Mattel Nick Click - Digital camera - compact - blue translucent

by Mattel Inc.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• ASIN: B00002S5BT
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,493 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
  • #81 in Software > Children's Software > Art & Creativity
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 23, 2007

Product Description

From Children's Software Revue® -- "Subscribe Now!"

Kids had a lot of fun taking unlimited pictures with this digital camera and inserting the images into Nickelodeon games via the CD-ROM that comes with the package. The best activity lets children put their own heads on animated characters and then see themselves as targets in a pie toss game and other arcade style pursuits. This is like the Barbie Digital Camera, minus the pink packaging. The quality of the pictures isn't great (160 by 140 pixels) when compared to other cameras that are sold for about the same price, but the device is unusually easy to use and the software offers more opportunities for play. Children can also get creative with the camera by using their photos to make Nickelodeon-themed stickers, posters and I.D. cards.
Teaches: creativity, photography
Age Range: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 Copyright © 2000 Children's Software Revue

Amazon.com Review

A good, durable digital camera for kids? "Oh, sure," you're probably thinking. But Nick Click Digital Camera impressed all of us in the editorial group (generally used to seeing the grown-up relatives of this item) because it cut corners where kids don't need the frills and, most importantly, embellished where kids will find it fun.

The camera itself is sturdy enough with a great, kid-pleasing design: a purple plastic case, influenced by the iMac, and a lime green bungee-cord strap. The battery (a nine-volt, so be sure to stock up) needs to be screwed in, preventing kids from accessing to the only potentially dangerous part of this endeavor. There's a power-up button, a self-timing button, and the shutter release. Also, and most interestingly, there's the input port for the cable that connects to your PC.

Everything about this package is well designed: you can take 20 photos while connected to the cable, or six roaming unfettered, before you need to upload. This kind of freedom--matched with the package's relatively low-price--kept us deeply impressed with this software-camera combo.

The camera's software by itself is ingenious. One warning, though: you'll need to spend time reading through the user guide to explain all the icons to your kids--they're not terribly intuitive. But the robustness of the image-editing tools more than makes up for time spent. There are possibilities galore, even if the resolution of the images themselves can be a little muddy.

In the Publicity department, kids can create posters and e-cards to save and send to friends. (Our favorite was a Ren and Stimpy postcard.) If you're patient enough to take a series of pictures, the Director's Studio lets you make a minimovie. Nicktoon Props lets you overlay images of the Rugrats and other cartoon friends. The last section of the movie studio is the F/X wing, where special effects let you make minicartoons underwater or in space--with an implanted face on the already-provided bodies.

For budding artists, photographers, and directors, it's hard to imagine a better way for them to play. Nick Click Digital Camera will have you running for cover as they search for new heads to stick on the computer-created characters, but it's a worthy price to pay. Bravo to Mattel and Nickelodeon for truly understanding how cool technology can be. --Jennifer Buckendorff

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Does not work on Windows XP or Vista, March 11, 2010

By 

Bobbie Hughes - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mattel Nick Click - Digital camera - compact - blue translucent (Electronics)

This was going to be such a great gift for my 8 year old. It was even easy to install. However, it did not work on HP Windows XP and it did not work on HP Vista either. After I called the manufacturer, they could not help me either because this item is basically from 1999 and is considered outdated technically speaking. There is no software or downloads to make this compatible. So....save your money.