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Toy Review: Fisher Price Kid Tough Digital Camera

by Hsien-Hsien Lei on December 28th, 2006

Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital Camera for GirlsMy son received the Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital Camera (in blue) for his fourth birthday this past August and it’s taken me this long to write a review of it for a few reasons:

  1. His grandparents got it for him and I didn’t want them to feel like they’d wasted their money.
  2. My son doesn’t play with it all that much.
  3. The camera is actually really crappy.

I finally felt inspired to admit the truth today after reading a thumbs-down review of a related Fisher Price product over at The Gadget Blog: The FP3 - Insulting kids worldwide. Now only $70! written by a 12-year-old kid at Techzi.

The Fisher Price camera is truly kid-tough with a cute rubber coating and easy-to-use buttons but the low picture quality (less than 1 megapixel) and completely useless LCD display pales in comparison to the old Olympus 2 megapixel digital camera my parents gave him when they no longer needed it. The reason we decided to try the Fisher Price camera was because the Olympus had been dropped so many times the lens no longer retracted. I miss the pictures he used to take on that old digital camera and am considering giving him my own old 4 megapixel camera if only my husband weren’t keeping it for a back-up.

Here’s a comparison of shots my son took on his Kid Tough camera vs. the Olympus 2 megapixel.

From the Fisher Price Kid Tough Digital Camera (click for a larger image):

IMG 0006IMG 0048

IMG 0052

From the Olympus 2 megapixel camera (click for a larger image):

olympus toysself portrait olympus

The pics from the Fisher Price camera are so fuzzy and grainy you can practically identify each pixel but thinking positively, they do look rather artistic. I’d have to say we had way more fun with the pics he took with the Olympus, though.

What do you think? Would you buy your child a low picture quality, but sturdy digital camera or just let them loose with a proper, higher pixel camera?

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14 opinions for Toy Review: Fisher Price Kid Tough Digital Camera

  • Local Girl
    Dec 28, 2006 at 2:34 pm

    Good question. My 4 year old daughter wants a digital camera but I have no idea which one is good for a child her age. I would like one that produces decent photos, though.

  • bnpositive
    Dec 28, 2006 at 11:09 pm

    Thanks for this review. I was looking at digital cameras for my 7yr old son this year for Christmas. I saw the Fisher-Price camera and almost went for it, but then decided for the price maybe I’d give him my old 5MP and get myself a new one. I just didn’t have the money to replace my own yet. Thanks for the review though, I now know I’ll just get him a cheap, but real digital camera of his own. Kids take the most interesting pictures.

  • Michelle
    Dec 29, 2006 at 1:34 am

    Good to know, we still have birthdays coming up and I’d considered buying one of these. Thanks for the info.

  • Eliza
    Dec 29, 2006 at 11:12 am

    I’m so happy to see this review. Not because you had such bad luck with it but because my kids wanted one, they ended up getting a dummy camera which I’ll review once they start using it. I just got the olympus camera for Christmas so I’m a bit excited about it. At least now I won’t waste my money on the fisher-price one.

  • Hsien-Hsien Lei
    Dec 29, 2006 at 4:48 pm

    LG: I think a cheap, no-name brand digital camera would be just fine. I should have gotten a neck strap for my son so that it would have less chance of hitting the ground. Next time. ;)

    bnpositive: If you get the chance, share some of your kiddo’s pics with us!!

    Michelle: Probably not worth the money but then again, it’s still been fun seeing what he’s come up with pixelated and all! Ever the optimistic I am. ha

    Eliza: lol Please let us know what you decide on in the end!

  • David Wilkinson
    Dec 31, 2006 at 9:27 am

    Thanks for the link to my site. My Technorati ranking thanks you.

    Being that ‘kid’, I recommend the reasonably cheap £150 Fuji FinePix E900. 9MP, 4x Optical Zoom, and very easy to operate.

    Nice to see Jason Bean here aswell. Or should I say, ‘bnpositive’.

  • Hsien-Hsien Lei
    Dec 31, 2006 at 9:42 am

    Hi, David! Glad to see you here. I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job of tracking down your name but I’m happy to see you here. As for £150 (~$300) being relatively cheap…I beg to differ. ;) For kids under age 10, I think a 2 MP digital camera should be adequate and are available at less than $200 USD. Of course, you can find even better prices at places like eBay or Amazon Market place. (Just some tips for any parents who come across this post and comment.)

  • Play Library » Toy Talk: Fisher Price Kid Tough Digital Camera
    Feb 12, 2007 at 7:34 am

    […] Shai Coggins (one of our b5media bosses) recently wrote a review of the Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital Camera for Chrysalis Creativity. Unlike my largely negative review, Shai’s was fairly positive and her son’s pictures from the camera show that if photos are taken in good natural light without relying on the built-in flash, they can actually be decent quality. Check out the world as seen through three-year-old C’s camera lens. (Click on the photos for a larger version.) […]

  • murrr
    Jun 24, 2007 at 9:44 pm

    If my 4 year old can actually be satisfied with a low resolution camera phone image quality, then i don’t think this toddler-safe camera will be any problem for him. He’s broken quite a lot of digital cameras around the house. I think it’s time he got his own. For $50 worth off ebay, it’s well worth it. :) But then, if he’s a little older and smarter (say, 7?), then a more decent camera will better suit his/her taste.

  • Roberta
    Oct 10, 2007 at 3:03 pm

    You are missing the point. Can’t you tell from the design of the camera that it is designed for a 4 year old? A five-year-old? What 12-year-old wants to tote around a blue rubber camera? Get serious. No child cares about megapixels. He just wants to take pictures.

  • Hsien LEi
    Oct 10, 2007 at 5:17 pm

    Good point, Roberta. At the time this post was written, my son was only four and he is quite advanced and brilliant for an age. In fact, despite his short stature, many people think he’s 12 with a mental age of 20. He’ll be going to college next year.

    /end sarcasm in response to rudeness

    The truth: My son DOES care about the pixels and he hardly ever plays with this toy that has no point. I’ve given him a real camera with which he takes much more pleasing photos.

  • Julie
    Oct 10, 2007 at 6:55 pm

    Thanks Hsien. I was REALLY hoping you would show up to respond. ;) My kids also actually care about pixels. They know what cruddy pictures look like and they know what good ones look like. There is a huge difference and kids are smart enough to tell. Yes, even a four year old.

  • Hsien LEi
    Oct 11, 2007 at 4:46 am

    Sorry for being so snarky, Julie. I was afraid you’d be shocked! :P

  • Julie
    Oct 11, 2007 at 10:46 am

    Hsien: After blogging for awhile, not many comments shock me. Although I am a little shocked at how, um, passionate and opinionated people can get about kids’ toys. :)

    Oh and snarky…I love snarky. :)

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