Logitech Clicksmart 310 Dual Cam ( 961189-0403 )

Webcam: Here is the camera's strong point. As a webcam, this camera works very well and seems to really hit the target for all of your webcam needs. It has a simple to use interface and does the job.

Digital camera: Here is the camera's weak point. The resolution on the digital pictures is not good at all. Very low quality, and if you try and take pictures in low light, you might as well not even bother. The camera has no flash so that is a low point as well.

Some other tidbits about the camera: The software that the camera comes with is very childish and unprofessional looking. Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy the camera because of this, but it's something to think about. Also, the camera turns itself off after 30 seconds of being "on" This feature saves battery power but can be EXTREMELY annoying in certain situations. (Like if you are trying to line up a picture or something just right, then boom! the camera turns off)

If you're in the market for a webcam and that's your main motivation to buy this product then I recomend it, However, if you're buying this product mainly for it's digital camera function I suggest you look elsewhere. A good webcam with a bonus feature of being able to take low resolution dig. pictures. That's the jist of it.

As a webcam it works fine, but again low lighting hurts the picture, even with the lighting boost turned on. Installation is as easy as it possibly could be and if all goes well (which it did for me) you should be using it within about five minutes. Pictures you take away from the PC are downloaded very quickly via the USB connection and getting them from the camera to the PC is simply a matter of plugging in and clicking one button.

It's a worthy buy and I'm very happy with mine, but don't expect miracles.

Anyway, as a kids camera it is wonderful. Kids love to take pictures but you can't afford to keep them in film and processing for what they want. If you buy them a film camera it feels like you are forever fighting them: "No honey, no one will want to see a picture of our mailbox." You are too worried about wasting film and processing.

With this approach you can turn them loose and you don't have to worry about anything. If they do take a picture they want to share, they can email it, and that's superior to what they can do with a film camera anyway.

I gave my son this as a point and shoot camera and purchased rechargeable batteries for him. He can click away to his heart's content and it doesn't cost me a thing.

The pictures upload easily to the PC where he can view them. It's also easy to email them to anyone.
It even takes small video clips you can email to others.

It also comes with some neat software. If you hook it to your PC it supports time lapse photography -- you know the pictures spread over hours or days that show you plants growing. Or if you want to produce your own claymation epic, there is a neat stop action photography option.

Here is the fine print on this camera. As a digital camera, it only records 320 x 240. It has no flash and its fixed focus.
Truthfully, the quality is not very good. Unless you hold it still (tough for him) it's easy to get blurry pics. Even when pics are clear they are at best web quality it's not anything you would want to make prints from. So this is definitely NOT adult quality. However, for kids the goal is to get a recognizable picture, not a piece of art. As a cheap way to let him take lots of pictures it is wonderful.

In summary, this is NOT a digital camera for adults, but for kids it's much better than any film camera you can buy.