The best kids’ cameras you can buy

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Photography is a fun and easy way to teach kids about creativity, and there’s no better way to start them on that path than putting a camera in their hands when they are young.
Kids don’t only want to be able to shoot stills and videos, though. They want fun features and sharing capabilities.
While most cameras will do the job, the GoPro Hero7 Black is the best for kids, thanks to its ease of use, versatility, ruggedness, and advanced functions for when they become more experienced.

Kids have the wildest imaginations, and a camera is a great tool for letting them unleash their photographic creativity. Sure, cameras are fun to play with, but it’s the images they take that are the most rewarding. Imagine a child’s eyes light up after seeing the pictures that they captured through a lens, come to life.

Of course, you wouldn’t want to give a young child an advanced camera that’s too complicated to use and pricey to replace. Depending on their age, you may not want to give a smartphone either. It’s not because smartphone cameras aren’t capable, but it’s because kids might do other things with a phone that you may not want them to be doing. And, a camera designed specifically for kids may be more toy than tech.

But buying a kid-friendly camera isn’t difficult, whether it’s for a 5-year-old or a preteen. The camera should be robust to protect against any accidental drops or spills. It should be easy to use, but it should have fun and unique features that make it special. If your child shows signs of being a budding photographer, consider a camera that can grow with them.

Ultimately, the camera should allow a kid to be creative and expressive.

The following are the best cameras you can buy for kids. How do I know? Having researched and tested cameras for more than 15 years as a consumer tech journalist — from low-end compacts to high-end DSLRs — I can recommend models which are the best models based on user type, including kids. In addition, I back my research with other expert and customer reviews.

Here are the best kids’ cameras you can buy:

Best camera for kids overall: GoPro Hero7 Black
Best underwater camera for kids: Olympus Tough TG-5
Best instant camera for kids: Polaroid Mint Instant
Best 360-degree camera for kids: Ricoh Theta V
Best advanced camera for kids: Canon EOS Rebel T6

Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.

The best kids’ camera overall

Les Shu/Business Insider

Why your kids will love it: The GoPro Hero7 Black is small yet mighty, can handle falls or water and live to tell about it, and it can be mounted almost anywhere you can think of.

There’s good reason why GoPro Hero cameras are the leaders in their category. Despite their size, the small cameras are capable of recording some of the best quality videos and still images. They are even used by Hollywood studios to film entire movies. The Hero7 Black is the latest flagship model in the Hero7 series. It’s more affordable than previous high-end Hero cameras, but it’s not lacking in performance and features.

In fact, it has the most advanced features yet. It can record 4K, 2K, and Full HD videos that look incredibly smooth and sharp, or take vivid 10-megapixel photos that are more than suitable for social media. It can shoot vertically, too, which is perfect for Instagram. It has one of the best gimbal-less internal image stabilization systems ever in a camera, and the responsive touchscreen has a revamped menu system that’s as intuitive as a smartphone. The killer feature is voice control. You never have to touch the camera to start recording.

For kids, the Hero7 Black is fun to use. The 33-foot waterproof rating means you can take it into the pool to capture some underwater action or try filming slo-mo or take fast-moving videos for some creativity. You can then upload that content natively to Instagram via the GoPro app on a smartphone.

With the numerous GoPro mounting accessories available, you can strap it to a helmet, skateboard, or even the family dog to capture unique points of view. The Hero7 Black is easy to use out of the box, but it’s also advanced enough for when your kids want to go to the next level.

You’ll also love GoPro’s optional subscription program. For $5 a month, GoPro offers unlimited cloud storage, hefty discounts on accessories, and lower prices for replacements.

I’ve tested and owned Hero cameras since the Hero3 series. In terms of longevity, I still use the Hero4, which came out in 2014, so the product has a long lifespan. There are people still using the original Hero camera.

Mashable’s Raymond Wong describes the image stabilization “crazy smooth,” while James Trews of Engadget calls it “the action camera for the social age” (i.e., kids). On average, the Hero7 Black garnered ratings four or more stars from reviewers and consumers.

Pros: Great image stabilization, robust waterproof body, easy to use, fun shooting features, 4K video, voice control, live streaming, basic-to-advance usability

Cons: Battery won’t last more than hour, older GoPro cameras are still great and may be cheaper

Buy the GoPro Hero7 Black on Amazon for $377 (originally $399.99)

The best underwater camera for kids

Olympus

Why you’ll love it: You can beat it, freeze it, and dunk it, and the Olympus Tough TG-5 will come out unscathed.

The TG-5 is a rugged point-and-shoot camera that can dive down to 50 feet of water, work in temperatures down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit, drop from a height of 7 feet, and stay intact under 220 pounds of pressure.

The camera is designed for adventure and travel photographers who want something compact and lightweight versus a larger DSLR. It has image stabilization, which is great for the 4x optical zoom lens. The lens also has a f/2.0 aperture, which means it can take in more light, and more light equals better picture quality.

The TG-5, therefore, is ideal for kids who may be a bit careless with their gear, but all those rugged attributes open up a new world of shooting opportunities — at least, places where smartphones can’t go.

Jim Fisher of PC Mag awarded the camera an Editors’ Choice award, adding that autofocus is quick. Digital Trends’ Hillary Grigonis recommends the TG-5, saying images are “sharp and punchy.” Ken McMahon of Cameralabs says “there isn’t a better rugged camera around.”

Having used Tough-series cameras since the original, I can say no camera maker is putting out rugged models that are as strong as those from Olympus.

Pros: Extremely rugged, fast lens, RAW support for post-editing

Cons: LCD resolution is weak

B uy the Olympus Tough TG-5 on Amazon for $399 (originally $449.99)

The best instant camera for kids

Polaroid

Why your kids will love it: The Polaroid Mint Instant Digital Camera not only prints photos for immediate gratification and sharing, but the prints’ sticky-back paper makes for fun decorating.

Instant photography, a medium once popular with baby boomers, is seeing a renaissance with millennials and younger kids. Our favorite instant camera is made by the company that invented instant photography, Polaroid.

The Mint Instant screams “we are for kids.” It comes in five colors and has a small, stylish, and pocket-friendly design. It uses a technology called Zink, which applies heat to activate “ink” already embedded in the Zink paper. Once printed, you can peel off the back of the photo and stick it anywhere your heart desires.

Despite its old-world approach, the Mint is a digital camera. You can save photos onto MicroSD cards, which you can later transfer to a computer for editing and sharing on social media.

I also love Fujifilm’s instant cameras, called Instax, but for the price, which also applies to the film, the Mint has a lower cost of ownership. Kids wouldn’t care about the price, but parents will appreciate the savings.

I was never a fan of Zink, but technology improvements in both camera and paper, which I saw at the 2019 CES show, changed my tune — it’s gotten much better. Caitlin McGarry at Tom’s Guide says the Mint “brings fun back to instant photo prints.”

Pros: Affordable, instant photos that double as stickers, compact and lightweight

Cons: No wireless or companion smartphone app, no LCD, short battery life

Buy the Polaroid Mint Instant on Amazon for $99.99

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