Holiday time is of course a photographer’s paradise for capturing family memories. I encourage the kids in our family to take pictures, which provides a great “kid’s eye view” into own traditions and activities–and the fact that my own favorites aren’t necessarily my kids’ favorites. Let’s just say anything involving cookies seems to make a snapshot-worthy moment.
Related: What are the best first cameras for kids?
While my tweens are old enough to work an actual compact digital camera, my 4 year old nephew can feel left out of the fun, so I looked into VTech’s children’s digital camera which could keep his own little creative fingers busy.
The Vtech Kidizoom Plus Digital Camera is, as you might have gotten from the name, an actual working digital camera with an 1.8 inch
color LCD screen, and it takes video too. The buttons are labeled with kid-friendly and intuitive symbols, and the large rubber grips on each side make it easy to hold.
The included photo editing software requires only basic computer skills to use, so if it’s the parents editing–as it well might be–it’s very simple, but little kids could also get a turn at the keyboard and have some fun with it.
I really like that there’s 256MB of built-in storage, because as we all know, preschoolers take a lot of pictures. Often of the floor. If your kid takes more than most, you can grab an optional SD memory card. Kids will also get a kick out of special effects that they can add in camera, or afterward with the software. It really is more like a first real camera than a toy, especially with a price around $50.
My 11 year old tween son would be challenged by the smaller set of features on this camera and frankly, he’s ready for his own first point and shoot. But for a young kid who wants some autonomy without getting his mitts on your DSLR? Very nice option.
Editor’s Note: This review is of an older version of this camera. We have updated the photo and links to a newer, more affordable option. Cool Mom Tech is a reward style affiliate.
I bought the pink one for my daughter for Christmas! She told santa she wanted a pink camera, so this one won 🙂
Hi,
Of course, I absolutely trust coolmompick and tech above all else, so I have to ask…
I loked into kids’ digital cameras for both my 5 year old and 3 year old, and it looked like the vtech had the best all around reviews. BUT, big but, I read problems with Mac compatibility for the software. As a mac user, this would, of course, be a huge problem, so I had my mom purchase Lego cameras for the kids instead (less kid-drop-it-safe for my 3 year old, but no mac/pc issues and rechargeable batteries). Do you know anything about this? Any input? Thanks so much!
Sara-
Thank you for your question. I connected with the VTech team to make sure I have the latest information. VTech’s Kidizoom Plus is compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 or above.
I also wanted to provide info for Windows users, so I found out the Kidizoom is also compatible with Windows 2000 SP3+/XP/Vista/7. The Kidizoom Plus was developed prior to the Windows 7 release, but VTech has tested the product with Windows 7 and it is compatible even though it does not state it in the users manual.
Sara-
You had such a great question about MAC compatibility for the Kidizoom Plus software that we decided to dig deeper.
I did see some questions on the web about MAC compatibility for the software.
I tested the compatibility for the Kidizoom Plus software with a PC so I contacted the VTech team about MAC compatibility. The VTech team replied that the software is compatible with MACs (and PCs). If anyone has an issue, they should download the software for VTech’s Kidizoom Plus from VTech’s website. The link can be found here:
https://www.vtechkids.com/download/detail_software.cfm?prod=KidizoomPlusCamera
I’ll also test the MAC compatibility for the Kidizoom Plus myself.
I already tested another model called “Kidizoom” by attaching the included USB cable to a MAC and it was compatible, I was even able to edit the pictures in iPhoto. But this model does not have software included – it has basic in-camera editing.
The Kidizoom and Kidizoom Plus are appropriate for preschoolers.