If your kid is pining for your digital camera and your kid is a bit clumsy, getting a kid-specific digital camera is the way to go. They are less expensive than adult versions and most of them can take a good beating. However, if your child is old enough to know not to throw a camera at a sibling or in a swimming pool and/or appreciates high-quality images, then kid cameras may not be the solution.

The trouble with the cameras we reviewed was the quality of images. They are generally blurry, grainy, and not as well-exposed. Most of the images look like they came straight from a cheap cell phone camera. So if your kid wants a camera for artistic photography purposes, then look elsewhere. The Vtech Kidizoom got the all-around award for image quality, but it still bombed the resolution round.

If you want a toy in addition to a camera, the Vtech Kidizoom is the best option. It not only has a camera, but fun stamps to add to images, video capability, and three simple video games to play. This was, by far, the favorite of my 4-year-old son. This camera scored points with me too: it was very efficient with batteries and was durable enough to survive a few drops.

The Npower “Diego” camera is also very durable and had a few fun features, but its images were so awful – perhaps defective? – that I can’t recommend this camera and still sleep at night. On top of the typical blurry, fuzzy, poorly exposed images that most of these cameras took, this camera added strange horizontal lines to images.

If you want a toy but want an extremely durable toy because your child leans toward destruction, the Fisher-Price Kid-Tough lives up to its name. It has the sturdiest body and is waterproof too. This is great if you have a toddler who has thrown your cell phone in the toilet; no need to worry about the Kid-Tough. However, if you do buy this camera, hang on to your receipt and invest in rechargeable batteries. It burns through batteries faster than any of the other cameras we tested and, although we didn’t have this problem, many reviews on the manufacturer’s web site complain about the camera crashing.

Older children who don’t require durability as a major feature should be comfortable with the Digital Blue Snap camera. It is cheap enough at $30 that you won’t cry yourself to sleep if your kid loses it on a field trip. The Snap camera has a very simple interface, is by far the most compact camera of the bunch, and had the best resolution of any of the cameras we tested.
 

Pros and Cons