*I've updated my review at the bottom*
In short, I don't feel these are a great value, but my kids do love them.
Pro:
- The kids do love them
- The selfie camera is a hit
- The kids think the frames are fun
- The lanyard is pretty cool and SO FAR still works (but more on that later)
- Thankfully my kids don't care about quality
Cons:
- The resolution is not what the advertising makes you think it would be. I found the photos to be quite pixelated, no matter what resolution I set it to.
- The audio quality for video is not great. My kids like to talk to the camera, and sometimes you can barely understand what they say in the playback.
- I don't see what makes these any more durable than any other camera. These are still made in China and I feel like it shows.
- One of my kids fell, and a ring that attached the lanyard to the camera broke.
- Images are very grainy in any amount of low light. Daytime, in my house, with windows open makes for a grainy photo. Only outside in full sun does that seem to go away.
- Sometimes, especially after a fresh format, a few images are stretched or squeezed.
- Every time I upload data to my computer so far, at least one video file has been corrupted.
I'm keeping it at 3 stars because again, kids don't care about that stuff as much and they do love and use these little cameras a lot. My disappointment lies here: I don't feel like the image quality is much better than similar cameras that go for around $30. If I had to guess, the extra costs comes down to possibly the touch screen, the USB lanyard, and the rubber casing that only covers the bottom half. I was hoping to spend a little more to get more out of the image, but alas, no. Personally, I'd take a camera without the touchscreen, fancy USB lanyard and more, in trade for a better sensor.
I was hoping for something between a flip phone camera and a GoPro, and the price seemed right, but the quality feels more like a flip phone. I've added images from the camera to my review.
TL:DR
The quality doesn't impress, but your kids probably won't care. That said, there are cheaper options out there.
UPDATE (05/08/2023):
Now one of the cameras I bought has a faulty touch-screen. I wish I had gotten a camera with physical buttons. The bottom left no longer responds as it should. This means my kid can no longer look at the pictures he has taken anymore, and cannot back out of any menu. The only solution is to turn the camera off entirely and turn it back on. He's pretty frustrated at this. I'm removing a star.
Also, in response to Kidamento's reply, sure they claim transparency, but of course, they're going to pick the absolute best photos to show, and one of the example photos is a photos of printed pictures. You can't zoom in or see them at 100%. And in truth, most kids don't care. Mine don't care, but putting up a select few photos on your website is not what I would call transparency.