VTech Kidizoom Camera

The VTech Kidizoom Camera ($39.99 list) is a 1.3-megapixel point and shoot camera designed for small children. Its orange exterior is ruggedized to take the occasional drop from the tabletop to the floor, and while it looks like a toy, it will take decent if unspectacular pictures. It has plenty of fun sound effects, a few games, and enough on board storage to hold 1,000 pictures. While I think more kids will want to use a hand me down phone as a camera these days, the Kidizoom is a good introduction to using a "real" camera.

The Kidizoom looks like its predecessor from a few years ago, also named Kidizoom. It's got a rugged camera body with two large molded handgrips on the sides, and two viewfinder ports so a child can frame her picture with both eyes instead of using one. Both features make it easier for the child who is using a camera for the first time. The exterior is covered with grippy plastic, and it's well made, flexible plastic that's likely to shrug off the occasional drop to a concrete floor. The shutter button is right where you'd expect it, and the fixed focus lens means there's no focus lag to worry about. The new version of the Kidizoom has dedicated zoom in/out buttons on the right handgrip, which necessitates using the LCD viewfinder instead of the optical ones. The camera has a 4x digital zoom, standard for a camera in this price range.

The camera has a 1.3-Megapixel sensor, which is decent for quick snapshots, though a hand-me-down phonecam may have more pixels in its sensor. The pictures came out fine, with similar quality to phonecam snapshots. The Kidizoom's small LCD display was bright, but it could've been a little larger (there's a lot of blank plastic on the back of the camera). My four-year-old son didn't complain too much though, it's sufficient for the task at hand as well as for playing the three built in games. The LCD is also handy for framing the pre-loaded templates and filters that add a little whimsy to the digital pics.

The camera uses two AA batteries, and you'll want to replace them as soon as you open the packaging. Vtech's description on the side of the box state that the included (carbon zinc) batteries are meant for in-store demos rather than full time use. The camera's non-alkaline batteries soon discharge during normal use. For best results, seek out and install lithium powered AA batteries. The camera can also use rechargeable NiMH AA batteries.

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