While many kids' cameras offer rudimentary video capabilities, the end result is usually less than impressive, but leave it to Polaroid to make your budding filmmaker's dreams a reality.

Unlike many kids' cameras, Polaroid's Pixie Digital Camera offers no video capabilities at all, but this was apparently based on the, "If we're going to do it, we're going to do it well" model. Eschewing the mediocre games of its still counterpart, the Pixie Video Camera ("PVC") focuses (no pun intended) on the actual photography.

Like its counterpart, the PVC comes in either blue or pink and is intended for about age 8 and up, although since it lacks the games, I'd even recommend it for a 6-year-old with a steady hand who doesn't drop too much. The plastic case lacks rubber padding but seems strong enough to survive most falls, and the controls win for sheer simplicity. Open the side door to reveal the 1.5" preview screen, and the PVC boots up, ready to record in about 5 seconds. Close the preview window, and it shuts itself off, saving precious battery life.

Feed the PVC two AA batteries, and it will eat them rather quickly, in minutes rather than hours, so if you're going on a trip, you'll want to take extra rechargeable batteries and a mini-philips screwdriver to change them. (It includes 2 extra screws in case you lose one trying to change the batteries while juggling a toddler, a diaper bag, and a cappuccino at Sea World.) Inside the battery compartment, you'll also find a necessary SD card slot. The PVC has onboard memory, but only enough for 15 seconds of video, hardly enough for a commercial, much less the next Labyrinth, but SD cards run cheap, especially this time of year, so get a 2GB one right away, which will still only give you 24 minutes of video space.

The PVC also offers the capability to take still photos, though the resolution is only 1.3 megapixels, so you'll have to decide which is more important to your child, larger photos or video, if you're trying to decide between the two Polaroids. The PVC includes a flash for indoor shots, but the flash cannot be turned on steady for video recording, which is probably good, lest it consume the batteries without pausing to chew! Still images were not as clear as those taken by the Pixie Digital Camera.

Video records at 30 fps VGA (640x480 pixels), which looks fine on a standard definition TV. When recording, standard incandescent lighting produces a dark image, but overhead fluorescent lighting is plenty. Video was a bit blurry like the still images, so you won't want to preserve your precious family memories with this, but it's fine for kids running around and having fun. The automatic light adjustment was very limited and not gradual, as you can see in the sample video.

The PVC includes a USB and standard video-out port so you can connect it to a computer and download the files off of it or connect to a TV to show your creation to Grandpa while visiting for the holidays. The PVC uses standard camera protocols, so connecting it to a Mac launches iPhoto immediately, allowing easy import. If you're running a PC, the PVC includes a mini-CD with Arcsoft VideoImpression software, a basic video editing package that can burn VideoCDs, although again, since it's a mini-CD, it won't work in slot-loading drives. On a Mac, the AVI files can be imported into iMovie via drag-and-drop and edited there.

Overall, I have to say that I was disappointed with this camera. Polaroid led the pack with the still Pixie, but the video camera lacks the clarity in both still and motion capture that I expect from a company like Polaroid. That said, kids who just want to have fun and make their own movies will love this toy. Just keep in mind that it's a toy, not a tool, and in spite of the lacking clarity, its simplicity will bring many hours of fun.