A Great First Camera

The A400 met our criteria of: Not too expensive, not too complicated, not too large or too small, not too heavy, with decent optics and enough pixel density for a good 4x6 print. Also, we thought it a logical product for a reputable maker of films to convert to in this digital age. So we weren't concerned we were buying from an unknown company, and we expected that the quality of the camera would be acceptable. The Fujifilm A400 has met all of our expectations. Our daughter has produced many sharp, clear images (and many not so sharp and not too clear images as well). We did need to purchase a large xD card to replace the small inadequate memory the camera comes with out of the box.

Last Christmas we chose the A400 to give to our 6 year old. A camera had topped the list in her letter to Santa so we began shopping.

From the first search we realized the enormity of the task ahead of us--there are a LOT of cameras out there to choose from.

So we sat down and made a list. Now, we felt, a six year old learning her way around a camera doesn't need a lot of complicated features. What our list boiled down to would have amounted to a Kodak Brownie Box Camera half a century ago.

She needed decent optics, simplicity of use and since this is a digital camera: Enough pixel density to make good quality 4x6 prints.

Naturally, we had to consider the price also. We found out quickly that some of these little digital beauties come with very big price tags.

Small size and light weight also played a role in our decision. It just wouldn't do to get her a camera, only to discover she wouldn't use it because it was too heavy to carry around all day or too bulky to fit in her purse.We began by eliminating too big, too expensive, and too complicated cameras.

Then surprisingly enough we eliminated a few we felt were too small. We were afraid she might have some trouble keeping track of some of the smallest cameras, and truthfully, some of the smallest were too expensive.
We had learned our lesson earlier when we bought a really cheap camera for her older sister. So we knew from the start that you could pay too little, too.

We also had to solve a non-hardware related dilemma. Her 8 year old sister has been using a digital camera since she turned 3. Her camera has only a 3 mega-pixel density. It was about the best anyone could buy when she got hers. We didn't want middle sister to have a significantly improved camera right out of the box on the first camera. So, we eliminated several more that fell within the price range for that reason.

All in all we are very happy with our choice and would recommend the A400 as a very usable digital camera.