Flanked by four-year-old Bethany and seven-year-old James in full command of the snappers, WIRED put six of the latest kids cameras to task. We asked our young reviewers to get creative taking photos in the local park, with no stone left unturned and no splashpad or sandpit out of bounds. We reviewed how easy it was for our budding photographers to get to grips with the menu settings and special features on each camera, and also assessed the designs for durability, photo quality and added extras.
Best Vlogging Camera for Kids Age 3+ VTech Kidizoom DUO Camera. View Price on Amazon. Our first recommendation is the VTech Kidizoom DUO Camera. The Kidizoom DUO has two cameras, one on the front and one on the back, with a dedicated switch button. This is great for taking normal pictures and taking selfies. Our pick for the best camera for kids is the Olympus Tough TG-5. It’s not a toy camera, nor is particularly cheap, but it is very good at one thing that makes it a great choice for putting it in.
Vtech Kidizoom Duo 5.0
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This robust design impresses straight out of the box and takes four AA batteries. Colourful icons on the 2.4-inch LCD screen and sound effects make it easy to navigate the settings on the menu. After just a few minutes of playing around with it, the kids were able to take a photo and overlay clipart onto their pictures, change the colour filter and use the selfie camera – it’s easy to change to the front and rear lens with a touch of a button. The camera lets you record video and even has a voice recorder with voice-changing effects.
There are up to 70 different effects on the camera, including cartoons, collage, frames and stamps, and it reminds us of Apple’s Photobooth for kids. 'I love the ‘silly mirrors’ effect,' says Bethany – a feature that lets you warp an image in several different ways. She also found the ‘just for fun’ Silly Face Detector, which scans a photo and tells you how silly you are, very amusing. The results? “68% Genius” for Bethany, “58% Genius” for James.
The History of Cameras
Learn about the history of cameras with our timeline that takes you from early optical devices all the way through to modern digital cameras.
Read interesting facts about Kodak cameras, SLR cameras, instant cameras, disposable cameras and much more.
The Ancient Greeks and Chinese used an optical device called the ‘camera obscura’ to project an image of the surroundings on to a screen. This invention played an important role in the development of cameras and photography.
Although designs existed earlier, it wasn't until the 1800s that practical cameras were developed.
The ‘Kodak’ camera was developed by George Eastman and went on sale in 1888, pioneering the use of photographic film. It was simple box camera with a single shutter speed and fixed focus lens.
Around the year 1913, a German optical engineer named Oskar Barnack made a prototype compact camera that used 35 mm film. Named ‘Lecia’, it was put into production in 1925 after further developments.
Reflex cameras became popular in the 1920s and 1930s.
Single lens reflex cameras (SLR) use a mirror and prism system to allow photographers to accurately see the image that will be captured. This system uses one optical light path whereas previous cameras had two, one through the lens to the film and the other to the viewfinder.
Polaroid cameras hit the market in 1948, allowing photographers to produce images instantly. A special chemical process was used to used to produce prints from the negatives in under a minute.
The popularity of instant cameras took off in 1965 with the introduction of the Polaroid Model 20 Swinger, one of the top selling cameras of all time.
Despite the technology being around in 1949, disposable cameras didn't really catch on until the 1990s when Kodak models became popular. They are cheap alternatives designed to be used once, perfect for one off events such as birthdays and vacations.
The first successful imaging technology using a digital sensor was made in 1969 by Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith. In 2009, they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their contributions which paved the way for digital photography.
The first commercial DSLR (digital single lens reflex) was launched by Kodak in 1991.
Photos on digital cameras are typically compressed using the JPEG standard and stored on memory cards.
The popularity of digital cameras exploded in the 2000s as technology improved and the costs of production decreased.
Modern digital cameras produce detailed photos made up of a huge number of pixels.
The technology behind cameras is improving all the time with additions such as touch screens and electronic viewfinders.