that age. My husband thinks all of his digital Nikons and the Samsung would be too much for a child to deal with. But he does have a nice Panasonic HDC-TM700 movie camera that also takes still shots. It’s smaller and lighter weight than his other cameras, fitting right into one hand, and it’s not hard to learn. And a camera that takes both movies and still shots would be fun for a child. But he’s planning to keep that camera—we have a new granddaughter we’ll be flying across the country to meet and photograph soon.

My husband’s Panasonic originally cost about $1,000 ten years ago; Amazon offers it used for $400-700 depending on condition. So that gives you an idea of the depreciation in case you decide to buy something used from B&H (very reputable, if you’re unfamiliar) or Amazon. With all of that said, you still might feel more comfortable buying a “very basic digital camera,” as you noted above, and move up to something better when she’s a teenager if she’s still interested.

I’m sorry not to be more helpful—I myself don’t know how to use *any* of this equipment! I’ll bet some of the actual photographers on here would give you good information if you post a new message, though. There are new cameras coming out all the time, and we haven’t bought a new one since we retired in ‘02! (Yes, the good stuff lasts...unless you fall down a hill and land on it, which he once actually did—a sad story on the camera’s part, and a sprained ankle on the human’s.)