Suggestions - classroom set of digital cameras?

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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on April 24, 2008 at 4:49pm

Last year we got the Canon Powershot S3 IS with grant money. They are more expensive than your budget may allow but we love them. Something to think about, how many cameras do you really need? Kids can each have their own memory card. I teach in a gifted pullout program (largest class 24 kids) and we use cameras a lot but I've never felt the need for all kids to have hands on at the same time. You are also limited by how many computers you have to "mess" with the images. Just a thought.

As I reread your post I realized the cameras are going to e spread out amongst classes---forget everything I said except that the Canon Powershot is brilliant. N

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Permalink Reply by Wade Welch on April 24, 2008 at 5:16pm

I'm not sure you can go wrong with a lot of digital cameras. Something I personally try to avoid is Kodak, mainly because all of their videos are recorded to quicktime format and I don't like messing with that.

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Permalink Reply by Stu on May 29, 2008 at 8:19am

I second you on that Wade. I have nothing but trouble with Kodak. EasyShare? Yeah, if you don't mind sacraficing your computer to Kodak software AND the intrusive Quicktime thing. I personally love Sony products. They are all compatible with each other, easy to use, and takes great pictures...

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Permalink Reply by Lorraine on April 24, 2008 at 7:36pm

The cameras that we chose are the Olympus Stylus 770SW. They are $300+ per camera. They are very durable and take excellent images.

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Permalink Reply by Britt Gow on April 24, 2008 at 8:24pm

Hi Rod,
Consider using rechargable AA batteries if possible - factor the charger into the cost and you will be saving money on batteries and reducing toxic landfill. My daughter's Kodak C513 5MP has served her well (she's eight years old). It was under $100 (without the memory card). Quicktime can be converted to mpeg or mp4 at www.zamzar.com and www.youconvertit.com.
Best wishes, Britt

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Permalink Reply by Jack Olmsted on April 25, 2008 at 9:27am

You may want to check out the toddler cameras that are now available like the VTech Kidizoom Digital Camera listed on Amazon for $59.96 (free shipping). It appears to have the "features" in your spec sheet.

I use a six year old Logitech ClickSmart 510 as a webcam that would also probably work for what you have in mind.

I would be interested in the camera that you select.

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Permalink Reply by Nicole on April 25, 2008 at 12:35pm

We recently purchased a bunch of Kodak EasyShare C613 for classroom use. It has 6 mp with 3x zoom (zoom is easy to use) It uses AA batteries and we used some of our money to buy re-chargeable AA batteries (better for the environment!) and a few chargers for the classroom. The camera are very simple to use and we haven't had any problems yet! I think the picture quality is good, all of our pictures so far have just been point and shoot and they turn out looking good.

The camera also take videos, although we haven't played around with the videos too much.

And its cheap-$75 on Amazon. Perfect for our budget, and it gave us the money to buy rechargeable batteries and memory cards.

http://www.amazon.com/Kodak-EasyShare-Digital-Camera-Optical/dp/B00...

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Permalink Reply by Carol Broos on April 26, 2008 at 5:24am

Easyshare C513 Kodak camera is around $80. It works great. I bought two for the classroom, then the tech dept bought the $400 version. The students had a hard time trying to figure out the $400 version. The lower the cost the less features. They take pictures around the school or themselves, so you don't need a lot of features. Plus, you only have a few minutes to show the student how to use the camera. With simple features, they get it.

It take AA batteries, I use rechargables.
Viewfinder
Yes, it has been dropped
memory card
Viewfinder - yes.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Noack on April 26, 2008 at 8:16am

I am a huge fan of Canon. This year our school foundation bought 6 Canon Powershot A460 cameras for the school They are very simple to use and do everything you asked. Cost around $100.

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Permalink Reply by Ian Grove-Stephensen on May 29, 2008 at 8:29am

What proportion of your pupils have cameras on their phones? Here in the UK it would be 100%. Personally, I would spend the money on something they don't already have.

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Permalink Reply by Stu on May 29, 2008 at 8:49am

Yeah, that would be the way to go, BUT, here in the good ole USA, at least in our High School;cell phones aren't permitted to be seen OR heard during the school day for ANY reason. Don't get me started on the reasons why.

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Permalink Reply by Ian Grove-Stephensen on May 29, 2008 at 9:15am

" Every pocketable device turned of is, potentially, a student turned off too. When you have seen the potential of persoanlised, seductive, delightful learning technology you simply want to give it all the help you can. "Learning" is our generation's contribution to a better tomorrow. Handheld Learning a core component of that. " Stephen Heppell

But you knew that.

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