Recommendations: cheap tablet with a good camera

verybigchris

I'm after some tablets for use in a children's nursery. All they'll run is an app that lets the staff record a child's development by taking photos, adding notes, ticking a few boxes and then uploading the data.

We're not looking for anything top-of-the-range (and I don't want to pay the Apple tax so it'll have to be Android) but a camera that can take clear pictures of kids running around indoors is a must.

Any suggestions of what to go for (and what to avoid)?

DCFC79

Cheap can mean a different price from 1 person to another so whats the budget ?

Second hand or brand new ?

victor2

How far have you thought it through? "Upload" the data where? Pictures of children on the internet can open a big can of worms...
Test the system with somebody's smartphone first - many have very good cameras.
Would it need a flash? If not, a Tesco hudl is a nice little "cheap" Android tablet with good camera.
As above though. What sort of budget are you looking at?

verybigchris

Budget was optimistically £60-£70 per tablet, with an eye on something perfectly good that's been discounted because a newer model's come out, or because it's a slightly less well-known brand. Obviously if we need to spend more we'll have to, but I don't want to waste money on features we don't need.

The Hudl 2 is probably top of the list so far, but I'm open to suggestions.

The app we'd be using is part of a service used by hundreds of schools and nurseries across the country so I'm relatively relaxed about safety & security, although we will be updating all our own procedures (eg. normally tablets are banned in the childcare areas).

Johnmcl7

Have you tried any of this out with any tablets at all so far? Everyone's definition of good quality is going to be different, personally recording a lot of motion indoors is the last thing I'd want to do with even a decent tablet as their cameras are usually still poor and that's a challenging environment for cameras.

John

trevorwat

2Simple software? School I work with bought some cheap Samsung refurbs off eBay..... Only issue was poor battery life so would probably go Hudl next time

Strider590

verybigchris wrote: »

I'm after some tablets for use in a children's nursery. All they'll run is an app that lets the staff record a child's development by taking photos, adding notes, ticking a few boxes and then uploading the data.

We're not looking for anything top-of-the-range (and I don't want to pay the Apple tax so it'll have to be Android) but a camera that can take clear pictures of kids running around indoors is a must.

Any suggestions of what to go for (and what to avoid)?

This sounds like a bad idea, if a rumour kicks off, these staff and I suppose you yourself could find yourselves with no business and a linch mob chasing you out of town.

2 years ago there was a photographer taking macro shots of flowers near a supermarket, some woman accused him of photographing her kids and then set about complaining about it on Facebook, a number of her meathead friends then went out looking for the poor guy with the intention of causing serious harm.

I've also been questioned by Police just for walking through a picnic area with a DSLR around my neck, 4 officers hunting a photographer through local woodland all because of some paranoid parents. They won't even turn up to most burglaries, but if you have a camera your immediately a pedo/terrorist.

Children and photos, just don't go there, seriously.