VTech Kidizoom Camera Review

Oct 16 2007, 12:00am CDT | by Shane McGlaun

If you have a digital camera and kids, you have at some point had your kids begging to take pictures with your camera. The problem is that digital cameras are fragile for the most part and kids aren’t exactly careful with sensitive electronic devices. VTech has a digital camera just for kids that is called the VTech Kidizoom Camera that is durable enough to give to your kids without fear of them breaking it in 5-minutes. Read the full review for all the details on the VTech Kidizoom Camera.

Gallery

9 images

Benchmarks

Features & Specifications
The VTech Kidizoom Camera has a 0.3-megapixel sensor and a 1.8-inch LCD screen on the back. A double viewfinder makes it easier for kids to align shots or they can opt to use the LCD instead. The camera includes a USB cable for connecting to your PC and a cable that allows connection to your TV.

Onboard photo editing options allow for adding frames and effects to images taken with the camera. Onboard memory is 16MB, which at the low resolution of the sensor means the camera can store about 200 photos or up to 5 minutes of video. Memory expansion is via an included SD card slot in one of the grips.

Power for the camera comes from four AA batteries. Kids can play three games on the camera LCD as well including tic-tac-toe, memory matching game, and a rotation puzzle that uses stock images and the images taken with the camera.

Kidizoom Camera in Use
The grips on the camera are large and easy for kids to use. They were a bit large for my daughter who will be three this month. The blue bottom on the top of the camera for the shutter release was a bit of a stretch for her fingers. My 6-year old son had no problems shooting images with the camera controls. If your kid has small hands, they can also trigger the shutter by pressing the OK button on the rear of the camera.

The controls are large and easy to use, the four way D-pad on the read is used for cycling through effects like hats, weird eyes and noses while shooting still shots. When in video mode the D-pad scrolls through previously shot videos so you can play them back on the LCD.

Under the LCD are controls for the volume of the onboard speakers and power. A large red “X” button is to the right of the LCD for deleting photos and videos not wanted. Under the D-pad is the control for changing the camera mode and a power button I under the LCD as well. On the rear of the camera is a covered USB port for connecting to your computer. This cover was difficult to open because the door is small and the port is recessed into the camera.

I ended up using the end of the USB cable to open the door and then plugged the cable in. The difficulty opening the door is actually welcome on a camera destined for young users that like to fiddle. Neither of my kids was able to open the USB cover, which means it’s less likely to get crammed full of Crayons, Fruit Loops or dirt.

The grips that hide the batteries and the SD card slot require a screw driver to open, which is again a very nice feature since kids can open the camera up and get debris inside. The SD card slot is most welcome, I put a 2GB SD card I had lying around inside the camera and after my kids shot six short videos and about 350 photos thee was still 1.88GB of space on the card. Interestingly the SD card shows up in "My Computer" on my Windows XP machine as CANON_DC. Apparently, the camera uses CANON components.

The effects in the camera allow you to add things like pirate hats, Viking helmets, pig noses, rabbit ears and more directly to the images. Image quality on the camera is far from what adults would consider good. The 0.3MP sensor lacks details and all image shot with the camera have a fuzzy look and lack sharp detail. Onboard flash is welcome on what is essentially a kid’s toy, but the flash is so bright it over-exposes most images. Close-ups using the flash end up being blown out white blobs frequently. Even shots from about six-feet away using the flash tend to overexpose faces.

The image quality doesn’t matter to kids though, my son and daughter were so proud of the pictures they took with the camera that we have gobs of them printed out and hung on the refrigerator. What I am saying here parents is don’t let the image quality scare you off, it’s a toy after all. The games on the camera are simple and most kids can enjoy them.

Durability is fantastic on this camera. My daughter dropped the camera onto the tile floor several times, whacker her brother on the head with it and generally did things that would have destroyed normal cameras and the VTech Kidizoom Camera never faltered. You can let your kids play with this camera without fear that your $60 investment will be broken on the first day.

Verdict

Conclusion

Pros

Very durable
SD card slot
Built-in editing and effects

Cons

Image quality is lacking
Flash over exposes virtually all images

Verdict
Parents if you take lots of pictures and your little shutterbugs want to get in on the action I strongly suggest you over look the image quality on this camera. Most kids won’t care and will be very proud of the pictures they shoot with the VTech Kidizoom Camera. The VTech Kidizoom Camera is very durable and great fun for kids to play with.

9.0

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Shane McGlaun
Leading our review center, Shane knows technology inside out. His extensive experience in testing computer hardware and consumer electronics enable him to effectively qualify new products and trends. If you want us review your product, please contact Shane.
Shane can be contacted directly at shane@i4u.com.