Children's Digital Cameras

[tyzzle]

I want to get my toddler a camera for easter to take on our trip with us. Does anyone's children own a kid's digital camera. Which will get me the most bang for my buck (tough, resolution, ease of use)? Thanks for any advice

 

[scrapnmom]

I don't have one to recommend but we did have a "kid-tough" camera that I would not suggest getting. It was heavy and took terrible pictures.

 

[Princess Roo]

Our kids and niece (ranging in age from 2 to 5) really enjoy the VTech one, and it's certainly durable.
It is heavy, and does not take great pictures, though (wasn't our goal...so we're OK with that).

 

[kathyell]

We have a PixJr camera. We got the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse one, but there are a few other versions of it, like a Disney Princess version. It is working well as a camera for my DD who was 3 when we bought the camera, 4 now.

Pros: Takes decent pictures, especially outdoors in brighter, natural light. Has a flash. You can add a small memory card to it so more pics can be taken before they need to be taken off the camera. Takes regular AA batteries so you can replace them while you're on a trip easily (if whever you are sells batteries.) Puts itself to sleep fairly quickly so the child cannot run the batteries down by forgetting to turn it off. Runs for quite a while on AA lithium batteries (the ones marked for use in electronics.) I used to think those were a racket, but they really do seem to last longer. Has a wrist strap so that it's hard for her to drop the camera as long as we make sure the wrist strap is around her wrist. The shutter seems to be easy for her to push, and she doesn't have to stretch her fingers to reach for it. The camera is sorta bulky, but it seems to fit well in her hands and has a good lip on the sides for her to grasp and steady it.

Cons: The flash is BRIGHT. I covered half of the flash with a piece of electrical tape and it still washes out some of the pictures she takes indoors. I would recommend the electrical tape maneuver, and cover at least half of the flash. There is a button you can press to put Disney characters in the pics and sometimes she presses it by accident and needs help to get it to go away. There is no zoom or any of those sort of features, but those would be over the head of a lot of the target market for this type of camera. If your kiddo is older, they might be frustrated by the lack of "camera" features like that. You need a small phillips head screwdriver to change the batteries or the memory card (if you use a memory card, you don't have to as the camera has a small internal memory built in for pics as well.) If you buy this camera and take it on vacation with you, make SURE you pack that screwdriver. (One of the shops at the Contemporary, the store with the pins, has one behind the counter. Also, the carts selling those light toys in the parks at night all seem to have a screwdriver with them too which you can borrow if you're in a pinch and you ask nicely.)

Overall I've been happy with the camera, and my kid is OVER THE MOON to take pics "just like mommy does". Here are some sample pictures. (Disclaimer: I chose pics that came out the best. You'll notice most of these are outdoor pics in somewhat strong natural lighting. A lot of her indoor pics come out fairly washed out unless she backs up from the subject quite a bit. The pics have been resized down a bit for message board posting.)

Here is a "good" indoor picture:

Good luck, I hope you find one that works for you!

 

[cassiez76]

i don't have one, but i've seen the fisher price one (i think) take a good beating by a friend of mine's kid. she said the pics were ok. didn't elaborate anymore though.

my camera when i was a kid was a 110!

maybe find a super cheap one on ebay...you know like a 2 mp or something that's a few years old?? something you won't mind if it goes missing or gets dropped.

 

[RyanFernandez]

Hi tyzzle, you can check out Disney pix camera, VTech Kidizoom Camera or Fisher price. These are all good options. The Fisher Price and the VTech cameras are of the same price and the quality of the photos and the ease of use make these two fairly comparable. Check them out!

 

[tyzzle]

Thanks everyone. I just found a Vtech Kiddiezoom at a Kmart that was going out of business for about 25.00. I figured I would get a good deal, and the reviews seemed okay.

 

[Iri920]

My kids have the VTech one and they really like it. They actually don't take too many pictures but they're always making their own little videos.

 

[PiperPizzaz]

We have the vtech zoom one and it is fine.
Edited: I see you bought that one...you got a good deal!
My DS loves putting funny pictures on us like mustaches and hats etc.

 

[Lisha1979]

I don't have one to recommend but we did have a "kid-tough" camera that I would not suggest getting. It was heavy and took terrible pictures.

I'm with Scrapnmom! My daughter has a kid tough camera and the pics are worse than cell phone pics =( I was so disappointed!
I'm looking for a better camera for my daughter and said to someone I don't want to pay over $50 for a camera for her. The Kid Tough Camera actually ended up costing me over $60 when I got it for her 2 years ago. I got the case and a SD card. Needless to say, u get what u pay for.
Yes they are durable but if u want to be able to print the pics do NOT get a Kid Tough Camera. Also they are a PITA to delete the pics