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Aislinn says Vtech Kidizoom Spin & Smile Camera December 20,2011

Vtech - Kidizoom Spin & Smile Digital Camera - Pink

$59.99/$34.98

My 20-month-old tech-savvy (she is quite adept at figuring out electronics) daughter received this as an early Christmas present from her grandparents, and she loves it. Granted, she's not capable of intentionally selecting features yet, but she enjoys playing with it and in the last 2 days has taken over 100 photos and videos on her own (most are of her lap and the floor, but there are more than a few self-portraits and some funny videos of her carrying the camera around). The best part is, she gets the interactive response she likes and I don't have to take it away like I do with my own camera! She can push all the buttons she wants and I don't have to worry about her accidentally deleting important photos or breaking an expensive camera with her clumsy (and occasionally tantrum-throwing) toddler fingers.

Since we haven't owned it long, I can't attest to the camera's long-term durability, but it feels sturdy and has nice-sized rubbery grips, which each house 2 of the 4 required AA batteries. The dual viewfinder is an excellent idea, although the screen is more than adequate for framing a photo. The camera has battery-saving features, including a relatively short (but not too short) self-shutoff time and requiring a push-and-hold of the power button to turn on. There are only 8 buttons on the back, the top photo button, and the (mildly pointless 4x digital zoom) zoom wheel, and they are very user-friendly. For example, the OK button also works to take photos, which is great for children whose hands may be too small to grip the camera steadily while pushing the top button. The LED flash is housed where the lens would traditionally be found. The swivel lens is on top and great for self-portraits! The pinhole lens means no focusing is needed, which in turn means no waiting for the camera to focus. A true point-and-shoot. In terms of storage space, it has 256MB of internal memory, and you can choose to reduce the resolution 0.3 megapixels to save space, but there is an SD slot for extra storage. My daughter's use so far has filled about 3/4 of the internal memory with the full 2MP.

That being said, this is a toy with camera capability akin to that of a regular cell phone, not a heavy-duty camera. The photos will probably not be print quality unless you get just the right shot. So far, my only complaint is that there is no battery meter. We're still working on the same set of batteries with a fair amount of use, but we've only had it the 2 days and it would be nice to have some indication of when they'll need replacing.