VTech Kidizoom Camera Connect, Blue

Six months later and this camera is still going strong! We bought this in June for my then 3-year old. I'm an amateur photographer, and she requested a "real" camera for her birthday. After doing some research, we purchased this. This camera has surpassed expectations. It is incredibly sturdy, easy for a preschooler to use and fun. The auto-shutoff feature is great and a definite battery saver. She can easily grip it using the sides, and the dual view finder is genius for small kids. Did I mention it's durable? This thing has been dropped, kicked, bounced off the patio concrete and it's still going strong. There are some games you can play, but my daughter hasn't tried them. She wants to take photos like Mom, not play a gadget. And for that, it's perfect!The resolution on the photos is abysmal, but my daughter isn't exactly Anne Geddes. It's not like I'm going to print her photos off and hang them in a gallery and invite the mayor. We have printed out a few and if you keep the prints small, say 3x5 or even 4x6, they pass muster. To my daughter's less discerning eye, they are awesome! Your photographer and subject have to hold very still or you'll get lots of blurring, but I find that is a good thing to help my daughter learn concentration and patience.In all, this Kidizoom is a great product and I would definitely recommend it!

Before I bought this I did a lot of research and review reading. I took to heart the compliments and complaints both, and ended up buying this brand / model.I would like to address the complaints of the parents who thought two things in particular were issues.1: Picture quality : This is NOT the greatest camera on earth. But keep in mind the age it's targeted to. Very young kids who- most likely- aren't going to stand still long to take a picture anyway. Kids who like to take pictures on their parents phone (or what ever device) who just want the freedom to snap and click and grab moments without thinking about it much. Look, I see it like this - one thing the poor picture quality has done for my son is caused him to LEARN to be still for a moment - because if he Is, the camera has a chance to focus (very slow shutter speed) and his pictures come out better. I call that a win - anything that helps him slow down and exert intentional focus is a plus.2: The games : Many parents complain that a camera shouldn't have games. AGAIN - Think of the target age and market. My son plays the games, loves the games- all of which (as far as I can tell) encourage the user to take a picture of someone or something to use in the game itself. That is engaging, and totally uses the primary function of the camera. I see nothing wrong with that.It has volume control, which is a big plus. It has a large storage size and optional add on memory slot- also a big plus when kids tend to take a thousand pictures of the strangest things. (My gosh I remember how mad my dad got when we developed three rolls of film and he had ot pay for endless snaps of cats tails, the television playing cartoons, my foot... hah the money saved with digital for kids!!!)At any rate, it's been dropped and still works. It's been used, left on (with automatic idle turn off timer), it's been played with, Hard- and it's still on the first set of batteries and still has room for more pictures.All around, a Great buy if your kid likes to take pictures!

Photography is my hobby, so I was interested in getting my 4 year old a camera.The pros of this camera:-solidly built to withstand the inevitable drops,- double viewfinder which is great because kids at this age have a hard time closing only one eye- option to view pic on the screen- intuitive controls- ability to take moviesIf you are expecting the camera to take pics like your (adult) camera you will be super disappointed. Unless the child stands pretty still, the pics will be blurry and you need to be in a bright room or the pics are dark. BUT I think that for a child's first camera, this is still a worthwhile purchase. Personally, by the time my son is maybe 6 I would get him a real camera, but for now he is so excited to take real pictures and he doesn't seem to mind at all how they come out. He also loves taking video with it. I look at this first camera as a learning experience of how to properly hold a camera, learning to stand still when taking pics, learning to get everything you want into the pic (we've had a lot of cut off foreheads so far!).Bottom line: good intro camera for a 3-6 yr old child for the price.