We got this for our oldest grandson when he turned 6 this past Spring. I was looking for a camera because he had been wanting a camera for the past several years - and had gotten a couple of old model digital cameras, but they went through way too many batteries. Our grandson saw a polaroid camera somewhere and loved the idea of cameras that instantly spit out photos, but those cameras and the film that goes with them are way too expensive and they just aren't practical for little kids.

I decided to do a used camera hunt, but most of those cameras also required batteries and they didn't spit out photos. Then I decided to see if there were any cameras out there that made sense for a 6-year-old and I came across this little camera. It seemed perfect, so we bought it.

Our grandson was beyond excited! As far as he was concerned, the simple little black and white images are absolutely perfect! It's so cute to watch him take pictures that he hands out to family members as mementos, or that he puts into a little collection box, or that he glues on paper to make books and projects. He and his sister also make little video stories with it for themselves to replay later, since the camera also can make videos. He has had it for over 5 months and he is still very creative with it.

Unfortunately, one day the camera quit working properly, and unlike other times that my daughter was able to work through after getting instructions for it, this time was a bit of a camera tragedy. I contacted the MINIBEAR company through Amazon and the very helpful and friendly customer service person worked with me until she too came to the same conclusion that whatever happened to the camera seemed permanent. So the company sent my grandson a new camera! He was so excited to get his camera back that he turned it right on and went to work. He didn't have the broken one with him when I gave him the new one, and he missed the pictures he thought he had lost, but when his mother put the original SD card into the new camera,...voilà! There they were again!

So if you're wondering if I would buy this camera again, then the answer is a resounding YES! We have another grandson and a granddaughter both turning 6 this year and the plan is to get them each a camera also because they have seen the first one and loved it.

Are the black and white thermal images perfect? To the modern adult eye that is used to high definition digital photos, maybe not. But to the innocent creativity of a child, it's amazing! The camera itself records the images and videos in digital color and those photo images can be printed as color photos just like any other camera.

This is an actual camera, even though it looks like a toy. I wouldn't really give it to a much younger child, just because they tend to toss things over their shoulder without giving it a thought, then wonder why it quit working. That's why we're waiting a bit to give cameras to the other two.

I also suggest going ahead and buying some of the extra paper rolls they offer through MINIBEAR. I think the three rolls that come with the camera will give around 210 little pictures, but a little kid will happily take 210 pictures of everything he/she sees in no time, especially while the camera is still new.

Keep in mind, the camera uses thermal paper - like the receipt paper from the store - so don't keep it stored in the car or anywhere it might get too hot, or the paper might not work for photos.

I bought this for my granddaughter for her birthday. She is six years old. She takes this camera everywhere. It is so cool "¦it even video records. Such a great bye.

I gotta say that I wasn't expecting much from this camera but my daughter really wanted it so we went for it as a special gift. I found it to be really cute and takes pretty decent pics for what is really just a toy at the end of the day. The printing thing is really what makes this so cute - it uses thermal paper to print cute pics cheaply. No ink is needed. Apparently you can buy rolls of this thermal paper easily but I guess you just need to make sure it's the right size. The paper is the kind that's used in cash registers. Anyway, the printed pics are cute and come out in black and white with reasonable quality given that it's a toy.

My only real complaint is that the user interface is not intuitive at all - you just need to learn how to do each thing like deleting pics, changing settings, etc by reading the manual. I would have thoyght that a child's toy should be more intuitive for a child to learn how to use. But our daughter happily learned and it's great. And she also enjoys the little games it come with.

Bottom line, it's a cute gift and seems to be durable so far for a little kid.

Got this for my five year old niece and she absolutely loves it! Takes great pictures and easy for her to use!

Updated review :
The seller contacted me and sent me a new camera and it holds a charge just fine so far. My daughter seems to really enjoy the camera. Some of the camera features aren't particularly intuitive for me to use (but that could just be me), but it's easy enough to take a photo and print it. The print quality is what you might expect for a thermal printer, but when there is plenty of contrast in the photo composition, you can see detail in the photos. It's nice that my daughter can take as many photos as she likes without my worrying about using up expensive photo paper and ink, and she definitely takes a lot of pictures. She finds all sorts of things to photo and she also likes to take "picture bands," where she takes several pictures without tearing the picture from the roll between shots. Lots of entertainment for a 4.5-year-old budding artist! Would recommend.

I bought this in October to give to my 4-year-old daughter for Christmas. Unfortunately, I didn't take it out of the package and try it out until Christmas Eve. When I did take it out it, it would only turn on when it was attached to the charger. I charged it all night, but it would immediately turn off as soon as I disconnected it from the charger. Unfortunately, the camera won't take pictures when it's charging, so my daughter couldn't even play with it connected to the cord.
I contacted customer service and tried their suggestions for fixing it to no avail
The company then kindly said they would send be a replacement camera. Sadly, I have yet to receive the replacement nor have my follow-up emails been answered.
It's a cute camera and a fun idea. If only it worked.
And lesson learned about not waiting till Christmas Eve to try out the gifts... Santa will have better quality control next year.