Creative Vado HD camcorder

I’ve had a proper Sony camcorder since my eldest was a baby (about 5 years). It hasn’t been used in about 4 of those years because I can’t be bothered to carry round a chunky camcorder with me. But I was feeling a little guilty that we don’t take enough footage of our 2 boys (who are growing up fast) so the solution was to get a handheld, pocket sized camcorder for Christmas.

The Creative Vado HD camcorder is a really great, insanely easy to use, video camera so I thought I’d put up a short review on my blog because it would make an ideal camcorder for teenagers (or even an older child).

Creative Vado video camera specifications:

• 8 GB (which equates to up to 4 hours of high definition film)
• Flip out USB stick
• HDMI cable included
• Comes with a protective silicone case
• Wide angle lens
• Easy upload to YouTube and Facebook

What is so great about this product?

The Creative Vado HD camcorder is incredibly easy to use, (I’d go as far as saying it is completely idiot proof). You literally point, press the record button and shoot. If you want to view the clips you’ve made, press the play button and hit the left or right button to scroll through. It really is as straightforward as that.

The picture quality exceeded my expectations (or maybe I’m just getting too used to tinkering with children’s cameras and video cameras!). We’ve used it to film in both low level lighting conditions and bright light and I was satisfied with the picture quality in both. If you move the video camera rapidly to point at an area that is much darker or much brighter there is a short moment (just a second or two) where you see the image adjusting to compensate for the change in lighting conditions, but it is not distracting enough to detract from the film you are taking. A lot of the movie clips we have taken have involved chasing a lively child around and the Creative Vado seems to cope well with movement while recording.

The sound quality is satisfactory too. You can hear talking and background noises clearly when you play the film back on the camcorder. I’d compare it to the sound quality on a good camera phone. However, when you transfer the clips to a computer the sound quality becomes much crisper and clearer. Transferring film is very, very straightforward. All I did to transfer the films to my laptop was flick out the USB stick at the bottom of the camcorder, plug it into my laptop and switch the video camera on. I like simple technology!

The battery life is extremely good. The camera has had regular use since Christmas and the battery is still half full and hasn’t needed charging yet.

The Creative Vado HD camcorder comes with a silicone skin which protects the device when you’re out and about. The silicone is thick and good quality, yet still allows easy access to the controls.

How much does it cost?

I bought mine from Amazon before Christmas when it was a bargain £50. Disappointingly, at the time of publishing this post it is back at its full retail price of £179.99. However, there are several other versions of the Creative Vado camcorder – all with good customer reviews – available for £50 to £70, if you don’t mind getting a previous generation or a model with under 8GB, (a 4GB camcorder gives about 2 hours of film time).

Verdict

Even at full retail price I would highly recommend this product as being good quality for the money. In my opinion, many children from the ages 8 and up would find this a suitable camcorder. And of course it is well suited to teenagers and adults like me who want an easy way to film family and friends.

So far, I haven’t tried uploading video to a blog. But when I have more time I hope to try and upload an example of a recording made on the Creative Vado to Kids Digital Camera UK to show the quality of film and sound. (Watch this space!)

Lego Video Camera Review

If you’ve looked round the Kids Digital Camera UK website, you may have read our review of the Lego digital camera. Being huge Lego fans in this house, we really liked the product and felt the camera offered a decent standard of quality for the price (in comparison to other cameras aimed at the children’s toy market). So we were excited to get the opportunity to play with the Lego Video Camera, which is also manufactured by Digital Blue, and had high hopes for the product. Luckily it didn’t disappoint.

Technical stuff

As always, we’ll kick off this review with the boring technical bit.
• Captures both video or still photos, the latter of which can be made into a stop animation film.
• Macro lens for close ups.
• Stop Animation Studio software.
• Comes with tripod and USB cable.
• Includes two Lego figures to help inspire your first stop animations.
• Recommended for ages 7 and up.
• Requires 2 x AA batteries, which are not included.

Lego video camera : good points

As with the Lego digital camera, I am in love with the fact this video camera really looks like it is constructed from proper Lego bricks. Also, as in the case of the regular camera, it us designed so that you can add real Lego bricks to it, (I can’t envisage a practical use for this but it is fun never the less to have the option).

The camera was much smaller than I expected it to be, and this means it is incredibly light and portable. This obviously makes it much easier to handle and film with, and much more practical for any children using it for their amateur movie attempts.

Both the still mode, which you can use for stop animation, and the regular mode are fairly easy to use. All of the best children’s cameras I’ve used have had very intuitive controls, and I did feel in comparison this product wasn’t quite so simple to just pick up and start shooting, (switching modes and figuring out features takes a little effort). But once you have figured it out it’s a breeze, and this product is aimed at slightly older children than other products I’ve reviewed which has to be taken into consideration.

Taking regular films is great fun for kids. The microphone does a good job of picking up sound and the picture quality is fine, (but see more on this under “the not so good points”). But where this camera comes into its own is stop animation. This is an absolutely wonderful and fun feature for kids and adults alike. My son really enjoyed animating his Lego adventures, although of course you can animate whatever you want. Unfortunately, the Lego video camera was borrowed not owned, so I had limited time to make films. But my youthful ambition to be the next Nick Park (of Wallace and Gromit fame) definitely resurfaced while using this.

Lego video camera – the not so good points

If you’ve ever used a proper camcorder, the picture quality of the Lego video camera can seem a bit poor in comparison. To me, this isn’t much of a negative point against the product. I’ve lost count of the number of children’s cameras I’ve reviewed, so I know that a grainy or darker picture (in comparison to a “regular” camera or camcorder) is par for the course. In fact, the Lego Stop Animation camera has a better picture than many of the equivalent products you may buy for your child. But if you haven’t had a kid’s camera before this may come as a little bit of a disappointment if you weren’t expecting it.

The software is an important part of this product, since a big selling point is the ability to turn still photos into stop animations, and I did feel this lets down the product slightly. I am not very familiar with editing movies on the computer – I always intend to do whizzy, impressive things with anything I film on our camcorder, but somehow never get round to it. The controls and features on the software are not particularly intuitive and I spent quite a while puzzling over how to do quite simple things. Though it is worth mentioning that it was only me it bothered. My son (aged 5 and a half) couldn’t have cared less and loved clicking on random things and seeing what happened, and wasn’t so fussed about a Cannes-worthy end product.

Verdict

The Lego video camera is a really fun product for both kids and adults, and quite good value for money. It is not without its flaws, but there is nothing that would put me off buying this product for myself. At the time of this review being published on the blog, the cheapest place to buy it is Argos (for £81.69).

These are the kids digital cameras currently discounted online, for anyone looking to grab a post-Christmas bargain. To be honest, it is a little bit of a disappointing list. I haven’t seen any of these 90 percent sales the newspapers have been claiming retailers are having!

Argos:

Fisherprice Kid Tough (Blue and Pink) – £8 off
Buzz Lightyear digital camera – save 25%
CyberGear Silver Camcorder – save £5
VTech Kidizoom Video Camera (Pink) – £10 discount (please note, the blue version is not available with this offer and is still at full retail price)
Barbie Children’s Camera – half price

Smyths Toys

VTech Toy Story 3 Camera – was £59.99 now £44.99
Kidizoom Plus (blue or pink) – Was £49.99 now £36.99
Kid Tough digital camera – was £34.99 now £25.99
VTech Kidizoom video camera (pink only) – was £59.99 now £49.99

Tesco Online

VTech Toy Story Buzz Lightyear digital camera – save £17

Please note, that although Amazon currently do not have a sale on children’s cameras they are still the cheapest for many popular products. For instance the Vtech Kidizoom camera is £34.99 and the VTech Kidizoom video camera is only £36.27.

We are currently working on some new kids camera reviews for the new year. Check back in the next week or so for updates on any online January bargains and for our opinions on the Lego stop animation video camera.

Happy new year to all!

Barbie Video Girl Doll

I was half watching “Kirstie and Phil’s Perfect Christmas” last night and this toy caught my eye. It’s a Barbie doll with a video camera in, (the camera lens is in her necklace and the viewing screen and controls are on her back).I’m not going to purchase this one myself as I don’t think my two boys could be persuaded to test it, and I don’t think I know anyone who will be buying this (so no hope of borrowing one), so I can’t really give a personal view point as to whether the product is any good. The children on the programme last night obviously loved it and scored it 4 out of 5, although it was commented on that it is extremely easy to delete things by accident.

I’ve found the product on Amazon and Argos – Amazon have by far the better deal at £47.99, whereas Argos are selling at the RRP of £59.99 – but they don’t have customer reviews yet,( I think because the product is so new out). There are a handful of reviews on some American toy websites though so I’ve picked out the good and bad points people have made about the Barbie Video Girl camera.

Barbie Video Girl Camera: Good Points

• The picture quality is not bad for a kid’s video camera. One customer review I read likened it to the quality you would have got from a high end digital camera only a few years ago. Which is quite good quality considering the price of this camera and the fact it is just intended as a fun item for children.
• Sound quality is not as clear as you would expect from a decent digital camcorder, but the clarity is good for the price you are paying.
• Encourages children’s creativity and adds a new dimension to imaginative play.
• Familiarises children with technology, for example learning to transfer videos from the Barbie Video Girl camera to the computer.
• The controls are very straightforward, and easy for the target age group to use.

Barbie Video Girl Doll: Bad Points:

• There is no flash, which can affect the picture quality when filming in low light levels.
• Video editing software takes a little practise if you have not used similar software before, and younger children may need a little guidance from an adult to edit their films.

What does the Barbie Video Girl doll come with?

• 1 x Barbie doll with integrated video camera
• USB cable (in hot pink, naturally)
• Instruction manual

What are the technical specifications?

• Full colour LCD screen
• Memory gives 25 minutes plus recording time
• Requires 2 x AAA batteries
• Recommended age: 5 to 10 years

Where can I buy it?

As mentioned at the beginning of this review, the Barbie Video Girl doll is cheapest on Amazon. But you can also currently get it from Argos, Toys R Us and Sainsburys at full retail price.

Megapixels: Megapixels refers to one million pixels. There is a correlation between the number of megapixels and image resolution – the higher the number of megapixels, the larger the image the camera can produce and the more detail that can be captured in the image. Children’s cameras are mostly focused on durability and ease of use rather than image quality and so tend to have a low number of megapixels. Many of the better models of kid’s digital cameras have a 3 megapixel resolution, which is sufficient to make an 8 by 10 inch print. To create an A4 sized picture you will need at least a 5 megapixel camera.

Megabytes: Megabytes indicate how much internal storage is on the camera. The higher the number of megabytes, the more pictures can be stored on the digital camera. Some cameras give you the option to select image quality. Opting for high resolution pictures reduces the number of photos that can be stored, whereas selecting low image quality will maximise the number of pictures the camera can hold.

Digital Zoom: If you care about really good photography, you will want to opt for an optical zoom rather than a digital zoom. A digital zoom enlarges the pixels in the picture rather than actually zooming in to capture more detail, and image quality can be compromised as a result – you are essentially cropping the photo on the camera, in the same way as you might if you were editing photos on the computer. However, this isn’t much of an issue if the camera is for a child.

A / V: An analogue connection that allows you to play sound or images on a device such as a computer or television. Many cameras will come with an A / V cable included.

USB: A hardware interface that will allow you to transfer photos to a computer or television.

I’ll be keeping an eye on further Black Friday deals for anything of interest.

Grab an absolute bargain in Amazon’s Black Friday deals (don’t be fooled by the name, they are having great offers all week).

In about 6 hours and 15 minutes from me posting this they will be launching a deal on a “Camera for budding Space Rangers”, which I suspect is the VTech Toy Story 3 Buzz Lightyear Digital Camera. These deals are for a very limited time, there are a limited number up for grabs and the best deals go VERY quickly (I narrowly missed out getting a black Wii on Monday for an unbelievable £50!).

I recommend logging onto the Amazon website at about 7pm so that you are ready for what is likely to be a fabulous saving. If you miss it, you’ll have to pay Amazon’s normal price of £39.39. Good luck in grabbing a bargain!

ELC Online Code

20% off – quote code DRUMX1M at checkout

Mothercare Online Code

20% off – quote code DLFR

Crayola Camera

Today I received a newsletter type email from a toy shop I’ve bought from in the past recommending toys I might like to buy for Christmas. Usually I just delete them because I’ve actually been mega organized this year and have finished my Christmas shopping (hurrah) and could do without the temptation to buy more, but today the Crayola camera caught my eye. So, since I’m always on the lookout for topics for this blog I thought I’d have a little look around to see what I could find out about it.

The first thing that struck me about the Crayola camera is that I haven’t seen it for sale in many of the usual toy retailers. This surprised me since Crayola is a well regarded and successful comany. Having done a little digging (mostly on American toy sites) I’ve come to the conclusion that the reason most of the big UK toy retailers don’t sell the Crayola digital camera is that it isn’t very good. (Needless to say, I won’t be wasting my money getting it to do a “proper” review to include on this website). But in the interest of helping out other people who might be considering buying this product for their kids, here is what I have managed to find out.

Technical Specifications:

What are the good points of the Crayola camera?

I read 25 customer reviews and 80 percent of them gave the Crayola digital camera a rating of 1 star. But there were a (small) handful of positive ones, (though it should be noted some parents marked higher than they would like simply because their children though it was a great toy in spite of its faults). These said that their children absolutely loved the camera and had got a lot of use out of it and the software that comes with it. One parent also commented on how durable and robust the camera seems.

What are the negatives:

Childrens cameras simply do not have the same level of picture quality as a proper digital camera. For me, and many other parents, it is not a huge issue as what counts is that the camera (essentially just a toy anyway) is robust and easy to use. But there are different levels of ‘bad’ picture quality and from the general consensus the picture quality on this camera is so awful it renders the product almost unusable.

But the picture quality is not the biggest problem with the Crayola camera. A large proportion of customers complain that their child’s camera worked for a very short amount of time before ceasing to function, and changing batteries did nothing to remedy this.

Another issue with this product is that the software is incompatible with some versions of Windows (notably Vista), but a patch is now available from the manufacturers website.

Verdict:

Despite the fact that I have not tested this particular camera personally, I am fairly confident in suggesting that potential customers save their money. I recommend looking at reviews for the VTech Kidizoom camera and the Fisher-Price Kid Tough camera, which are a similar price and – in my opinion – great products.

Even at full price, the Cyber Gear camcorder is extremely cheap for a video camera, making it an ideal purchase for older children and teenagers. The recommend age for this product is 6 and over.

Customers have rated this product highly, praising its ease of use and enjoyment factor. So far, the consensus has been that an older child should have no problems working out how to record and add fun special effects, and connecting it up to the television makes it incredibly easy to play back their amateur film making efforts. Noone has mentioned the picture quality it the reviews I have read, but I suspect (at that price) it doesn’t compare too favourably to a “normal” video camera but is fine for a children’s toy.

As well as being available on Argos, the Digital Concepts Cyber Gear camcorder can also be found at John Lewis. The retail price there is £44.95, and they have it available in pink and blue.

I’ve put it on my wish list of birthday presents for my son, who will be turning 6 next year. I’m sure it is something that he – and the rest of the family! – would get a lot of use out of. So I hope to be able to include a proper, in depth personal review of the Cyber Gear digital camera on this website at some point in the near future.