Crayola Digital Camcorder
© 2008 Sakar International Inc.
Crayola's good reputation for crayons does not apply to electronics, at least in the case of this particular camcorder. The concept is a good one: this small digital camcorder fits easily in a child's hand, and the small flip screen lets them see what they are taping in real time. The camera can alternate between low resolution photos or videos, but the interface is clunky and hard to understand -- even for adults -- and there's no onboard storage for the low resolution (300K) photos. Instead an extra SD memory card must be inserted in the camera. Here's the likely scenario with this gadget -- a poor parent or grandparent will buy the camera (perhaps attracted by the Crayola brand, and the "no film required" burst on the packaging), put in the three AA batteries (also not included) and give the camera to an excited child; only to learn that it won't work until the SD card is in place. The included CD-ROM includes two applications -- Video Genie and Color Genie that can be installed on either Mac or Windows computers. The software lets children add borders or credits to their video, or insert still photos inside coloring-book pages. There's nothing very impressive about the editing software, although it is functional and can work with any video or photo format. The kit includes a USB cable for transferring the content to a Mac or Windows computer and a video cable for use with a TV. The bottom line? Bag this one. While a persistent child can make it work, there are better options; plus $70 will buy you a lot of quality crayons and paper. See also the VCamNow Digital Video Camera 2.0.
$70, Windows, Mac OSX
Teaches: creativity, photography
CTR Rating: 42.5%