Kidizoom Video Camera Review

Our regular old Kidizoom camera has been one of our wisest toy purchases (at the time of writing this review it is nearly 5 years old and still gets played with a lot because it has remained in perfect working order). So we had no hesitation in snapping up the Kidizoom video camera. This is our review of what the camera does and our general thoughts on it...

Technical bits and bobs

We like to start our reviews with a brief overview of the technical specifications:

Kidizoom video camera: the good points

The selling point of the Kidizoom video camera can be summarised in one word: fun! Part of this is down to the features, which we'll get onto in a second, but it is also partly down to ease of use which means even the youngest filmmaker can make full use of the functions without having to sit down and study the manual first. It is as simple as point and click, with a scroll bar on the right hand side of the camera to zoom in and out. The camera is chunky enough to be robust but light and comfortable enough for small hands to hold.

Now onto the exciting bit - this is what the camera does:

Video camera mode: Choose the subject of your film then hit 'ok' to start and 'ok' again to stop. It is so straightforward a 3 year old can manage it. People who are familiar with the regular Kidizoom cameras will be used to using the left and right keys to bring up special effects, and this function applies to this product too. You can film with (pretend) night vision, under the water or in the style of an old movie with sepia tints.

Animation mode: This is the mode most popular with my boys! There are 5 themes which come with 4 animations each. You select the theme before you start filming and then use the arrow keys to activate the animations. The themes are birthday, space, magic, nature and the seaside. My youngest son's favourite is the seaside because he loves the dancing squids and the big tidal wave that splashes over the screen. My eldest son's animation is the custard pie one from the birthday theme, because what boy doesn't want to throw a custard pie in his little brother's face?

Camera mode: This is very similar to the normal Kidizoom camera, but with a different range of borders and stamps which you can impose over the top of the photo. Some of the stamps and borders are quite inventive and much better than the ones on our beloved but prehistoric regular Kidizoom.

Film editing: Budding filmmakers can edit their films on the video camera by selecting the start and end point, and even adding a cool intro to their film with a choice of cinematic, detective and theatrical. Sure these functions aren't as fancy as on a proper video editor, but the controls are intuitive and enough to keep the children happy and interested.

Games: My kids mostly love this toy for its video functions but they do like the games too. There is a picture jumble which uses photos you've taken and Crazy Kitchen, where you can personalise the chef's head with your own face. The other game is a bonkers game where you have to hit the arrow keys as hiding rabbits jump out at you.

Any criticisms?

We really love this toy so we don't have any major criticisms. Like every other kid's digital camera out there the picture quality is incomparable to a 'proper camera'. It also doesn't focus very well if you pan the camera too fast while filming, but I've had real camcorders that didn't do this well either. The vast majority of customer reviews for this product out there are positive, so I'm clearly not the only parent who is happy to overlook these points (the Kidizoom video camera is primarily a toy after all, and not a hi-tec camcorder).

Slightly more irksome is that in camera mode there is a delay between pressing the button and the picture being taken. This means that if you - or your child - have set up a funny picture using the stamps then the photo subject has to stay really, really still for it to come out as intended. My children can't manage this well and generally burst out laughing or move 0.5 seconds after you've hit the 'ok' button! But since we mostly use the film functions it's not bothered us too much.

My final criticism is the cost. The full retail is £59.99 which, as good as the toy is, is a lot of money! Thankfully, if you know where to look there are better prices available. Argos tends to put a good offer on this product when doing one of their big toy sales, as do John Lewis. But the best place to go is Amazon, who usually sell it between £30 and £40. If you strike lucky, you might get it for even less - Amazon's lowest price for the blue Kidizoom video camera has been £20.39.

Verdict

Ok, so your kids will never produce an award winning film with this toy. But the Kidizoom video camera is an enormously fun product with a broad age range appeal. It's given us hours of fun already and we look forward to many more years of enjoyment with this toy!