable camera by themselves and give it back to the child.... oh wait...

https://www.lomography.com/magazine/248878-the-complete-guide-to-reloading-disposable-cameras
https://www.flickr.com/groups/disposable/discuss/72157594513963955/
https://lifehacker.com/125330/how-to-re-use-a-disposable-kodak-camera

 

Thanks Kino, I have still two camera's in stock and I'll try to reload them for fun (with XP2). So, make your grand-daughter happy with a disposable camera if you want, when they are still available (not for long).

 

I second the instax idea. If not that, then b/w film you can develop right away. At 5, waiting is a buzzkill. In fact, you can actually discourage her interest if you not careful.

And the X-700 might get a bit heavy for her. Though it has the advantage of being "like Grandpa's camera".

I tried a pinhole camera with my 7yo granddaughter. It did not hold a lot of interest.

 

In 2009 when my daughter was 6 years old, she's got an Instax mini 25 - all my other cameras were much to heavy / bulky for her tiny hands.
She loved the Instax very much - for her it was a great 'getting in' to photography. .Today she prefers my Polaroid Land camera 250 Automatic..

 

I'm waiting for Sirius to recommend a Hasselblad .
This one would be good: http://beacon225.blogspot.com/2012/04/vivitar-big-view-bv35.html

 

No workflow type was selected for this thread, so digital solutions are allowed I guess.

Another option could be a point-and-shoot digital camera and then print the photos on a Canon Selphy CP printer (10x15 cm). This is almost like the Instax idea but you get photo's on a much bigger format.

 

I just got my 8 yo grandson an Instax wide. He loves it. Don't blame me, but he is REALLY into film photography. I had given him a little old point and shoot digital to play with, which he dropped in a flash when he discovered my old film cameras in the attic. Ever since he has made me teach him more about aperatures, shutter speeds, film speeds, etc. And he made me set up all my darkroom equipment again.

 

In case you have an appropriate camera you could take some paper negatives with her. That would give some inside into the positive/negative thing and why things take time.

 

I'm with Billy Axeman. Start her out on d*****l photography. If that sticks, let her advance to film, wet plates, and Daguerreotypes. Who knows where that might lead? When Edwin Land's three-year-old daughter asked why she couldn't see the photographs now, her papa thought, "Why not?" The result was the Polaroid system.

 

instax seems to be the obvious choice.

 

110???
Or, you could just find a used 35mm point and shoot at a thrift store for a few dollars...

 

I would suggest (in this order) Instax mini, P&S digital, cheap and simple 35mm. FWIW, I have a couple of $5 bright yellow 35mm cameras that came with magazine subscriptions or something - focus-free, no exposure controls. My now 8-year-old has gotten some decent shots with one.

No way would I trust him to carry and shoot a full 35mm like the x-700. He's far too active for that. If your granddaughter is really "Hurricane Alyssa", I'd hold off for a few years on the Minolta.

 

Instax.

 

Another vote for the instax.

If you want a 35mm suggestion, I would say the Canon sure shot a1 or wp1.
Under water camera with auto aucus, auto advance. Bright colors. Easy to use large buttons. Rugged can use at the beach or whatever.

 

I gave my daughter an instax when she was 5. A year later, and she still loves it. The instant print is the right size for her hand, and we’re getting some fabulous keepers

 

What about a Speed Graphic?