Canon Powershot G9 for a 5 year old

[stupar]

I have been given the chance to buy a Powershot G9 for £40 so was contemplating getting it for my boy as a beginners camera.

Is the G9 a decent starter camera and does £40 seem a fair price?

 

[Olympus593]

I think it's a great camera, I have one myself which I use as my take anywhere camera, previously i have used other Canon Powershots (A630 and A640) those do have the advantage of a twist and tilt lcd, display and i do miss that on the G9, the macro mode is really good, can focus to 1cm most other compacts seem to only be able to focus to 3cm. Of course the best thing about it is the manual mode so it's great for learning about shutter speed, aperture, ISO and so on, and you can do 15 second exposures. for 40 quid I think that is a steal, go for it!

 

[Rosedale]

I had a G9 for years - sold it but soon missed its versatility so I scoured the net for a replacement (G16). I managed to acquire one of the last made and am very happy with it. I have Fuji gear for 'serious' stuff but still find that the little G16 produces some lovely images. They were a great series of pocketable cameras.

 

[viewfromthenorth]

A 5 year old will have little interest in the technical side of the photography. They will just want to photograph the do, their toys, etc. Make sure they can get their hands round it - I gave my 6 year old my old canon compact and she struggles to hold it properly so that she can 'squeeze' the shutter release. £40 is a good price though as there is a very good chance they will drop / lose it if it leaves the house!