Vtech KidiZoom PrintCam Review

Reviewed by Claire Giles

Both my 10 year old twin girls already have a KidiZoom Camera that we bought a few years ago and they used a lot up until about the age of 9. One of my girls has seen the KidiZoom PrintCam advertised and has been asking for one ever since. She loved the idea that it printed off instant pictures and had lots of fun filters (she decided it was insta for kids). As they had outgrown the KidiZoom camera I wasn’t sure whether this would be too young for her and therefore not worth the money. I had visions of it being another one of those toys they beg us to buy, play with once or twice and then it sits on a shelf gathering dust!

She was honestly so excited when the PrintCam arrived and wanted to open it immediately which is always a good sign. After we got it out of the packaging (some adult help needed as it was screwed into the packaging) off she went to play with it. The PrintCam is pretty simple to use with it being aimed at kids and she managed to turn it on and start taking photos without any instructions. She then spent the remainder of the evening playing with the PrintCam making us all stop for selfies with her or on our own then making the pictures into comic strips, adding fun frames or silly animal faces, making short videos and printing off games and colouring sheets. She was particularly amused by printing off money with her face on and making superhero frame photos. She even took it up to bed with her where I found her playing the games on it instead of going to sleep. I honestly thought she may have gotten bored of it pretty quickly but the next day straight after school she was back on it again taking pictures of her and her friends to print much to their amusement.

Once I managed to get hold of the camera whilst she was at school my first impression was good. It’s a little heavier than I expected it to be but not too heavy. The outside is made of rubber and plastic but seems pretty robust and the colour / design is pretty funky. It’s definitely a step up from the KidiZoom cameras we already own. It came with a quick start guide in the box which gave a website link to view the full guide online or a QR code to scan. I scanned the QR code which took me to the Vtech product manual page where I selected the product guide I wanted and downloaded it on my phone. After reading the manual which was very thorough whilst easy to understand I tried the PrintCam myself.

The Vtech KidiZoom PrintCam does instant printing with no ink. You simply insert the paper roll that is included in the pack into the camera. Each roll prints up to 80 photos depending on size. Replacement paper rolls can be purchased separately. It has a 2.4” colour screen and takes 5MP photos. It has a rechargeable battery which is charged using a micro usb cable included in the box. Once charged the battery lasts approximately 4 hours taking continuous photos / videos but will drain quicker when using the print option. It automatically shuts down after a few minutes of inactivity. The memory can be expanded by inserting a memory card which you would need to purchase separately. You can connect the PrintCam to a computer to transfer videos and photos. The PrintCam has over 150 photo effects and activities.

There are seven function buttons on the back of the PrintCam, a shutter button on the top and microphone / speaker. To take photos you simply press the home/on/off button to turn the camera on and it goes straight into camera mode. The home button also turns off the camera if held for 2 seconds, takes you back to the previous menu or takes you to the home screen. You can use the camera as a normal digital camera or can select a fun frame or filter to add to your picture such as ocean, halloween, superhero, dinosaur or add speech bubble, bunny ears, unicorn horn and many more. Using the directional buttons you can zoom in and out on your photo. Once you have taken a photo you can either save it by pressing OK button or choose to print it by pressing the print button. Saved photos can be viewed again and printed later. If you choose to print it takes you to a print preview screen where you can either confirm the print or cancel. You can also lighten and darken the picture at this stage. A flip up lens allows you to take selfies. You can use the shutter button on the top or OK button to take photos. Pressing the shutter button whilst in other modes takes you straight to the camera mode.

The other buttons are the Star button which allows you to adjust the volume or in photo or video mode allows you to use camera options such as self timer which delays the picture being taken by 10 seconds or face timer which delays taking the picture until a stable face is detected. The OK button which you can use to confirm a choice or action, to control certain games or use it to take photos. Pressing OK when viewing saved photos allows you to zoom in and out. In photo or video mode the Print button takes you straight to the print preview screen or takes you straight to camera if in any other mode. Directional buttons are used to select options or control in games.The Play button allows you to review saved photos or videos. Use the Delete button to cancel or delete photos / videos.

On the home screen there are 8 modes to choose from. Photo mode takes you straight to the camera. Video allows you to take short 5 minute videos (or 10 minutes if using a memory card). In video mode you can press either the OK button or top shutter button to start and stop the recording. When replaying video you can use the left and right directional buttons to fast forward or rewind. You also use the OK button to pause and resume video playback. You can use directional buttons to add themes or effects to your videos before you record them. Use up and down buttons to zoom in/out in video mode. Self timer and face timer can also be used in video mode.

In panorama mode there is an animation intro to show you how it works. Once past the intro you take two to four photos which stitch together in a moving photo which you can save or print.

In click and colour mode you take a photo or use a saved photo and convert it into a line drawing which you can print to colour in.

Comic strip maker mode allows you to make a comic strip using the sample strip or create your own. Using the sample strip pictures you can change the backgrounds and add effects that you can move around the screen and make bigger and smaller to personalise it. Using make your own you can choose your own background then add a saved picture or take a picture and add effects which you can move around the screen and make bigger and smaller. Once finished you can either save or print your comic strip.

Print shop mode allows you to edit and add photos to printable templates such as mini cards, costume play (where you mix and match different costumes and hairstyles and add your own face), colour by numbers, tic tac toe game board, mazes and many more small printable crafts.

In games mode there are three games Crystal Blast where you connect three same coloured crystals in a row either horizontal, vertically or diagonally to blast them away till you clear all the crystals , Hopping Clown where you need to help the clown jump from platform to platform to complete his performance and Baby Sloth where you need to help the sloth climb and jump from twig to twig to collect and avoid obstacles. This speeds up the further up the twig you get to make it harder.

In settings mode you can adjust brightness, format memory, adjust camera settings, adjust date and time, adjust language, and set parental controls to limit playtime each day up to 90 minutes for games or set a print limit up to 50 prints a day.

It comes with a handy wrist strap to avoid it being dropped. It has a tripod screw hole on the bottom if you wanted to buy one separately.

It is honestly so much more than simply a camera that prints pictures. It is hours of fun for children playing games, creating videos, editing comic strips, printing crafts games that can be done over and over again. Yes the prints are only small, it only prints black and white and pictures printed out aren’t the best quality but alright for a younger child. My daughter was happy with her instant prints. She loved adding frames and effects to her pictures. Her and her friends had fun taking pictures and printing them off to share or adding themselves into comic strips. It definitely appealed to my daughter’s creative side. The PrintCam is suitable from age 5+ so my daughter is probably at the upper end of the age range but she genuinely loved it and has played with it over and over again.

Rating: 4 / 5

RRP: £79.99

For more information about the product please visit the vtech website here.