After a great time playing around with Hoppstar cameras, this No-Nonsense Mum decided my mini-human needed her very own! Her favourite had been the Hoppstar Artist camera, which includes the ability to print out black-and-white photographs too.
At 5 years old, she’s old enough to understand how to use a camera, big enough for this slightly larger printer model, and ready to enjoy using the extra features it had.
So, what does it do?
Put simply, it’s a digital camera in a child friendly package that includes a built-in printer. The Hoppstar Artist also includes the ability to take selfies, record videos and add frames and ‘digital stickers’ to the photograph, too. The people behind Hoppstar have designed this with children in mind – and it shows.
It feels robust, the material is comfortable to hold and it’s simple to use. In addition to this, the printing is done on easily replaceable rolls of paper, much like receipt paper – no messy ink to worry about! Also, another great thing too is how cheap these printouts are – they come in at about 3p a photo, much cheaper than many alternatives. One of the things I also really like is what it doesn’t do (as weird as that may sound…) – this isn’t ‘screen time by stealth’ – there’s no built in games or things to watch. It is a camera, and it knows how to do its job!
What’s in the box?
The Hoppstar Artist camera comes nicely packaged with everything you need to get started right away. In the box is the camera itself, already preinstalled with an SD memory card. As well as this, you get a pack of 3 printer papers (which includes 2 plain paper rolls and 1 roll of sticky paper), a USB charging cable with two adapters as well as an adjustable camera strap so your child can easily wear it around their neck.
Extra Accessories
We also bought a bag to go with the camera, and some extra paper refills – I figured I may as well have the paper ready! You can get plain white paper, pastel coloured paper and sticky paper options, as well as sets that can be used to print out as a memory card game (although I feel you could DIY this fairly easily by just printing each picture twice). The bag is quilted, feels lovely quality and it also has an adjustable strap. Additionally, inside there is the main compartment for the camera, as well as a separate pocket which is ideal for keeping your charging cable and a spare roll of paper to take out with you.
Okay, but what about the photos?
My mini-human was super excited to get playing with her new camera. It was great to see her really looking and seeing what was around and thinking about how she could take a photo of it! We went to one of our local favourite places, Beale Wildlife Park, for a walk in the sunshine. She took some sweet photos of the wildlife we saw. It’s important to remember that this is a simple digital camera – it doesn’t have zoom features, for example. However, you can go into the settings to adjust the image quality with 3 different options – 12M, 8M or 3M. I decided to set ours at 12M to give it the best chance to capture decent pics. I actually thought that it handled the varying and often bright light conditions really well. Remember – this is a children’s camera!
We are also impressed with the quality of the print outs too – they’re great for scrapbooking or little mementos for kids to keep after playing and exploring. There is also the choice to do a one click “digital & print” or just a digital copy – you can always print out later once you’re reviewing the images! I am already thinking of ideas to use the camera as part of nature walks where I challenge my mini human to look for specific things, too.
It is easy enough to connect the camera up to my laptop to get the digital images off, especially due to it coming with the extra adaptors.
Would I recommend it?
Are you after a FUN kids camera, that’s easy to use, as well as taking a decent pic and can do instant prints?
If yes, then based on my first impressions and experience so far, I would recommend the Hoppstar Artist.
It feels well made, the materials are nice to the touch, and it’s easy to use – my 5 year old instinctively knew how to use it. In fact, I love that it focuses on what it’s meant to be – which is a camera! It doesn’t overcomplicate things.
The other great thing about this is that it encourages kids to look around them, see what there is, and explore the world – whilst giving them a chance to share what it looks like from their perspective. And you know what? To this Mum, that’s simply brilliant.
Want to find out more?
The Hoppstar Artist Camera retails at £109.99, with the branded bag coming in at £19.99 and paper refills at £6.99 for a pack of 3 rolls. The No-Nonsense Mum purchased ours from an independent, Mum-owned retailer, Lottie & Poddy, and I’d recommend checking them out – it’s always great to support a fellow Mum!
If you’d like to find out more about the Hoppstar Camera range, or to purchase your own, here’s where to take a look:
Hoppstar Brand Website
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