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Blogging Real Simple: Digital Cameras for Kids

2008-06-10-kid cameras.jpg

Most kids are drawn to cameras at a young age. They want to take pictures "like mommy and daddy," but they need a slightly tougher camera. Real Simple has a few good choices.

We love how Kristin, the author of the post, shows off a couple of pictures from the height of her son. "...their pictures also give me an amazing perspective on their worlds. Photos taken at what is my waist height remind me what the world looks like from “down there” and multiple snaps of the cat, my husband, me and their favorite toys, shows me what’s important to them." Well said.

 
 

The Fisher Price Kid Tough Camera seems to be a popular choice for ages three and up and at a price of $70. It's great because it's digital so you can be choosy about the pictures you'll keep.

The three other suggestions are the Vtech Kidizoom, Disney Pix Micro Digital Camera, and Crayola Digital Camera. Find all the details at Real Simple.

Since it is outdoor month here at Ohdeedoh, how about handing them a camera and going "exploring" in the city or backyard. It'd be fun to see what they come up with.

Tags

audio, video & computer, toys - kids

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Comments (11)

It is easy to use, cute and well-priced, but the Vtech Kidizoom takes crappy pictures! I'd love to hear more about the picture quality of the other kid digital cameras.

posted by Alexandra F on 2008-06-10 12:09:33
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We have the FP one, and my daughter loves it. I agree - it is fun to see what they choose to take a picture of.

The FP one has two resolutions you can shoot at ... the one with the higher resolution isn't too bad (2mp, I believe?), but the card fills up quickly. I hear a lot of "Daddy, can you load the pictures on the computer?"

The one thing that is a little iffy is the flash - sometimes it doesn't recognize it needs flash correctly.

posted by Kaz on 2008-06-10 12:14:08
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I love the FP one. My little guy got one for christmas and well that camera was dropped, kicked, thrown, and put in the snow. And still takes pictures.

He does have a different perspective, but i got a bigger memory card and well every month I go through them and and delete the pictures of nothing. we usually end up with about 100.

The only negative thing is it takes 4 AA batteries. So rechargables are a plus.

posted by lesie06 on 2008-06-10 12:38:34
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I've read a few reviews, and the issue seems to come back to poor image quality, which is why we haven't bought one of these. I don't understand why image quality has to be an issue, since the only thing that needs to be different between a kids' camera and a regular one is the casing. I don't mind shelling out $100 for a good camera, but it's got to be good.

Instead, we've been letting our three-year-old use our small point-and-shoot (supervised, though he's pretty careful), and I agree: it's so amazing to see the world through their eyes. He's taken some shots that actually look pretty cool and arty.

posted by TammyE on 2008-06-10 12:38:37
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We just bought the FP one for our daughter's 3rd bday (she was killing me with the constant "I do it myself!" with our nice Sony digital) and so far she adores it. At her age I'm not sure that she cares so much how great the photos turn out, even though she does ask to see them after she's taken them, and we haven't downloaded to the computer yet so who knows? We did set the resolution to high and also put a memory card in it as the memory in the camera itself is just plain silly (something like 20pics in high res and 60 in low res). Initial verdict: she LOVES it. Final verdict: not yet in.

posted by MK Mom on 2008-06-10 12:50:45
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I bought the Kid Tough camera for my son for Christmas, and I wouldn't recommend it. I agree with TammyE - there's no reason why you can't put a decent camera into the kid-friendly casing. The resolution is horrible, and like Kaz said, the flash doesn't always go off when it should. My son is just about to turn 3, and I think I might get him a simple, grownup camera for his birthday. The Kid Tough is about $70, and there are definitely better cameras that can be had for the same price. I guess I'm lucky that my son is usually careful with his belongings, so I'm not too worried about him breaking it. (Besides, I've dropped mine before and it still works!)

posted by caitlen315 on 2008-06-10 12:51:16
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I have three very small sisters, ages 4,5,6 (long story...). Each of them got a camera around 3 years old. The now-6-year-old got a real camera with something like 3 or 4 MP. Takes decent photos, but broke within the first few weeks and had to be sent back to the manufacturer a couple of times and now has a quirk that it turns itself off every time a photo is taken and has to be restarted.

The now-5-year-old got a Fisher Price Kid Tough camera. The photo quality is terrible, but she can treat it like a toy with no problems.

The now-4-year-old got a VTech Kidizoom. Basically the same as the FP. Yes, the photo quality is terrible, but she doesn't know any better so she doesn't care. She just wants to take pictures.

Yes, we all wish that there was a normal, good-quality camera in tough, kid-appropriate packaging, but we will have to stick with the low quality ones until there is or they're old enough for real cameras. For now, they just want to take pictures, not be professional photographers. Leave the real family photo-taking to the adults.

posted by Aimi on 2008-06-10 14:57:34
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My 4 year old loves his FP. I don't care about the low resolution, he's just thrilled with the pictures he takes. The games are fun too.

posted by mjoe on 2008-06-10 15:20:04
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Our local Aldi had the FP cameras for under fifty bucks this past winter, so we got a bunch for our nieces and nephews (ages 3-7) and for other gifts. The kids all love taking pics and do so with varying degrees of success. Their parents like the durability of the camera. The high-res setting is comparable to a cell phone camera.

I was amused when the younger ones would take charge and gather everyone together for a group photo. Very grown up!

posted by Lisa K. on 2008-06-10 18:49:25
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Our son (3) has been taking great photos with the Olympus Stylus shock proof water proof camera for about a year now! While we didn't buy it for him we bought it with him in mind as he loves to play with that kind of stuff. I wanted a compact camera that he could use that wouldn't choke the first time he dropped it. We have taught him to be careful with it, but he doesn't always remember but it doesn't matter if he drops it in a puddle or off a table. Good as new! He has taken some excellent photos with it. I think people are just not expecting him to take a good shot so they relax and lose the posed expression. This has been one of the best things we have bought that he plays with and best of all - its not actually a toy.

posted by Miss_Shwee on 2008-06-11 18:39:54
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We were considering this product for our children (now aged 4, 6,7) but given the low quality and resolution we decided to go for a $99 Samsung 6 Megapixel camera. It's fantastic because it takes great photos and takes videos as well. My kids have now started writing their own blogs: ( www.funartbook.com and www.toysdesigner.com ) where they use the camera to take photos of their work and videos to share with family and friends.

The creativity that comes with giving children a camera at a young age is amazing - some of the things they think of astound you! Plus it gives you a bit on insight into the world from the eyes of a child.

posted by Amilelka on 2008-06-12 22:10:41
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