Doesn't take great pictures, but still a fantastic product!
Written: Jan 01 '07 (Updated Jan 01 '07)
Product Rating:
Durability:
Pros: Durable, simple operation, intuitive for any child to pick up and immediately start shooting with.
Cons: Doesn't save the date? Picture quality is poor, but what do you expect?
The Bottom Line: If you want you child to have an easy to use camera to save his or her memories with, this is a very well-designed product, appropriate for all ages.
dmatsumo's Full Review: Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital Camera for Girls
We really wanted to get this camera for our oldest son for Christmas last year (wow, it's 2007 already?), but it was impossible to find at the retail stores. A while back, I gave him my old Nikon Coolpix to use, but it was just too complicated for him to use, even in point-and-shoot mode. It's difficult to explain how to hold a button halfway down to focus, and then push all of the way down to take the picture.
We got really lucky a couple of days ago, and just happened to walk down the toy aisle at a Target when we saw a couple of blue Kid-Tough cameras! I immediately snatched one up and bought it. At $55, this camera / toy is a fantastic deal, and I'll tell you why.
First of all, let's forget about technology for a second. The absolute-coolest thing about this camera is getting to see a bunch of pictures taken by your child. It's so funny when you look at the photos, because you know from the angles that they are being taken by a little guy running around the house. You also get to see what life is like from a child's perspective -- what's interesting, what they are doing, etc. It is really that cool.
As far as the design of the camera goes, Fisher-Price really did a great job with it in all respects.
First, your child can use one of two ways to frame an image. S/he can use the LCD viewfinder, or two lenses reminiscent of the ViewMaster toys you and I used to play with as kids. The built-in LCD is poor at best, featuring many less pixels than the actual image, and with far fewer colors (maybe 16 at most?). The two lenses work quite well and my son instantly got comfortable using them. With my old Nikon, he'd do really strange things. :)
Next, the user interface is extremely simple, as it should be. On the back of the camera, the power button is in the lower left corner. Holding it down for a moment will either power it up, or power it down. Each mode is accompanied by an interesting, yet appropriate sound effect. In addition, there are two arrow keys; pressing either of them immediately puts the camera in review mode, where you can cycle through all of the pictures. The LCD even displays the image index in the lower right corner! Your child can easily delete items by clicking the red button with the "X" on it twice. Perhaps my only complaint is that other (younger) children playing with the camera can unintentionally delete a ton of your child's photos. Finally, the shutter button is in the typical location -- on the right side, on top of the camera. Little hands will have no problems finding the button, I promise!
The other features that was really well thought out is the lack of a lens. It appears that they are using a pinhole camera, and that's definitely a good thing. If the imaging sensor is so low resolution (640x480 fixed), then why have a nice lens? More importantly, why WOULD you want to have a lens, when little fingers tend to get their prints all over every other camera's lens? I know that my camcorder and two digital cameras have prints all over them. The pinhole is also recessed so deeply that it's even more difficult for any accidental contact.
The automatic flash is also pretty nice, and is on par with the flashes from those disposable cameras.
The battery port and memory card aren't easily accessible, as they shouldn't be. You'll have to remove two screws from the bottom of the camera to reveal an SD card slot, a lithium watch battery compartment (for saving the image index, I assume), and where the 4 AA batteries go. I confess that I never read the manual, but I believe that there isn't a way to set the date on the pictures. I don't know what the largest compatible SD card is, but we have a 1GB card and it works great!
(Update on 1/1/2007) Silly me, I totally forgot to talk about PC connectivity! While I can't comment on Mac connectivity, I would expect it to be about the same. Simply use the included USB cable to transfer pictures off of the camera -- plug the mini USB end into the camera, and the standard Type B end into your PC, and the camera will immediately be recognized as a disk drive. Now all you have to do is move the files from the "disk drive" onto a local folder, and you're done!
I'm sure everyone wants to know what sort of pictures this camera takes. Let's just say -- it works. Anyone that thinks that a $55 piece of plastic is going to take pictures as good as a $200 Canon digital camera is insane, though. However, it is possible to take decent pictures with this thing! Just make sure that the subject matter isn't moving. The camera is set with an f-stop of 2.8 and ISO60, so it only works for still shots.
In summary, I'm really thrilled with this camera. Sure, the pictures aren't great, but you'll get to save some of your child's memories. It's extremely simple for kids of all ages to use (literally -- my cousin's pre-2 year olds could use it!), has a very durable housing, and doesn't have a lens to get fingerprints on! Way to go, Fisher-Price!
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