Customer Reviews

Vtech Kidizoom Plus Digital Camera - Blue

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

Okay, because I'm easily irritated by parents that just don't understand simple parent things I am going to explain why this is a great CHILD'S camera. --But first I need you as a parent to understand some basic logic: Adult "toys" are not meant for children. Digital cameras are ADULT TOYS. This camera is a child's version of an adult toy. Comparing your camera to theirs is like comparing your car to their Power Wheels car. It just doesn't make any sense. With that said, please understand that this is a camera meant for children, it's primary purpose is to be durable.

~~~~ Pros ~~~~
1) This camera has been both dropped and thrown and still works. I've dropped adult cameras that have cost 3 times as much and they have never worked again. - This is my second purchase of this type of camera from VTECH. I bought the original one (an older version of this camera) for my classroom (I've been in kindergarten, 1st and 2nd with that camera) - one summer when I brought it home my son (who was barely 4 at the time) wanted to use it and instead of bringing it back and forth every day I got him one for his 5th birthday. Both cameras still work wonderfully (even after being used by over 100 children ages 4-9.)

2) Children love to use this camera (but they take pictures of EVERYTHING)

3) The camera automatically shuts off after a period of time - so IF the batteries keep dying on the camera it's very possible that the child actually uses it enough to run the batteries down. - The new one I bought has been used by 2 boys for over a month. They have taken 109 pictures, played the games, and played with the options on the camera. I have not had to change the batteries yet (Buying camera quality batteries is worth the investment).

4) Children can use the two eye viewer or the digital screen to aim.

5) When my son wants to use my camera I can remind him that he has his own.

6) You can finally get pictures of those people that won't let you take pictures of them - my grandmother thinks it's a toy so she will pose for the camera (she is the person in the family that will never let you take a picture of her so she covers her face and turns her head when she sees one - other people can't say no I don't want you to take my picture to a child. :-) It's great!

~~~~ Pros that can be cons and vise versa ~~~~
1) The battery compartments are secured with screws - This means you have to unscrew it to change the batteries (duh) - but it also means that your child can't get to the batteries, and it means that the flimsy plastic tabs that often break off on battery compartments aren't needed!

2) It's not rechargeable - then again I don't have to worry about charging the batteries, my kids don't have to wait for the batteries to charge, and this camera doesn't have *special* cord/battery that goes with this camera and is the *only* cord/battery that will make the toy usable again. -- BESIDES, lets look again at the power wheels toy with their special battery that needs to be charged. When your child wants to ride the power wheels, it's almost never charged, and after using it only a few times the batteries die and you might as well buy a whole new one because replacing the battery is so expensive. -- THANK GOD we don't have those problems with this camera.

3) The QUALITY of the PICTURES are FANTASTIC (for examples see: [...]) - when the child holds still long enough for the camera to do it's job. I would say about 60% of the pictures taken (by a 5 year old) are fuzzy because the child taking the picture won't slow down long enough for the camera to do it's job. About 5% are fuzzy for an adult. - I think someone said it needs a stabilizer, which I agree with. --However the content of a 5-year-old's pictures is approximately as follows:
50% are of nothing (the tv, the mop, the couch, the grass, the hose, the room)
30% are pictures of people (usually another persons shirt or part of their head & the child's own hand, lap, leg, etc)
15% are pictures are actually whole people - but the pictures are taken from the child's height pointed "up" to the adult (yes duh, but this is not the most appealing view of your self, trust me)
5% are actually good pictures that don't fit into the other categories.
-- so fuzzy pictures don't really matter that much. AND the child that can't slow down long enough to take a good picture, probably won't slow down long enough to care about if it's fuzzy or not.

4) There are a lot of options (It can zoom(a little), has picture editing tools, has games, has a slide show option, can take Video with audio, and it also has "settings") Giving the child all of these buttons to play with is sort of pointless, but they all enjoy adjusting the options. -- the children also need to be taught that the tiny symbol of the camera needs to be lined up with the red thing when they want to take pictures again (which isn't too hard to teach them.)

5) The on/off button needs to be held down for a while before it turns on. My son thinks it's broken because it doesn't immediately turn on. Then again it doesn't get accidentally turned on (like in a book bag or toy box)

6) The menu button (to switch between camera, games, options, etc.) is in a place that would be easily bumped by little noses. (But then again it's between the two eye viewers so it's protected from being easily damaged too..)

~~~~ Cons ~~~~
1) The QUALITY of the SCREEN on the camera isn't that great, but I also purchased a $50 "adult" camera (for a teenager) that had the same screen quality. - Does that really matter?

OVERALL, this camera is fantastic for any child that would proudly carry it around. If your child would feel embarrassed by carrying around a rather large toy-like camera, then I wouldn't buy them this camera. If he/she wouldn't feel embarrassed by the case, then all of the mediocre "cons" mentioned above and by others, are really just YOU being picky and getting in the way of your child's fun. The child will be thrilled to have a REAL camera that takes REAL pictures - and it takes abuse well.

we have 4 children and have had many "kids" cameras and have thrown many out that did not stand up to the abuse. This camera is the best!!! AND its for all ages. We first got a blue one for our 7 year old who LOVES it! Takes great pics and video and you can watch it all on your TV. Then we got the pink one for our 5 year old because she always wanted his. This Christmas we are now buying a new one for the 2 1/2 yr old who takes their cameras ALL the time and actually takes good pics with this camera. It is so easy and very durable and cute. Definetly a tried lasting kid camera!

I recently purchased this for my soon to be 5 year old. When it arrived, I took it out of the package and tested it out to see how it performed, and make sure it worked. I had fun with this toy! The pictures are not superior and are similar to those taken by a camera phone. They are not all that crappy, and this version (Kidizoom Plus) upgrades to 2.0 megapixels and has 5 instead of 3 games! I took the picture at night with only a light on and I could see the picture just fine. Yes it was a little dark compared to an adult camera, but visible and should be more so during the day. It must be remembered that this is a toy, and a quality one...it works just fine, and as a real camera. It is NOT a 10-12 megapixel adult camera, so don't expect it to perform like one. The photo editing stamps are great, they are cute and fun. The games and sound are clear and in color. Yes you must stand still to take a clear picture...the camera is only moving with you. Teach your child to stand still, if they can't then they're not quite ready for the camera yet... simple as that. The toy camera is durable and well-made...I highly recommend it! The only way you will be disappointed is if you compare it to a high-end functioning adult camera; and compared to other children's cameras, this one takes the cake! Unless you have introduced your child to a real adult camera with high megapixel quality, they will not be disappointed either! Knowing my son, I have no doubt this will be his favorite Christmas gift!

I purchased this camera as a Christmas present for a six year old. Before wrapping it, I tried its various functions and was unable to get the camera to connect to either of two Macs, both with OS 4 or above. The camera is advertised as being Mac compatible and that it comes with a "CD-Rom with Kidizoom Plus Photo Editor software." But, it turns out this is only for those with Windows. Mac users are directed to the V-tech website to download the software. However, the only software available is for Windows. I called V-tech customer service and was promised they would be back in touch, as soon as they could find a Mac computer to test my assertions. Not hearing back, I called after several days and only after speaking to a supervisor was the issue actually referred to their IT section. I was again promised a call back. A week went by and I called again. Sure enough, I was correct and, in fact, V-tech had no Mac compatible software, but it would be available in 2010! The rep didn't know when in 2010 and couldn't find anyone who did. The website now promises it will be ready in January.

I hope Amazon is concerned about this flagrant misrepresentation.

Length:: 1:35 Mins

When I or my son turned the selector knob to the "picture" mode, we expected it to stay in "picture" mode. It didn't. The concept of this camera is great. My son's and my experience with its actual operation was less than satisfactory. I just returned it today for a full refund.

Silly me. I thought what fun it would be to see things from my son's point of view! With a $60 price tag and good reviews I thought my son would actually be able to take *pictures* with this toy. But, it really is just a toy. Pictures sort of show up but the flash is so weak you can't make them out indoors and if you try to take a picture in the bright light outdoors all you get is whiteness. Also it is too slow to take pictures of anything moving, which makes it bad for a 5 year old who can't stand still. He still likes to *play* with the camera but if you are hoping to catch something from your budding young artist you would want to save your money on this camera to buy a cheap point n shot and replace it if he breaks it. How hard would it be to actually put a decent camera into a kid proof package? As he is going into kindergarten, our summer project is to make an ABC Book with photos he takes. Too bad we can't use this camera :(

Our son's camera does the exact same thing as "Scott C Moore" stated in his January 2010 review. The mode on the camera changes by itself when tilted forward or to the side. Unfortunately for us, our son did not immediately start playing with his camera until recently. When we attempted to return it or exchange it, it was already too late. We purchased the camera for our son in December (2009). It's February now. Two months old and the camera is unusable! Boo!! Will contact Vtech and update later.

We bought this for a last minute christmas gift for my 3-year-old. I was very excited about the price as I thought it was a great deal. However, after only a couple of days, the settings seemed to switch themselves when her hands weren't even near the 'Cassette' that controlled the settings. The batteries did seem to last longer than expected and the picture quality is a bit better than I expected. But the ever changing settings make the camera very hard to use. Overall, not too pleased.

I was initially delighted when our childcarer suggested this as a Christmas gift for my four-year-old. The sturdy-looking camera seemed well designed to help a small child learn how to take pictures and video.

Then my son discovered it has games on it. Now all he does is play games on it. If we had wanted to give him 24/7 access to mind-numbing, noisy games, we'd have bought him a Nintendo. We didn't, we bought him a camera. The designers of this product have seriously failed in my mind to create a product fit for purpose.

As to quality, one reviewer remarks gushingly that you can't compare a 2MP camera to a 12MP camera and shouldn't expect high quality pics in something like this. Come on, even cheap mobile phones have higher quality cameras these days. Sure, the kids won't notice right now but they will in a few years. 2MP seriously limits the value of anything good they take. And, frankly, its just really cheap of Vtech and I expect better. A few more megapixels isn't much to ask.

My main complaint, though, are the games--which effectively turn this into a non-camera digital toy. Which is why it gets one star. Vtech: more is sometimes less.

My daughter received this for Christmas. Although advertised as Mac compatible, this does not include the Mac software and the website states the software will be available next month. We cannot download and edit the Christmas photos she took yesterday. Deceptive practices by the manufacturer. What a shame, this is going back to Amazon.