Review: Disney Pix Jr. Digital Camera

Written on Nov 25, 2009 by RuthJS and filed under Digital Blue, Disney, Reviews

Disney’s Pix Jr. digital cameras are designed for ages 3+ and come in four varieties; Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Cars, Toy Story and Princess Pink. The cameras are made by Digital Blue and feature 1.3 megapixel sensors, storage for 500 photos, USB connection, fixed focus and 1.5″ color screen.

Out of the Box

Just seeing it on the shelf, every 4-6 year-old princess I know would flip over this camera.  Sporting a pictures of Aurora, Cinderella, and Belle, and framed by pink and purple, it’s the perfect accessory for a royal adventure.

Then you pick it up . . .

Weighing in at over 11 oz., this Pix Jr. is more than twice as heavy as the 5.5 oz. point-and-shoot that I carry around.  While I’m all for sturdy cameras for small children, this one is substantial to the point of being heavy, which means that mom or dad will probably be carrying it around.  It is, however, rubberized which absorbs shock when it’s dropped and makes it easy to hang on to.

Then you turn it on . . .

Upon pressing the Snapshot button, I was greeted with what I assume was princess sparkle music, but it sounded more like a bad synthesizer in guitar mode.  There is a shutter sound when you take pictures, which is not bad, nor is the bubble pop sound when you scroll through your photo library.  However, if you press the wand button to add a PhotoFriend (more on this later), there’s more bad synthesizer that sounds more like lasers than magic dust in my opinion.  Ditto for the shutdown sound.

Unfortunately, there is no way to adjust the sound or turn it off, which means that this toy is relegated to places where noise is not an issue.  This is too bad since my son and his friends like to take their cameras everywhere, but we could not take this model to a play, a graduation, or a recital. Even if we were only to take pictures before and after the event, I’d be worried that it would turn on in my bag.

Photo Quality

As for the pictures that we took, I was disappointed to see that the flash washed out many of them.  At first, I thought we were just too close to the subject, but even from 6 feet away, we had the same problem.  With no way to turn the flash off or force it on, you can’t control whether the picture will be underexposed, overexposed, or just right.  Furthermore, it seems that there is some sort of sensor that determines when a flash is necessary because sometimes, the flash just didn’t come on, even though it was charged.  But it’s worth noting that there is no mention of this in the very slim user guide.

Below are two pictures of the same subject, one taken with the flash, the other taken without.

As you can see, while the camera offers 1.3 MP resolution, the image quality is poor.  There’s no focus ability, and the pictures turn out looking very flat with almost no depth of field.  When I viewed them on my computer, they were disappointing at best, and when I printed one, I could barely make out the image.

PhotoFriends

One feature that I really liked was the ability to add Disney princess-themed PhotoFriends.  These are graphics that include various Disney princesses, animals , and a crown that you can select and add to your picture (the other versions of this camera have appropriate graphics).  The graphics show up on the display screen and in the final picture, so it’s easy to frame your subject with the graphic. Kids loved being able to create photos with these neat little add-ons. This is definitely the highlight of the camera and the thing it does best.

In a Nutshell

What I like about the camera:

• Adding the PhotoFriends to pictures was fun
• The buttons are simple and easy to use
• Very durable
• Holds over 500 pictures
• Has a display screen though this it is ineffective in low or bright light

What I did not like about the camera:

• No off button, so you waste battery waiting for it to shut itself down
• No way to adjust the flash, and it is VERY bright
• Heavy
• Can’t turn off the sound
• Poor focus
• Pictures that were not print quality

Overall, this camera would be fun for a 2, 3, or 4-year-old to carry around, but beyond that, the photo quality and weight do not justify the $60 MSRP price tag, even with the princess-themed PhotoFriends. Unfortunately the Disney Pix Jr. falls into the trap that many kids cameras do, the photo quality just isn’t very good. That said, if you can find one of these on sale for $30 or less, we think it’s a worthwhile first camera for kids who are interested in taking pictures.

Rating – 2.5 out of 5 stars

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