The Best Digital Cameras for Kids of 2023

This cute little kids’ digital camera made us swoon over its diminutive size, soft and grippy body, and its intuitive and easy-to-use features. In fact, this camera was so easy to use that we never once had to break out the instruction manual. Just take it out of the box, charge it up, and watch your kids snap away.

Out of all the cameras tested, the design of this one elicited the greatest squeals of delight from our testers. The soft rubber exterior not only looks adorable, it has a comfortable and grippy feel and makes the camera nearly indestructible. If you’re looking for a digital camera for kids that will encourage young shutterbugs to hone and develop a love for photography, this is the camera you absolutely should buy.

What we liked best about this kid-friendly digital camera is that it puts photo-taking above all else. That may seem like a no-brainer, but the most common complaint with kids’ cameras is they can be so stuffed with games that they do nothing to develop foundational photography skills.

The Kidamento Model K, however, was obviously designed by photo buffs. This point-and-shoot camera can take photos up to an astonishing 48 megapixels, making it a formidable option as far as image quality is concerned. We also liked that it looks and feels like a shrunk-down DSLR, yet is automated to get the best possible photos for a young child who hasn’t yet honed their photography chops.

A large viewing screen allows kids to easily frame their photos, and cute little frames, icons, and emojis allow kids to put their personal stamps on picture taking. We love that it has a built-in selfie mode (because kids love a good selfie), and it also comes with a brilliant little app that allows you to easily download pictures to your phone or tablet over Wi-Fi.

The f/2.8 lens ensured that all photos we took were crisp. And the intuitive touch screen is laid out in a way that will most easily translate to a more complex camera, once your budding paparazzo is ready for a more challenging piece. It’s perfect for their small hands, too.

A kiddie-take on a GoPro, the 5-megapixel Prograce is a tiny, mountable camera housed in a waterproof and shockproof plexiglass casing, making it a solid choice for young adventure-seekers with a budding interest in photography. It comes with a full suite of mounts and has HD video functionality, making it a great, well-priced option for young adventurers.

The burst shooting function makes it easy for kids to capture the dynamic movements of their friends, but we found the photo quality to be only so-so. The overall appeal of the Prograce had more to do with capturing video while playing hard. This is a fun little camera that can shoot from the back of a skateboard, a surfboard, or the handlebars of a bike and is compact enough to go anywhere your kids’ adventure takes them.

The Olympus Tough TG-6 lived up to all its claims of durability, usability, and so much more.

As good for entry-level photographers as it is for seasoned shutterbugs, we were pleasantly surprised that the Olympus Tough TG-6 turned out to be one of the easiest to use right out of the box. The zoom buttons on this 12-megapixel camera were easy to master and the video button was intuitive, even for a child as young as 6 years old. We loved that this camera was so instantly gratifying that our testers were immediately hooked.

While this was incredibly usable and kid-friendly, this is no kiddie camera. If this camera is bought for a kid that’s ready to get technical, they’ll love the bright wide-angle setting. It’s at the top of its class for waterproof compact cameras, making for excellent underwater and low-light photography.

We also love that this camera can really grow with kids, allowing for easy upgrades with lens adaptor packs, including a fisheye, a telephoto, and a ring flash adapter for macro photography. This feature was unique to this camera versus other compact waterproof cameras we’ve tried, increasing its longevity.