Customer Reviews

Dora the Explorer Talking Digital Camera

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

We purchased this for our daughter's fourth birthday. While she was delighted with the Dora on the front, and likes the audio for each picture, she has trouble actually getting a shot that resembles anything. Now, some of this is the picture-taking skill of a four year-old child. Some of it is the quality of the camera. Even I found it frustrating to use as you MUST use the viewfinder and the viewfinder is not true. What I saw in the viewfinder was not accurately framed in the actual picture. You also have to be able to be very still to get a good shot, or everything is just a blur. Not something most kids this age are great at.

The only display on the back is a tiny window that tells the number of pictures left. The function abbreviations are confusing in the display, which allowed my daughter to accidentally delete the entire contents of camera. (This probably wasn't a great tragedy as I'm sure most of the pictures were just a blur.)

The camera does come with software, which you MUST install in order to retrieve the pictures. The software has some cute things on it, but even my husband and I were frustrated navigating it. (And it wasn't just that we aren't computer savvy--my husband's job is computers.) I won't be too harsh here, though, as these things really are just extras. The games entertained my daughter, but one of them was too difficult for her. Truth be told, one of them was too difficult for me to actually win!

Bottom line--would I spend the money on it again? No. My daughter understands that this is a real camera, but it honestly feels like a toy. We paid less for it than it is listed on this site, and we wouldn't even spend that on it again. In fact, we have an old Kodak digital easy share that we may just give her. At least that has a screen on it for her to view her pictures, unlike this where you have to upload them to the computer before viewing them. The camera will take 26 pictures on the highest quality.

Light, cheap piece of plastic garbage.

I did not expect canon quality, but for 30 dollars, I expected something a little more than what looks like a disposable $1 toy.

cons:

-the plastic on this thing feels like no more than 1mm, so cannot withstand a single drop

-it comes with a propriety cable, so if you lose it, then there is no way you can download your pics

- you need to purchase a set of miniature screwdrivers to install the batteries. The battery compartment is screwed down with a Philip head screw about the size of a screw you find on a pair fo reading glasses.

- there is no viewfinder, just a LCD which displays how much photos you have taken.

Pros:

- My 2 year old daughter likes it because it is dora branded

- pics are awful, so if you lose the propriety cable to download pics, it is no real loss

At the time of purchase, I also bought a pink 5.1 megapixel $39 vivitar camera for my 4 year old and I would recommend that you buy one of these - a real camera instead with video capability. Where you would get some use out of it.

For the price I paid, I didn't think this would work as well as it does! I got it last-minute, because it is really cute. It tells how many pictures you can take depending on hi or low resolution. We chose high res which probably picked up too much movement because 4 year olds shoot while walking. But she did get some very nice pictures during our Christmas gift exchange,and it did very well when she took close-up shots on faces. The software was easy to load, the cord to connect to the computer is included. And, it talks! She hears a cutesy comment with every click. We haven't even tried the games included in the software, that's a plus. So we let her shoot about 14 pictures, loaded them onto our computer hard drive and set Media Center for slideshow! Sure we got some good laughs at her first attempts at photography but for the money, we're really impressed! It was a perfect Christmas present for a little girl, and I had only bought it as a stocking-stuffer! awesome deal!

I bought this for a gift for my granddaughter so do not know how it works yet, but it is extremely cute and I know she will love it.

The camera has no digital screen, Dora's comments are way too quiet, the controls are confusing, and the in general the camera has a cheap "throw away" feel to it. Don't waste your money on this camera. Even four year olds can tell when a camera is a cheap gimmick.

I haven't given it to the birthday girl yet but it looks adorable and I hope it works as in description.