Kid-Tough See Yourself Digital Camera
© 2011 Fisher-Price, Inc.
What's built like a hockey puck, but also takes pictures? The Kid-Tough See Yourself Digital Camera from Fisher-Price (in stores now, $70, www.fisher-price.com) moves the children's digital camera category up a notch by offering a new trick: a swiveling lens. So your child can take a traditional front-facing snapshot, or flip the lens 180 degrees toward something of greater interest -- their face. Standard features are on par with previous versions. The images are mid-range -- just 1.2 megapixels -- and there's no flash, so low light conditions create mediocre results. See for yourself, at http://youtu.be/PO8tFdyn3gs. There's also a bit of a lag when the shutter button is pressed. It is relevant to note that the iPod Touch 4th Generation or iPad 2 can deliver better front/back image quality, and there are dozens of image editing apps. These options cost more and are less durable, however. An SD expansion slot augments the onboard 256 MB of memory, and the 1.8" color preview screen makes it easy to review pictures, crop photos, or edit on the fly with a set of playful face-warping tools. It is also easy to toggle the camera into video mode, making this a handy digital camcorder. The 4 AA batteries are preserved with an auto-off mode. As with past versions of the Kid-Tough line, the rubbery case is designed to be dragged down a sidewalk behind a puppy; good news for a parent concerned about handing a real camera to an eager preschooler.
$70, Windows
Teaches: Creativity, digital photography, spatial relations
CTR Rating: 88%