My daughter is 4 years old and she loves to take pictures. I am looking for a rugged, inexpensive, and easy to use camera she can learn on and have fun.

Any suggestions???

Hmm, try the Pentax Optio series.

Another option is a disposable film camera.

I'd probably go with a cheap digital rather than a film. They tend to take pictues of lots of stuff and film-based would be wasteful. I'd also stay away from P&S where the lens sticks out too long when you turn them ON. Also the weight could be an issue, most cheap digicams are bulky and are pretty heavy.

I bought my niece the Canon A520 last year, but she's much older than 4. It's a lightweight and relatively small.

Check out Steve's best cams and make sure you go to a store so she can hand hold it and she'll feel comfortable with it.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/best_cameras.html

Try the C300/310 from Kodak. Not the most advanced cameras, but it cheap, name brand, anddoes not have a retractable lens. I doubt that a 4 year old would need manual options, anyway.

Be careful! We just bought my 5 yr. old daughter her first digital camera and she dropped it after two weeks and smashed it to smithereens. :roll:I felt very comfortable in the decision to buy her one because she is so careful with her things. I must say I got my first lesson in "she's only 5"...my suggestion, stick with disposable.:-) Good Luck!

Yeah, kids are prone to dropping things. You can always buy or make something with a fat velrco strap that would strap around her wrist so if she does let go, it'll hang and dangle on her wrist instead of falling to the floor. Just make sure it's comfortable on her, and the camera is not too heavy. I wouldn't recommend something that goes around her neck, that's just asking for more trouble.


Good Luck!

There was one a while back I saw.. it was a barbie cam.. can't even remember where I saw it. It was all rubbery looking.