Vtech kidizoom duo - a kid's camera chockablock full of functions, games, cool effects and selfie le

If your phone is anything like mine it is full of photos and videos my kids have taken of themselves and each other making crazy faces and generally having fun. Whilst this great, and I love some of the candid moments they capture, it is my phone and it makes me more than a little nervous, when they drop everything else they touch, just how long until the screen is shattered, not to mention finding the thing when they "put it away".

Well Vtech, who have long developed a range of Kidizoom cameras, have now nailed the market with their latest offering, the Vtech Kidizoom Duo. The Vtech Kidizoom Duo is available in Pink or Blue but are otherwise identical. The camera is recommended for ages 3 plus, and we reckon would probably be suitable for up to 9 or 10 year olds at the upper range.

The Vtech Kidizoom Duo has a great shape and weight for little hands, the two big grips on either side of the camera give little hands a great handhold that will minimise the risk of them placing a finger over the lens. The buttons are all easily reached by small and large fingers and the weight is nice and light for small arms to hold. The dual viewfinder means that the little photographer doesn’t need to squint through a single space, making it much more intuitive.

Whilst the Vtech Kidizoom Duo would leave most professionals begging for more features, it strikes a great balance between functionality and fun for the budding photographer in your family. With a 4x zoom and a 6cm (2.4 inch) colour LCD screen The Vtech Kidizoom Duo has the look and feel of a great camera. The internal memory will hold roughly 200 photos but does get chewed up pretty quickly with the longer videos my kids tend to shoot, but that’s OK, you can add a Micro SD to the mix to expand the memory, or just delete the hundreds of photos kids seem to take of their feet.

Technically, the Kidizoom Duo is a great little camera but practically is where it comes in to its own. The selfie craze is everywhere and even young photographers want in on the action. Vtech have used their years of experience in childrens technology to include both a forward facing and rear facing camera with a dedicated button to switch between the two making it, well, Childs play. Now the ability to easily shoot video, add filters and frames, voice record and use the flash are all added features that make this a great little multipurpose unit.

But, being Vtech, that’s not all, they have also included 5 games built into the camera for your child to get extra functionality from the unit. There is no word yet on whether they will add more games to the library, but the 5 included are quite fun and should keep the young photographer busy when not shooting funny faces or feet.

We reckon it looks tough and sturdy but we still had to drop it from a height to make sure. First we had a 7-year-old hold it above his head and drop it to a tiled floor with no visible damage and the camera restarted without any problem and functioned as expected. Then I did the same, I am 185cm (6ft) tall so when held above my head, it was about two metres. My heart did skip a beat when the battery cover popped off. I need not have worried, it popped straight back on and away they went. This would appear to be plenty tough enough to handle most kids knocks and bounces, not necessarily indestructible but tough enough for daily use and the wrist strap will no doubt come in handy as well.

The camera uses 4 AA Batteries (which are included) and how long they last will depend on how the camera is used but we were able to use it for a solid day without completely draining the batteries.

We loved the Vtech Kidizoom Duo, in fact we think it is the best product in this camera range that Vtech have ever made. If your children are anything like mine, they will love the freedom and fun of their own camera, video camera and game suite and you will enjoy getting your phone back!

Want to know more? Watch the video below :

Magda de Berg, a successful online business entrepreneur based in Australia, is the founder and owner of Toys Online Store - ToyUniverse.com.au