Canon - Ivy CLIQ+2 Instant Film Camera - Metallic Mocha

Right off the bat, I like this Canon Ivy Cliq+2 Instant Camera & Printer. It has a nostalgic feel to it of point-n-shoot cameras that were fun to use back when cell phones were these giant bricks that needed a cigarette lighter in the car to charge. I’ll break this review down in two parts: The Camera and The App. This Cliq+2 has a sleek design and feels purposeful w/ the limited buttons and controls (all the frills are found in the app). You have the power button, the light setting (flash, outdoors, auto), a button to choose between Black & White or Vivid (color), a button to put a white border around your picture, and a button to take the actual picture. That’s it. Five buttons. It has an SD Card slot and it comes with a Micro-USB plug to charge the camera. The Micro-USB cable is annoyingly short, just over a foot long. There is a tiny little bar to thread a wristlet on either side of the camera for your preference, but I found it too cumbersome to attach it and gave up after 20ish minutes. The flash works great. The printer itself is quiet and really quick, although taking the cover off to insert the sticker printer sheets was tough. The camera would print whether I held it, laid it down, or stood it upright. It looks like it holds only 10 sheets at a time and it will blink when it’s out of paper or needs to be charged. The Cliq+2 uses Canon Zink 2”x3”sticker sheets and these are some high quality sticker sheets. I was seriously impressed with these sheets! I’m assuming you can use other brands of Zink sheets, but they all seemed to be within the same price range as Canon so I will continue to use this brand. These are not flimsy sticker sheets, they are THICCC and have a smooth, glossy finish. They were easy to stick to smooth surfaces (like my desk, a folder, my phone) and I was actually able to re-position them on some notepad paper a few times. They will lose their stickiness if you reposition it more than a few times though. I may have gotten carried away testing that out. The “quality” of the photo will vary with your app usage, but for simple point-n-click shots the pictures were nice. If you do NOT put an SD Card in, the camera will not save any pics. It will work just like any regular instant camera. If you do install an SD card, it will save your pics to the card and you can transfer them to your computer later. It will not send any pics you take to your phone. By the way, if you have not used these types of instant camera printers before, Zink is a type of ink-less printing (the sheets have these tiny color crystals in them that the camera heats up in a way to create your picture). Supposedly, these pictures will last for a couple of decades before fading out. The camera also has an auto-shutoff feature when it’s not being used to save your charge. The viewfinder is just like those when I was a 90s kid using disposable cameras on vacation because my parents would never allow us to use the Rebel (or was it an Eos?). Anyways, it’s a fish-eye lens to get your subject in the picture…generally. Do not count on it to get a perfectly centered picture. I wasted a few of my sticker sheets on shots that were off-centered before I figured the best way to get the right shot…. …and that’s to use the App. The box that this comes in lacks a user guide, but there’s a card inside w/ a QR code that will take you straight to the app store to download (or you can search Canon Mini Print) and it’s from here that can access the user guide, FAQ, and all the fun options to manipulate your photos. You will need your Bluetooth turned on for you to communicate with the printer part of the camera from your phone when you are ready to print. The app contains the standard photoshop options (filters, light adjustments, borders, texts, stickers, collage etc.), however; there is no crop or delete option! The closest I could get to crop was to pinch-to-zoom and then continue with my edits. The text option may be hard to read on some photos as they do not have a black/white border to help the letters standout on any background. Everything in the app was free and there were plenty of options (even Halloween frames as it’s October at the time of this review). You can edit your photos in other apps and access them from the gallery to print or even pull pics off your Facebook or Instagram to print as well. They also offer circular sticker sheets to purchase if you want something other than rectangle. You can save any of your photos that you create in the app. My Galaxy S10+ had no problem running the app or communicating with the camera. If you want to get a really good sticker pic, use your phone then send it to the camera to print. I believe this camera was meant to be used in a fun way, but I have much more in store for this Canon. Although this will be a blast for older children or adults to use at a party, this can do so much more! The Canon Ivy Cliq+2 would be great to use as a “picture label” for items that needed to be stored in containers for organization (crafts, toys, accessories). For example, you can easily snap a picture of your shoes and then stick it to the outside of the shoe container then store it away. Then you can see your shoes at a glance without opening every box. This would also be great to use at the start of the school year, take a picture of your students/staff and edit in their name and stick the label at their desk or backpack cubby or for making a chart to hang up. Or even design your business card and then stick this to your folders, merchandise, etc. You can avoid the sticky part altogether and put these pictures in frames for your desk, make tree ornaments, or add to holiday cards to send. Overall, this is a neat and fun camera that can do more than capture great memories.

The Canon Ivy Cliq +2 is a fun little camera that’s more like a pocket photo printer. I’ve seen a few other competitors around, but I think this is probably the thinnest and most truly pocketable. It’s as slim as a deck of cards and while it kind of reminds me of the old instant print Polaroid days, this little camera is easier to carry and does so much more. As a camera, it has a unique layout in that there’s a traditional viewfinder with a fixed wide angle lens, but the front of the lens has a reflective coating around it which serves as a selfie viewfinder. It seemed kind of gimmicky at first, but the reflective coating actually does the job fairly well, even at night. Keep in mind, this is meant to be a casual, fun phone, so don’t expect anything remotely close to serious, high end digital photos. In fact, your smartphone might take better quality photos but that’s not a problem here, because the Ivy Cliq + 2 was made to sync up with your phone through Canon’s Mini Print app. Setup was a breeze on my Android phone and thankfully the app is straightforward and easy to use. There’s photo filters, frames, stickers, text, and other custom photo editing options to choose from, but the best part to me is how it can sync up with my phone’s camera feed, Facebook, Instagram, and Google Photos. This was huge to me, because I have a bunch of photos on those accounts that I wanted to edit and print out for friends. In fact, I’ve been using it as a wireless pocket printer more than anything and there’s a certain joy to turning my friends into printable meme stickers right in front of them. The prints come out as 2”x3” full color photo stickers with a peelable back that reveals the adhesive. Adhesion is pretty good, kind of reminds me of a bumper sticker, but not nearly as permanent. Print quality is ok, nothing studio quality, but clean enough overall and perfectly suitable for casual photo stickers. At about 50 cents each photo print, it’s on par with other cameras with built in printers, but this might have the most friendly form factor. The translucent white has a pinkish sheen, the fit and finish is good, and the body feels sturdy despite being all plastic. I like this camera a bit more than I thought I would, but I think that’s because I find using it as a pocket printer for my phone to be pretty fun. For the price point, I do wish the camera was a bit better, but it’s good for what it’s designed to do. This is casual photography at its most casual. If you’re in the market for a fun and truly pocketable camera with a built-in printer, or even just a wireless pocket photo printer, definitely give the Canon Ivy Cliq + 2 a look. Being truly pocketable is huge plus and it's a camera I don't mind giving to little kids to play with.

Canon has been pumping out some really cool portable photo printers and the Ivy Cliq + 2 is no exception. Whether you use it as a camera or a printer, it’s a really fun device! The camera itself has some settings that you can apply with the push of a button like Vivid, Black & White, and the option of a white border or borderless printing. The printing quality is okay to good: some photos have a blue ink edge, some will show blurring if the subject is moving, and it’s easy to over expose your shot in sunny conditions. That being said, I’m not totally put off - it’s got a digital camera “vintage” look and I kind of like that. If you want better quality, just connect this device to the mobile app and print specifically selected images from your smartphone. The Canon Mini Print App is fun and user friendly - it has a good selection of stickers and borders as well as filters. The camera’s physical profile is thinner than I expected, and it’s pretty compact for what it is. The lens does not protrude very much and has a super convenient “selfie mirror”. I love the iridescent quality. It's very visually appealing! The black wrist strap is difficult to apply and doesn’t match the camera, but honestly, that’s not really a main concern of mine so no deductions for this. A small charging cable is included, charging time is reasonable, and the battery lasts a good while - I've only charged it once since I got it. These 2”x3” photos are great keepsakes and awesome for scrapbooking given that they’re also stickers themselves! I peeled and stuck some on my laptop case, my fridge, and my sticker wall. I’m looking forward to sticking these on personalized holiday and birthday cards. The Canon Ivy Cliq + 2 has a small learning curve as the camera buttons are not all explained in the manual or literature, but they’re not hard to figure out. All in all it’s pretty easy to use and printing doesn’t take very long. I will happily keep using this device and I can recommend it to anyone looking for a compact instant camera.

Instant print cameras have been around since the Polaroid Corporation introduced the Land Camera Model 95 back in 1948. And while it may seem like instant print photos are a gimmick that fell out of fashion with the invention of digital photography, printable photos have become big business once again (as it is a way for camera & film companies to ensure consistent revenue in a similar way to how they once sold film). The Canon Ivy Cliq uses Zink paper which requires no ink. (Zink actually stands for Zero Ink.) Instead, the photo paper consists of multiple heat sensitive layers containing dye crystals that display various colors when they melt. The camera delivers varying intensities of heat which quickly results in a colorful picture. It is important to note that while many companies (such as HP, Polaroid, Lifeprint, Fujifilm, & Canon) offer Zink cameras – all Zink paper is made by one company: Zink Holdings. They created the underlying technology – which has been licensed out to several companies. So, while physical cameras or printers may vary in quality, all of the photo paper is essentially the same. Just how good is the second generation of Canon’s Ivy Cliq+? Well, compared to the first Cliq+, this new generation is fantastic! The Cliq+ 2 still feels like a toy (as the form factor has not changed), but Canon wisely added bluetooth connectivity - turning the device into a fully functional Zink printer. ...The device is still only able to snap 8 megapixel images, but it now allows pictures to be taken even when no Zink Sheets are installed (as long as you have inserted a Micro SD card). And, users are now able to edit and print any image stored on their mobile device - greatly increasing the usability and the fun! When I reviewed the 1st Gen Cliq, I commented that Canon had focused too heavily on creating a flashy new device that looks fun and lost sight of actually making a good camera. And, while the camera still feels limited and gimmicky, I do feel as though Canon put genuine thought into improving nearly every aspect of the device. By combining the camera with a Zink Printer, the Cliq+ 2 is finally fun and actually worth owning. I, personally, would still choose to save money by purchasing a Canon Zink printer over this combination device. But, instant print cameras are just plain fun. (And thankfully Zink pictures only cost 50 cents each - compared to literally $2.00 for a single Polaroid picture.) Canon truly has done an impressive job adding so many features while keeping the cost low. The Cliq+ 2 is now a device that I can recommend. And, I genuinely look forward to snapping a bunch of goofy sticker pictures with my 6 year old. Pros: + Takes a digital copy of the image that prints (if a Micro SD card is inserted) + Photo prints are actually stickers + Photos are thin and stick well, but can also generally be peeled off of surfaces without causing damage + Only 50 cents per picture (as compared to classic Polaroid pictures which cost $2.00 each) + Zinc Photo Paper is not sensitive to light (in the same way as film). This means you can open the back of the camera without ruining film. + No ink or development chemicals to worry about + Allows double exposure prints (Simply re-load a picture back into the camera and take a 2nd picture that prints over top of the first. Fun & artsy!) + Photos print in about 55 seconds and do not require time to develop (compared to Polaroid pictures which take up to 10 minutes to develop) + Rechargeable battery built in + Built in flash and LED selfie Ring Light (which is very bright) + Selfie mirror actually works reasonably well + The Cliq+ 2 also functions as a photo printer and can print any picture stored on your phone / mobile device + The mobile app makes both editing and printing photos incredibly easy + The mobile app is easy to use and has tons of fun editing options + The App allows you to see all of the pictures on the memory card within the Cliq Camera and choose to edit and print + The app even allows you to create a collage of pictures before you print + The Camera now saves digital images even when zinc photo paper is not installed in the camera! (This was not the case with the previous version.) + The camera now has a physical button that allows you to select to print images with a white border (or turn this feature off and print without a border). + The camera now has a physical button that allows the user to take Black and White pictures, or Vivid pictures. + The shutter button now offers some tactile feedback and is much less prone to taking pictures accidentally (which was an issue with the previous version) + The app allows a mobile device to be used to control the shutter remotely + The camera is able to snap additional pictures while printing is in progress + The lens is recessed and protected from scratches + The flash can now me turned off, placed on auto, or turned on + The wrist strap can be attached to either the left, or right side of the camera Cons: - The camera no longer has a physical button that will re-print the most recent picture that was taken. (This function can, however, be performed from within the mobile app.) - The camera no longer has a physical button that changes the printable image from 2x3 inches to 2x2 inches. (Images now fill the entire Zink sheet unless the border button is pushed, or other options are selected from within the app.) - When the mobile app is connected, the camera’s power button will not turn off the camera. - Camera does not have a screen (pictures must be viewed and edits made from within the mobile application) - The mobile app is not able to offer a live view of what the camera sees - Photo resolution is still only 5 megapixels (same as the previous version) - Camera does not have any indication of how many pictures are left (although you can take the paper out and count the sheets) - Image quality on the Zinc Photo Paper is still fairly poor (this does not appear to be due only to the 8 megapixel resolution of the camera - as mobile photos taken at higher resolutions still have limited clarity when they are printed) - Water eats through the top layer of the photo paper destroying the image underneath. If rain touches an image, or if liquid is spilled on a photo – they will be ruined. Keep in mind, these are stickers – so they may end up on notebooks or other areas that kids might splash or get wet. - The back of the stickers are difficult to peel away (there should be a slit on the back of the paper – instead of needing to be peeled at the corners) - No battery indicator - Does not include a Micro SD memory card - Does not include any carry case, or bag/pouch - The cost of Zink photo paper is the same price regardless of the quantity you buy (50 cents per 2x3 inch sheet) and the cost does not appear to have gone down over the past year

This was a great concept that Canon failed to execute well. However when it comes to instant print cameras, this one is probably one of the best. To start, this camera came with ZERO instructions! This made using this camera extremely difficult as this isn't a camera you can efficiently operate without instructions. I was able to find a pdf with instructions in the app. These were very cumbersome also. The camera came with 10 sheets of sticker photo paper. One upside is that these cost substantially less than the competitions instant print paper. The picture quality isn't bad for what it is. This machine does not use ink, it prints via heat. The images are not super sharp but overall acceptable. The color is also a little off. See the pics attached to this review for example. My dogs look very red when in reality the mastiff is almost blonde and the other is a GSD for reference. The camera boasts that you can edit pictures in the app before printing. This is only somewhat the case. You can take pictures that are on the SD card or on your phone, edit them and print them. However I could not edit a picture I was taking before printing (other than adding a solid color border) The stickers and filters you can add to pre-taken pictures is a fun touch however. In the app you do have the ability to preview the picture you are taking before deciding to print. This is a hair more difficult but helpful to not waste paper. I have added a Screenshot of this app feature. When it comes to editing pre taken pictures there are a ton of cute frames, filters and stickers to choose from. You can also add text. If you look at the picture of my daughter and I or the picture of one of our dogs (both taken from a smartphone) i have added filters and stickers. You can then print these pictures through the camera eventhough it was not taken from the camera. Where I see flaws in the execution of this camera is the inability to take a picture with this camera without it printing if you do not use the phone app simultaneously. It boasts that you can add an SD card to use it as a regular camera also. However this only works if there is no paper in the camera! There should be a setting on the camera or in the app to turn off printing at times as to not ruin paper by taking it out or it printing less than desirable pictures (the subject blinking or moving, etc). This makes the camera fairly frustrating! While I did learn to use the app to preview and reject photos, we wanted to give this to our 6 year old who loves taking pictures. However without her having our phone much paper would be wasted.. or she wouldn't get to enjoy the instant print feature we though she'd love. The few things I loved most on this are on the front of the camera. There is a selfie mode. When this mode is on there is a ring light around the lense (pictured). Also on the front, on the inside of the light ring, is a mirror! Great touch. The light from the ring actually creates a nice even glow on the face. All and all this would be a great camera if Canon could make a few change, add instructions in the box, and fix some of the app quirks. This is definitely more of a novelty than practical.

Canon IVY CLIQ+2 is a beautiful camera that takes equally nice instant square photos. This one also improves over the old Cliq camera which I've been using over the year. I have had some time using the camera and I've enjoyed most of the features the camera comes with. You can peel off the back of the Zink paper and use your photo as a sticker. It's' a nice take on a family photo for someone who loves photo stickers everywhere. One of the camera's best features I think with this one is the LED ring light provided on the front of the camera to help with low light issues. Flash does its job and it's pretty mighty for a camera of this size. This was fun to use at a party and friends seem to enjoy the photos bring printed out. It gets nice and bright to bring lighting to selfies. in fact, I think with the next version a bigger ring light would be appreciated. Canon made this as user-friendly to use as possible. The design of the product is nice with a "Paeralsent white" color that gives it a unique vibe. A big photo mirror in front of the camera gives an ample view of you and your surroundings; it also doesn't take long to charge and go. Viewfinder gives you more of the area of the eye. There is an SD card slot at the bottom of the camera so you can expand the storage. Cliq+2 connects to other devices through Bluetooth and the connection was just fine with my iOS device. Canon has an app called "Mini Print" camera where you can add stickers, filters, and other effects to your little 2x3 photos. The app does compliment the product and gives you more control over what you want to be printed. Speaking of printing it does a nice job printing but it doesn't print any faster than the first generation Cliq camera but I am glad that the Zink paper is still cheap for the camera. if you want or need a solid digital camera this is one the family seems to enjoy. the design is perfect but there are some things I believe that can be improved such as a bigger ring light for the camera but overall it's a solid fun camera anyone can pick up and use.

I am old enough to remember the days of instant Polaroid cameras, and this cute little camera brings back those vibes. Light weight, great battery, good print quality, and some nice 2020 bells and whistles. Connection is a breeze. There is a QR code on the quick guide page inside the box. You just scan it and it will take you to the app store on your smart device. Once I downloaded the app, it walks you through the steps on how to load the paper and connect camera to your phone. It asked me to update the camera’s firmware as soon as I connected to my phone, but that was a quick process as well. Once it was up and running, it was time to see the magic. You can use your phone as a viewfinder to make sure you setup your shot correctly. If you choose to, you can just use the camera’s built-in viewfinder to snap off photos without your smartphone. Just know that once you click that shutter all the way down, and the image is shot, within a few seconds it will begin to print them out. I took about 3 pics while I was playing with it, and it took a couple of minutes to print out all 3. The image quality is good considering it is an instant print built-in to the camera. Some nice things can be done when you are using your smartphone to view the images. To begin with, you can preview your shots before you print them, which is very nice so you are not wasting prints on bad framing. Second, you can also shoot pictures with your smart phone and then send them to the Cliq to be printed. It also allows you to connect to your Google Photos, Facebook, and Instagram accounts so it can print images from there. You can also go through your smart phones Gallery and choose images you might have shot already. The camera also has a slot for a microSD card on the bottom of the camera which I still need to test out. I imagine it will let you snap off a bunch of images and then view them back on your phone to choose which you’d like to print. Honestly, I think I would just snap them with my phone and then send them over to the Cliq, but that might be an option for some folks. This a fun little camera/instant printer. It would be fun for anyone looking to make some quick fun prints to hand out to friends, or to decorate their room/work areas. Battery is good, easy to setup and use, and the features offered when connected to your phone are great.

If you’re in the market for an instant camera, then this camera has to be the best in terms of price, features and portability. But in this day and age, why would you buy a camera like this? It boils down to being a fun camera that brings digital photos instantly to life in your hands. The Canon Ivy + 2 is the jack of all trades in terms of instant cameras. Using the Canon Mini Print app, it can customize and print your photos taken from your own camera phone. With an SD card installed in the Ivy, it can save off your photos while printing them, which I love because there have been countless times where I wish I had a digital copy from an instant camera. Let’s not forget that it does take instant photos too! The camera itself is quite simple to use and does not have a whole lot to tinker with. A simple on/off button will get you up and running. There is a slider on the top of the camera to choose between landscape, portrait and selfie modes. In portrait and landscape modes, there is an illumination to aid in autofocus in dimmer lighting. Yes, this thing has autofocus and has the very familiar Canon beep sound when focus is optimal. This can be attained when pushing the shutter button halfway down. Again, if you’ve used any point and shoot or a DSLR for that matter, this will be very familiar to you. In selfie mode, 8 LED lights around the ring of the lens illuminate to help your selfies brighten up. The 8 LEDs activate when the shutter is halfway down; go ahead and frame your shot based using the large mirror as a guide and finally complete the selfie. Around the backside of the camera is the viewfinder (sorry, no LCD display), a button to toggle between black and white or vivid image processing, and finally a button to toggle a border around your framed shot. It is also on the backside where you’re able to slide a cover off to load fresh prints (I think the max is 10 at a time), which is relatively simple to do. Within the Canon Mini Print app, you’ll find the one most important thing: the User Guide. It doesn’t come with one in the box and that might irritate some folks, but rest assured that you’ll have 24/7 access to the PDF version of it (and you can even download it and print it if you really want to). Moving forward from there, you’ll find lots of things that you can do in the app. You can access your photo albums from the camera phone, Instagram, Facebook, Google Photos (I am an Android user), and even shots from the Ivy if you’ve got an SD card installed and customize them as you choose (with frames, stickers, text, filters, or even free-hand draw) before you send them for print to the Ivy. You can also choose up to 6 photos and print a collage of photos on a single print sheet. If you purchase the Circle Sticker Pack down the road, the app will allow you to create prints using the Pre-Cut Sticker tool. Finally, if you really wanted to know what kind of shot you were framing, you can control the camera remotely using the Snap a Shot! feature which allows you to see the shot in real-time before you take the shot. You can evaluate how B&W/Vivid filters change your shot and even 2x zoom. You can adjust contrast, saturation and color balance as well. You can even add a choice of frames to finish off your photo. But to be honest, I don’t think much of us will use this feature full-time as it’s more fun just picking up the camera and taking photos, ya dig? Oh, and I forgot to mention it’s very simple to connect to the camera from the app; just have the camera on and press the connect button on the app. Picture quality captured from the Ivy is average at best and is on par with the other instacams on the market. If you’re looking for high quality shots from an instacam, I don’t think there is such a thing, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t great looking photos either. The 2x3 prints are all stickers and can be stuck anywhere your heart desires, and there is no ink involved during each print. You can rapidly fire the shutter button if you need to take those in-the-moment shots; the camera will queue up your photos and print them one by one after the fact. Finally, taking a selfie is very easy with the help of the large mirror. My one true complaint is the sensitivity of the shutter button. Depending on my grip, I found myself taking photos inadvertently. The shutter button seems a little on the soft side. Normally I wouldn’t mind this accident, but with each accident comes an accidental print. I don’t think there is a switch to disable instant printing, so you’ll have to be extra careful around the shutter.