Polaroid iZone 300 Digital Camera - Good For a Kid's First Camera

Last year when we went on vacation, we went through a phase of my eleven year old daughter’s where she wanted to take pictures. We bought her disposables figuring we didn’t have to worry about them breaking. By the time we were finished purchasing the cameras and getting the film developed, we were out more than $70. And let’s face it, most eleven year olds don’t take pictures that are all keepers. I decided it would be more economical to purchase a cheap digital camera.

The Polaroid iZone 300 Digital Camera was my first choice because a friend’s daughter had it and was happy. It was cheap enough with an online deal that included the camera, docking station and all of the cords needed. A small memory card came with the camera and I purchased an additional larger one for $6 more.

Setting it up for her to use was easy. The battery is rechargeable right on the docking station. I hooked it up to their computer and plugged it in before setting the camera on the base to recharge. While it was doing its initial charge, I loaded Polaroid’s software on the computer. When the time was right, I let her go to town with taking pictures to see what we would come up with. It took her a few tries to master knowing when to turn on the flash prior to taking a picture (it’s not automatic).

The maximum resolution of the Polaroid iZone 300 Digital Camera is 3.2 megapixels. Not up to the standards of most newer digital cameras, but it’s adequate for her. Hey, I started with a 110-film camera many years ago so she’s working along the same path. I look back on my old pictures and from what I’ve seen the picture quality is about the same. While the Polaroid camera takes nice pictures, I can’t say I see the vivid colors or crispness to detail that I am used to from my own camera. Even when we send them out for developing instead of printing them ourselves, the quality is just okay and I notice the same degrees of blurriness and lack of color that I do when I print them. There’s a digital zoom that goes up to 3x, enough to bring things a little closer and fuller into the frame.

The LCD screen is just 1.5 inches so it doesn’t show much in detail. It makes a good review for the pictures as it was showing how dark they were coming out and she realized she had to use the flash a lot more often than she thought.

Polaroid indicates the camera will support a memory card up to 512mb. This is what we purchased and it is showing over 200 pictures at maximum resolution. Of course, the way she takes pictures and using the flash, the battery drains a lot faster than just taking straight pictures. It spends a lot of time sitting on the dock.

The pictures transfer over to the computer very easily with the software. I didn’t even have to learn it to teach it to her – she figured it out for herself. What I did have to do was figure out how to import her photos into the Kodak software to print them out on her sister’s photo printer. Again, the quality of the picture isn’t near what the more expensive cameras take, but for her age level it’s fine. The software works with Windows 98se, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Mac OS 9.2 - OS X.

The size is nice as it fits conveniently in a backpack or pocket. She and her friend took theirs out skiing last weekend to take pictures. They got much more out of the battery in the bright sun against the snowy slopes and even used the video function to take a movie of her little brother skiing. Video resolution is just 640x480, but again that is sufficient for pre-teens and young teens. The video ate up most of her friend’s smaller memory card.

It’s pretty durable as well, having gone through backpacks and been banged around without breaking. I don’t think it’s been dropped just yet. The skin that goes around it feels like rubber and aids in the cushioning needed for younger hands that aren’t careful enough for a more expensive camera.

One thing that did break on the camera her friend had was the docking station. After a couple of months she found it difficult to get it to sit right on the dock to charge or transfer pictures. We’ve been using it a couple of months and so far, so good, although since my daughter knows that was an issue she has been careful about it.

The Polaroid iZone 300 Digital Camera is a good first camera for kids and teens, or a cheap alternative to purchasing disposables all the time. The durability is good for that age group and they will be happy with the pictures they get. The quality is not up to my standards, but then I don’t want to sink a few hundred dollars into a camera my daughter might break or lose.


© 2007 Patti Aliventi