My 9 year old son wanted a gopro like his older 15 yr old brother. This Vision 3 Pro action camera fit the parameters for a first time camera for a newbie interested in videography. It has been one of the best Christmas gift purchases I made for my son. He loves it. It's been 5 months and he uses it for many different activities. I also bought the accessories for any action camera like a GoPro - made by Amazon, to add to my son's gift along with an SD card and a hard carrying case that Amazon also carries in stock at a very affordable price. We homeschool our 5 children, and when my son expressed interest in a camera, we took the time to teach him what was necessary to capture good photos and video. It's been a wonderful addition to field trips, park trips, beach trips, our backyard swimming pool photos. He uses it with the underwater housing and also uses it with a helmet attachment on bike rides that comes with an the additional Amazon accessories purchase I made for his gift.IF you are on the fence about buying this camera, read all the reviews and look at all the sample images. The images and videos are very clear on the computer. It's water resistant especially for a 9 year old and the battery charge is quite good. If I had to purchase one for myself I would for a family trip. It's that good and if you are new to the gopro camera technology - I would purchase this as it's a good starter camera to understand the mechanics and knowledge of a go-pro or action cam. Great for a birthday, graduation or vacation trip gift.