Have a little photographer? VTech Kidizoom Camera Review and Giveaway!

Disclosure: I received the following product at no cost to myself for review purposes.  All opinions are honest and are entirely my own.

My kids love taking pictures! I guess they see mommy doing it a lot.  So we really weren’t surprised when our oldest asked for a camera for Christmas when he was 4 years old.

After researching pretty much every camera made for kids I settled on the VTech Kidizoom Camera.  The camera was a hit! My son–and his little brother, for that matter–loved it.  They took pictures of everything and everyone.

Unfortunately, after about a year and a half of regular use our VTech Kidizoom Camera found its way to a friend’s house and never returned.  My kids have been begging me to get a new one so when VTech asked me to review their new Kidizoom Camera Connect I was thrilled!

These cool features are why we like the Kidizoom Camera Connect so much:

• Take and edit photos with wacky effects, shoot video movies with sound and even play three cool games right on the camera! Kids can even string a series of pictures together to create fun stop-motion animation videos.  Specially designed with your child in mind, this kids’ camera has an easy-to-use viewfinder and a design that’s safe and durable for kids.
• With storage of approximately 800 photos, an expandable memory and the ability to connect to a computer, your child can easily keep all of their creations so they can be treasured by the family forever. Save and send pics on a PC and share with friends!
• This fun camera for kids also connects to VTech’s Learning Lodge where kids can sync their camera, play games, and (with the help of mom or dad) download more content.

The Kidizoom Camera Connect is designed for ages 3-8.  I’d have to say that the age recommendation is spot on.  The dual view finder is great for little eyes that don’t yet have the ability to wink or focus out of just one eye.  The exterior of the camera is designed to fit easily into little hands.  Each side of the camera is coated with rubber that insures a good grip and protection in case the camera is dropped.

The navigation menu is very easy for the little ones to pick up on.  Kids quickly learn that they can press the house button and be brought to the navigation menu that will allow them to use the little joystick to navigate over the different camera options.  The camera options include: Camera, Video Recorder, Playback, Voice Recorder, Downloads, Games, Creative Tools (includes a photo editor and animation maker), and settings.

The camera is only 1.3 megapixel so you’re not going to get pictures that you can blow up and hang in your living room.  For most, I really don’t think that will be a big disappointment.  Unless your child is a budding Ansel Adams chances are their camera will be filled with a lot of pictures of carpets, walls, and blurred figures until they learn they need to remain stationary while taking pictures.  Even then I think you’ll find the 1.3 megapixel perfectly adequate.

I’m pretty sure my kids don’t know the meaning of the word off so I really appreciate that there is an automatic shutoff on the camera that shuts the camera off after a couple minutes of non use.

So far both my boys love this camera!

My 6 year old likes to play Newscaster and make little news report videos with the movie function.  We are still getting lots of shots of the carpet and walls from my 3 year old.  He hasn’t quite figured out that there is a split second delay from the time that he presses the shutter button til the time the picture is captured.  Both boys LOVE playing with the effects and the games!

You can purchase the VTech Kidizoom Camera Connect from Amazon.com and VTechKids.com.  The Kidizoom Camera Connect retails for $39.99.

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Win It!

VTech wants to give one of Oh So Savvy Mom’s readers their own Kidizoom Camera Connect!

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