Rongta Kids Digital Print Camera Ages 3-10
Rongta Kids Camera
I retired a few years ago from a career that was paying me 6 digits a year and allowed me to travel the world. I can attribute the skills that led to my career from my exposure to tech toys from my youth. Radio Shack kits, radios, CB radios, cameras, etc. I feel it is vital to expose young children to technical hobbies. Enter the Rongta Kids Camera.
The Rongta Digital Print Camera is not only fun but is sure to inspire your young children to learn photography and computer skills leading to imaginative creation. And hey, it’s fun! Listed price is $49.99 at Amazon with a $20 coupon. John’s Tech Blog’s readers can receive an additional 10% off by using the code 10JohnsTech
The code is good until 20 December 2024. That is darn near half of the original price. And just in time for Christmas!
Disclaimer
If you came here to see a list of every specification and an unboxing video you’ll be disappointed. John’s Tech Blog knows that you can go to the product page and read the specs yourself. AND YOU SHOULD DO THAT.
I use things and am on the hunt for gotchas, or how to exploit items to get the maximum out of them. I don’t magnify and count pixels but I’ll darn sure tell you if a picture is distorted or things along those lines.
When a kid opens the box at Christmas they don’t care what size SD card is in it. They just want to use it in a fun manner. I can tell you right now that this camera is FUN with a capital F. U. N. Your kids will love it.
What’s In The Box
The camera body, markers for coloring the thermal printed paper, a carry strap, and a USB cable. Also not shown are a manual, stickers, and the printer paper is already installed in the camera.
Box Contents
Consumables
Rongta does not sell the thermal paper for the camera but it is a commonly found 30mm diameter (1.18″) and a paper width of 57.5±0.5mm (2.25″). That translates to 2 1/4″ x 30′. That can be found locally in office supply stores. One thing I noticed when sourcing the paper is that 10 rolls only costs a few dollars more than trying to buy one roll.
Initial Impression
Before diving into things I was pretty sure this was a point and click digital camera that just printed out grayscale. My wife and I both decided that was cool. But we both wondered aloud if you could get a regular photo out of it.
The answer is a resounding YES! There is an accessible SD card and connecting your Rongta Kids Camera to your computer via the included USB cable it functions just like a regular digital camera. I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting that, but I wasn’t.
Upload to Computer
Make no mistake. This is a toy that isn’t just a toy. This is a functional 2 megapixel camera, and 1080p video camera. And with music and templates it is sure to be a hit with your kids. And it is cute to boot.
Front View
Of course the most striking feature is that it is shaped like a pig. The lens is labelled “16X Powerful Zoom”.
The darker pink area is the cover for changing the thermal paper roll. Also to my surprise there is a front and REAR facing camera. Wow this so called “toy” packs a serious punch. Selfies, anyone?
As you creep around to the side of the camera there is a flexible dust cover which hides the USB-C connection for charging and computer interface. Also, there is an SD Card slot with an included 32 GB card.
USB-C and SD Card
Booting up the camera is fun as well. You can hear it made me happy laugh when I first heard it.
Let’s Use It
After that cute boot up screen you are met with 6 icons.
Icons
As you select them with the arrow keys they slowly rock back and forth. This indicates which icon is selected. The options are:
- Camera
- Album
- Music
- Stories
- Enlightenment
- Toolbox(Pomodoro Clock/Timer/Alarm Clock/Settings)
Controls
Control Buttons
The controls are mostly intuitive. The top button is the shutter release or the OK button. Most items in the world have the OK button centered in the arrow keys. This has thrown me for a loop a few times. I’m curious to see how a kid deals with it.
On the back the top button is Power/Return (go back). Next are directional arrows for selecting icons, music or stories, etc. The lowest button is the print button. This video gives a better overview.
One thing I neglected to highlight in the video is that when in picture mode you can push the arrow buttons to cycle through fun and cute frames like this:
Cartoon Background Frames
That’s one of my not so happy dogs that I woke up to take this picture.
Final Thoughts
This is real live camera that is computer connectable. It comes in a fun case that kids will love. It has educational features in addition to fun features. The sound is actually pretty good coming from such a small device.
I can’t imagine a small child waking on on Christmas or their Birthday and not being happy with this camera. Resist the urge to call it a toy. It is an educational camera that can be super fun!
IF YOU’VE GOT A KID, JOHN’S TECH BLOG SAYS THAT THEY WILL LOVE THE RONGTA KID’S DIGITAL PRINT CAMERA