Digital Cameras and Software -- The Big Picture

Kids and cameras. They go together like milk and cookies. Well... Ok, that's a stretch. Young children are frequently fascinated by cameras, but traditional film-based cameras have a couple of enthusiasm dampening attributes: they require film, which costs money; and the gratification they produce - the pictures - is delayed.

Enter digital cameras.

Digital cameras offer users solutions to both of these nagging attributes. By converting images to eletronic bits, they eliminate the need for film. And if the user has access to a PC, the film development delay is eliminated. What's more, the images can be digitially manipulated, hopefully improving the images captured.

Until late in 1998 with the introduction of the Barbie camera, there was still the question of cost - digital cameras were too expensive to even consider for all except the most affluent. A year later, however, we found several more inexpensive digital cameras specifically targeted at young users.

How can these cameras cost less than $100(US)? These cameras offer lower image resolution than their expensive brethren, and limited point-and-shoot capabilities - nothing fancy.

• Barbie Photo Designer Digital Camera & CD-ROM [for ages 6 and up] from Mattel, provides a fantastic way for girls to experiment with photography, photo editing, layout, design and more. Image resolution is only 160x120, so realize the pictures will be small.

• Nick Click Digital Camera & CD-ROM [for ages 6 and up] from Mattel, is a virtual clone of the Barbie camera, but with different software, less targeted at a specific gender.

• Jam C@m 2.0 [for ages 8 and up] from KB Gear, boasts 640x480 resolution, and is better suited to the slightly older child -- one who is interested in decent picture quality and more sophisticated photo editing software.

Want to see how their photos compare? For some examples from our testing, click here.

SuperKids Ratings
Title Publisher	Education Value	Kid Appeal	Ease of Use	Buyers Guide (Price Survey)
Barbie Photo Designer Digital Camera & CD-ROM     Mattel Media	4.0	5.0	4.0	PC / Mac
Nick Click Digital Camera & CD-ROM     Mattel Media	4.0	5.0	4.5	PC / Mac
Jam C@m 2.0     KB Gear	4.0	4.0	3.5	PC / Mac

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