Back in October I mentioned that several people had suggested letting kids use a digital camera to record the road trip for themselves. Although my 2.5 year-old understands the basics of using our regular camera with supervision, there’s no way a Canon, or any other “adult” digital camera, could survive the occasional drop, not to mention drool, sticky fingers and who knows what else, that she would dish out during regular use.
But these toddler traits aren’t a problem for the $40 VTech Kidizoom digital camera. Available in blue or pink, this toddler-tough camera features a two-handed design with non-slip handles to help children hold it properly. The handles also seem to help cushion the camera during the inevitable drops. Although our first sample stopped working (ironically while I was the one using it), the second one has taken a beating and continues to work fine. Included with the camera are a USB cord, audio/video cable for connecting the camera to a TV, software CD (Windows only), wrist strap, two interchangeable faceplates and a manual. The camera can be connected to a PC or a Mac, but only comes with Windows photo software.
After popping in 4 AA batteries and taking a quick look at the menus, I handed the camera over to my daughter. With a little bit of guidance she was able to begin taking pictures. And although the binocular eyepieces may be easier-to-use than a standard viewfinder, she preferred to use the 1.8″ LCD screen on the back.
A joystick on the back is used to navigate the simple menus after clicking the “Mode” button. However, moving the joystick without first pressing the button either browses previous images (up/down) or cycles through cartoon graphics that can be added to the image (left/right). This is a great idea, but the joystick is a bit too easy to hit by mistake and many of our first pictures had a cartoon Viking helmet in the middle of them because our daughter accidentally hit the joystick just before taking a picture.
Photo Quality
Photos taken with the Kidizoom will never be confused with those take with a more advanced digital camera. The Kidizoom doesn’t perform well in low light and is susceptible to motion in all but the brightest light. This leads toward “blotchy” or blurred photos in many cases. However, given the $40 price, I can’t fault the quality of the Kidizoom’s pictures too much. Still it’s something you may want to consider before purchasing. I’ve posted a collection of my daughter’s photos on Flickr to give you an idea of the Kidizoom’s image quality (as well as the things a toddler considers worth photographing). VTech also has a gallery of customer photos on their site.
Ironically, the weaknesses of the Kidizoom may actually help your child take better pictures as she gets used to working around them. In the last two months I’ve noticed that my daughter is choosier about her subjects and seems to bet getting the hang of holding still after she presses the shutter button. Both of these skills will serve her well when she is ready for her next digital camera.
Additional Features
The Kidizoom camera includes several features that will interest older children, including:
- Photo Workshop: As I mentioned earlier, the Kidizoom only includes Windows software. However, the camera’s built-in Photo Workshop allows you to add frames and stamps to your images, duplicating much of the software’s basic features. You can also add animations or voice memos (up to 10-seconds) to photos, but the animations can’t be saved and voice memos can only be played by going back into the Photo Workshop.
- Games: 3 simple games (Tic Tac Toe, Matching Pairs and Rotation Puzzle) are accessible from the camera’s menu.
While neither of these features is reason to buy the Kidizoom, they do add value to the camera. There’s also the movie mode I mentioned earlier. Although the movies are noticeably low quality, this is a nice bonus and a feature that appears unavailable on other toddler cameras.
Software
The camera comes with VTech Photo Editor, a Windows-only program that is an expanded version of the built-in photo tools. The software includes a larger selection of stamps and frames and the program can be used with any BMP or JPG file, not just those taken with the Kidizoom camera. The software can also increase the resolution of the Kidizoom images to 2.0 Megapixels, but don’t expect any drastic improvement in image quality.
Conclusion
The rugged Kidizoom is a great first camera for toddlers who are old enough to be interested in taking pictures, but still not ready for a “grown-up” camera. As long as you don’t expect the same photo quality you would get from a $100+ digital camera, it’s a great deal, particularly when you consider the fun you’ll have seeing the world through your child’s eyes.