Review: DIY Instant Print Camera (Thermal paper)

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This is a USB-C rechargable kids camera with built in "photo printer" that prints on thermal receipt paper. At the $40 price point I was impressed and think it's good value as a gift for a 5-10 year old.
I was not expecting great quality from the printouts, but it is actually quite good for being a thermal printer. If you have a good high contrast photo, it will print it b&w or gray scale and be very usable. Obviously, it's not archival quality, and if the thermal paper gets left in a hot car it will blacken like a receipt, but it's plenty good for kids and relatively inexpensive to buy more thermal paper.
The camera has a 32 GB micro-sd card, and actually takes reasonably good photos and videos for a kids camera
The UI is simple and easy for kids to use (6 main screens: photos, videos, MP3 player, Playback, Games, and Settings) and includes games as well as the photo/video features. The camera also has a lot of built in filters and overlays that modify how the image looks or prints messages and fun scenes / masks on top of the photos.

[@Lia2024xoxo]

thank u this video helped me so much. im going on holiday so my mum got it for me from amazon. somehing that i dont rlly like is the printed pictures. i thought it would be colored

[@Pro1er]

Thumbs up. I have a near identical camera that uses the same firmware and I wanted to use the fill light for video but it does not mention in the manual to hold down the button for continuous light, it only says to press the button for a flash. Thanks for pointing this out!

[@summetj]

@@Pro1er Glad I could help!

[@quartzboye]

I found one at Five below yesterday, it's a good lo-fi toy camera!

[@aissatoudiop2738]

my camera prints paper but the picture doesnt show. any ideas

[@summetj]

It is possible that the paper isn't properly routed over the "print head", so the first thing I'd try doing is taking the paper out and re-installing it (have a look at the manual if you have it for the proper routing). Check also the orientation of the thermal paper...I'm not sure if both sides are the same or if you can only print on the side with the special chemicals on it. Other options are that the battery needs charging, and has enough voltage to drive the paper motor but not the heating elements that are used for the thermal printer paper. Or you might just have a broken printing element in the camera.

[@sebclements866]

I've had an issue where the thermal printer has stopped working and isn't printing images now. Any ideas on how to fix? It doesn't have a manual for troubleshooting.

[@summetj]

I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions other than to change the batteries to fresh ones, and take the paper out and re-seat it. That will check the basics, but if that doesn't fix it, it would probably need a full on repair as something is probably broken inside.

[@bonnie32574]

​@@summetj It doesn't even have a battery compartment, as it charges.

[@user-lx1nr2be8v]

Me to

[@Pro1er]

Not sure if you got thing sorted out but that usually means that the paper is in backwards, there is a print side to the paper.

[@Carlyxfairy]

I have the purple one

[@Animatedconcepts-j5s]

9:46 goodbye

[@bonnie32574]

Hello. I have this exact camera, except it's blue. Mine will not print photos. If you try, you would have to *open it up* just to see that it only printed a *line*. Is there any way to fix this?

[@summetj]

It sounds like your paper is jammed or not set in correctly. Try leaving a bit of paper outside the printer next time you close it instead of ripping it off.

[@user-yh4zs3rk8b]

Hello it is the Thursday 21st Of march my birthday is on the 25th and…um I looked in my mum and dads wordrobe and it was there and I ca,e here to watch this

[@bonnie32574]

I think that camera was a gift for you.😮😅 Also, My mom's birthday is the same as yours.

[@SunshineRblx]

How do u open it

[@summetj]

You kind of push the front half "up" compared to the back half, it pops up and then can fold open. See 29 seconds into the video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWSniXyJqL6meJYsi=IcyDM2IZVobt0UiL&t=29

[@SunshineRblx]

@@summetj thank you!

[@karllayou114]

Mon appareil photo ne s'éteint plus et l'écran reste noir. Help me please :)

[@summetj]

Je suis désolé, mais ça n'a pas l'air bien. Étapes à suivre : 1) Maintenez le bouton d'alimentation enfoncé pendant 10 secondes. 2) Consultez le manuel pour voir s'il y a un bouton « réinitialisation » caché dans un trou quelque part. 3) Branchez-le et chargez pendant 5 heures (puis répétez l'étape 1). 4) S'il est toujours sous garantie, contactez le fabricant/magasin.

[@johnjohnson386]

Does it need to recharge toner and where can i buy it or it doesnt need it ?

[@summetj]

The paper is thermal printer paper, so it takes specialized rolls of paper. (But they are relatively easy to find because it's the same type of paper that receipt printers use.)

[@samanthacordobazapata5368]

Hello, my camera stopped turning on and it has not been hit or hit by water, any recommendations, sorry if it is not understood, I am using a translator

[@summetj]

The only suggestion I have is to check the battery make sure it is charged.

[@gloriajames8950]

Great video

[@freedomgassoway4907]

Can you delete pictures on this camera?

[@summetj]

yes, you can delete single photos (or wipe the entire MicroSD card)

[@user-my8fq7nk1z]

@@summetjcan you tell us how?

[@summetj]

@@user-my8fq7nk1z To delete a photo: Go to "Playback" in the menu, find the photo, and then press and hold the "OK" button. A "Delete" menu will come up with "OK" or "Cancel". Press the OK button and it will delete one photo.

[@calebrodriguez4823]

Each time i print it doesnt show anything

[@MarkLown]

Can you upload videos to it for your child to watch eg mp4 or AVI please?

[@summetj]

I don't know, I've never tried that.

[@user-xi9te5eg4s]

Ours won’t turn on anymore even though it’s charged, do you maybe know why?

[@summetj]

I'm afraid I don't have any specific debugging suggestions for you other than to hold down the power button for 10 seconds or check if there is a "reset" hole that needs a tiny pin to push the reset button.

[@nazaninnamiranian]

Does the paper is BPA free and safe? no where talking about BPA?

[@summetj]

I doubt that the thermal printer paper is BPA free. If that is a concern for you, you can source known good BPA free thermal printer paper (if you have a source you trust) and use it with this camera, as it uses relatively standard sizes. Perhaps a better solution is to not give the camera to children too young to understand that they need to keep it out of their mouth.

[@maranicola9832]

Can you take selfies with the camera ?

[@summetj]

Yes, although the only aiming aid is a tiny curved plastic chrome mirror. (You center the reflection of your face in the mirror and that centers the camera on you.)

[@user-yh4zs3rk8b]

But I got white

[@BethRiley-cq5ep]

It doesn’t matter what colour

[@anamachado7767]

Does this camera print in color?

[@summetj]

No, it is monochrome (B&W) or gray only

[@Popcatobjecthingy2024]

5:56