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Page 8 Showing 141-160 of 375 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Solid buy
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Posted . Owned for 8 months when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
It is simple to use and makes cool looking images. Def a beginner camera when it comes to polaroids but amazing for its value
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
First of all, you get a cool looking camera, people from the 70s, 80s go nuts when they see it.
I do think its expensive but it is worth it if you want to use it as a gift and surprise someone.
The only bad thing is the catridges, they are expensive
Good getting started Polaroid, but you need light!
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Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
“An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail”. This quote molded into the case of the Polaroid Now, a nostalgic update to a classic camera. It offers compatibility with i-Type and 600 series film, autofocus, flash, rechargeable battery, double exposure, and a self timer in a classic looking package. So is this bit of nostalgic photography for you? Are you ready to do the Polaroid shake? Or should you be afraid to fail?
Let’s address the elephant in the room to start with. Polaroid film is expensive. This camera isn’t cheap, but shooting with it can be a lot more expensive than even the camera. I purchased over $90 worth of film after getting this camera and I’d say about 50% of my shots were unusable. Given each shot is $2 give or take, it’s understandable you might be afraid to fail - which is why they put that quote on the bottom to encourage you.. To buy more film… Ok, but seriously it’s not a cheap sport to play. Getting past that, let’s move on to the camera.
So out of the box immediately you’ll notice that the camera hits that nostalgic design you expect from Polaroid. The triangular shapes, black matte plastic, and rainbow trim all give a classic feel to this camera. The 35-40mm lens dominates the front along with the view finder glass and flash. Flanking this are also the LEDs, sensors, self timer button and shutter button. The Polaroid Now is one of the few cameras I’ve seen that has more going on in the front than the back. On the back you find the power, flash, and LED display (that shows the remaining shots in the current cartridge).
The view finder helps frame the shot, but the lack of any reticle or feedback means it’s only as useful as a perspective. The shutter button is two stage that works with the autofocus. Overall it’s a pretty basic setup.
Beyond framing the shot, the Polaroid Now does offer some basic features. Most of these features rely on the self timer button. Pressing this once will activate the self timer, which will start a 9 second countdown for a shot after pressing the shutter button. Pressing the self timer button twice will activate double exposure mode, so you can take two photos in one picture, which takes some time to master. I suppose you could create some interesting mash ups using this feature.
My experience taking pictures was mixed. Polaroid film wants a lot of light. Like metric tons of light to get anything that resembles a photo. Many indoor photos will appear dark, and even with the flash, you might end up with overexposed subjects in dark scenes. Polaroid shooting is an art, and I’m still learning. Normal rules apply, put light sources behind you - shining at your subject. Even outdoor shots could be too dark if you don’t have direct sunlight.
The compatibility of the camera with i-Type and 600 film is good. I-type is an update to the Polaroid cartridge of the 600 film. The primary difference is the lack of battery found in the 600 film. Since the Polaroid Now has an internal battery, the film’s battery is not required. Nevertheless 600 film still works.
Speaking of the battery, I had no trouble charging it via the USB-C port. The flash charges quickly and I was unable to kill it in the 3-4 packs of film I’ve used so far. It’s rated for 15 cartridges of shots, but unless you’re burning money, you’ll probably just want to charge it before heading out for your day of photography.
Overall the question of whether or not this bit of nostalgia is worth it comes down to the flavor of photography you’re attempting to do. This is an analogue experience, with the only digital experience being the LED that has a digit of shots left. Photos will be blurry, soft, and out of focus more often than not. They will also be warm, real, and authentic. The magic of Polaroids is the immediacy of the picture. It’s definitely nostalgic. Overall I think this camera comes down to what you’re trying to manage. I took a few photos of my kids with the gold print film to leave out as talking pieces and memories. I got some great photos, and some duds. Overall I was pleased with my experiment, but if you’re looking to do some serious photography with this camera, I might look at the plus version which is only slightly more expensive, but offers a lot of filters to work with the lens.