Product Description

Preschoolers can learn the art of photography with this digital camera designed especially for them. With a 1.3" color LCD preview screen, easy navigation menu and wrist strap, it's meant to stand up to typical rough preschooler use. Kids can instantly see the picture they've taken on the LCD screen, or they can delete previous shots. It features dual handle grips ergonomically designed for little hands, and two-eye viewing that makes looking through the viewfinder a breeze. Features 640 x 480 resolution for quality 4 x 6 prints, 8 MB built-in memory for up to 50 pictures, SD card slot for increased storage capacity, easy navigation menu, USB cord for computer connection, camera software CD, built-in flash and a wrist strap. Requires 4 "AA" batteries (not included). Measures 5.5" x 3" x 4.5". Some assembly required. Front design, style, colors may vary.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17131 in Toys & Games
• Brand: Fisher-Price
• Model: J8209
• Dimensions: 8.56" h x 8.56" w x 7.53" l, 1.16 pounds

Features

• .3 color LCD preview screen that lets kids instantly see the pictures theyve taken
• Controls are simple for kids to understand no reading required
• Stores over 60 pictures, with 8 MB built-in memory
• CD of digital camera software
• USB cord for computer connection

Customer Reviews

Excellent toy, below average camera.
This is an awesome toy plain and simple. It will keep your young child occupied and entertained for many many months to come. I feel for the price it is an excellent value.

However please be advised this is not an awesome camera. In fact as a camera it is way below average. Think cell phone quality photos and you won't be far off the mark. However a young child does not care about photo quality. They care about fun and usability and Fisher Price has delivered this in spades. Now on to the review:

This camera is colorful, chunky and easy for a child to hold. I bought this for my 4 year old son who was always asking to use my digital SLR. My choice was a cheap megapixel camera designed for adults that would deliver reasonable pictures but was still complex for a child to use or this toy camera that was easy to use but delivered sub-par photos. I knew my son would get more fun out of being able to take pics like daddy than reviewing them later for quality on a computer so the choice was easy.

This camera is very easy to use and very well designed. The viewfinder is used with both eyes so your child does not have to close one eye (which is in fact very hard to do for a 4 year old believe it or not!). There is one red button on top to press to take the photo. No zoom or focusing to worry about it so it shoots quickly. In low light the flash works automatically. The flash recharges in about 2-3 seconds. The resulting picture is promptly displayed on a small lcd screen on the back of the camera (just like dad's!). The resolution of this lcd is sub-par but kids will not care about this.

Also on the back are the power on button and two buttons to scroll thru the saved pics (again just like dad's). There is also another red button on the back to delete the photo being reviewed. I was surprised my son figured out how to delete pics without being shown. Very easy and intuitive to use.

The hand grips are chunky and rubberized and easy to hold. My son has not dropped it yet. He has thrown it during a tantrum and it survived handily. For the price you could buy a megapixel camera but these are hard for kids to hold and will be dropped and broken in short order. You could hit this thing with a mallet and it would come out unscathed.

It takes 4 AA batteries (not included) that are placed in pairs in the bottom of each grip. This keeps the camera balanced and again easier to hold. You will need a phillips screwdriver to open the battery compartment so keep one handy at home AND in your car. It also comes with another small battery that will keep the pics saved in between battery replacements. It looks like one of those 5 year batteries so just pop it in and forget about it.

The camera has 8mb of internal storage that will hold roughly 70 pics. You can insert an SD card to expand this memory. I put in a 256mb SD card that are close to free nowdays and it will hold over 2000 pics. This sounds like alot but your child will fill it up over a few days of constant happy snapping. On 4 alkaline AA's my son captured over 6000 pics with about a third of those using the flash. Battery life is excellent. Fisher Price wisely included a battery saving feature that will turn the camera off if left unused for a minute or two. Thankyou.

There is a USB connector behind a small sliding door on the back of the camera. A USB cord is included. Don't worry about installing any software....connect the USB cord to your computer and windows will automatically recognize it as a mass storage device. Now you have an SD card reader and storage device in emergencies as well!

Now the photo quality is not very good. My son could care less and to be honest I don't really care either. Being able to see the world from my 4 year old's perspective totally blows my mind. Photo qulaity may be poor but the ability to shoot memorable pictures remains. These will look fine as 4x6 prints for a childs very own photo album. Trust me when I say a young child has a unique and valuable perspective on any event and you and your child will cherish these great pictures even if the photo quality is not up to par.

So why didn't I give this camera 5 stars? If Fisher Price included a neck strap (just like dad's) I would be more than happy to give it 5 stars.

Kid-Tough Camera is a winner
I purchased the new kid-tough camera for my daughter, who is 6 years old. In the past she's relied on disposable point-and-shoot cameras for taking on school field trips. The only problem: we'd develop the film and find out half the shots were bad. Now with the new FP digital camera, she can snap to her hearts content (that is if you add the optional SD memory card....as the camera will only take about 60 shots before maxing out the internal memory). The software that is bundled with the camera is windows PC compatible. I use a Mac, and photos downloaded fine from the USB interface. Overall, the quality of the camera is good. The double "viewfinder" style eyepiece makes it easy for young kids to focus on their subject without squinting one eye. The controls are very easy to use, whether your child is old enough to read or not. It takes 72 dpi pics, which is fine for printing 4x6 photos. And because it's digital, you can choose which pics to print...a savings from developing the whole roll of 35mm film. Two criticisms: The $70 price tag does seem a bit high. It would be a better bargain if priced closer to $50. It uses 4 AA batteries, rather than a single rechargeable. (Although I am using rechargeable AAs). I'm finding that changing the batteries is a real pain because I have to keep reaching for the phillips-head screwdriver to take off the child-proof cover. Nice if you have a really young child, but a hassle for the parents of older kids.

Durable Camera, Easy to Use, Photo Quality Below Par...
My husband and I are both avid shutterbugs, and my almost 3 year old son really wanted a camera to take his own photos. We had a few gift cards that we had not used, so we invested in this camera. He was very excited to get it and uses it often, he especially likes to take it on Photo Safaris with us. It is also a hit in the neighborhood among all the kids who take photos like crazy with it.

Pros: Seems quite durable. Buttons are easy to use for him, while the batteries and sd card (optional) are easy to keep out of his reach. Photos download easily and cable is included in the kit. The optional SD card (I got a cheapie 512meg) adds storage for over 1000 extra pictures.

Cons: Does go through batteries quickly- but we use rechargables anyway for most things. Photo quality is TERRIBLE- and I just don't mean terrible because we are photographers ourselves, I mean TERRIBLE in general. The photos are most frequently blurry and dark- even with flash or bright sunlight. Also, I don't think they would even print well at 4x6 but we have not tried. We will have to upgrade him to a cheap digital point and shoot once he is able to treat this camera nicely. (I will upload a few sample shots to customer photos.) Another con is the discard photo button is right there on the back- great for them to erase the photo they just took without realizing it.It also makes a rather annoying noise when any button is pushed- which encourages the button pushing to go on and on and on.

OVerall, the camera performs as expected, just wish the photo quality was better, but again, this is a camera for my preschooler so I should not expect too many megapixels I guess.