Review on 📸 Polaroid Go Mini Instant Camera (Model 9035) by Jon Robertson

If there is one takeaway from this review, it must be that the "new" polaroid film always comes out too dark. Better use one of the many Fuji Instax cameras and their much higher quality films (I'm a fan of the square version). 110, 35mm, old Kodak disc film, medium format, Kodak Instant, original Polaroid 800 and Spectra films, APS, Fuji Instax, etc. (and of course a lot of digital cameras lately). I also developed my own film and made my own prints a day before we had the magic of digital. I mention this because I feel like I know at least something about how cameras and film are supposed to work. Let's first look at a few things about the Polaroid Go camera and then I'll explain why you shouldn't buy it... THE BOX Inside the box you'll find the camera itself, a strap, a USB-A to Micro-USB -Cable for charging the built-in battery, a quick start guide and some stickers. In this special package you will also receive 2 film packages with 8 shots each. CONSTRUCTION The camera looks like a smaller version of the standard sized Polaroid cameras. It's by no means "small" by today's standards, but it's small compared to other Polaroid cameras and it fits in your hand (although definitely not in your pocket). film camera. You can also see a large mirror inside when you open the door, so you need to make sure you don't touch it and don't let dust inside. On the left side of the camera is a micro-USB port for charging, as well as an LED that shows charging status and battery level. On the back is an optical viewfinder, a strap slot, a power button, and a small LED display that shows the number of shots remaining, flash status, and other information. a red trigger and a flash button to control the flash, self-timer and double exposure mode. On the front of the camera is a flash with exposure sensors and an LED underneath, a main lens and a viewfinder lens that doubles as a selfie mirror with a low-reflective coating. There is also a film slot where your photos will be ejected. SETUPPreparing the camera for use is very simple. Plug into any USB port (charger not included), charge until the light turns green, then insert the film. The film is easy to load and just falls into the bottom of the camera. There are marks on the back of the film and inside the camera to help you align the film cassette correctly. When you load and insert the film, you are ready to shoot. IN USE To turn on the camera, simply press and hold the power button for a moment. The display on the back of the camera will light up to show how many exposures remain and a small dot will flash and then become solid, indicating the flash is charged and ready to use. By default, the camera always triggers with a flash. . If you want to turn it off, you can press the flash button for about a second. If you want to use the self-timer, you can press and hold the flash button for 2 seconds. The orange LED below the flash on the front of the camera will illuminate, indicating the camera is in self-timer mode. When you press the shutter button in this mode, you have 9 seconds to position yourself before the picture is taken. The camera also features a double exposure mode that allows you to expose the same frame twice for creative effects. To switch the camera to this mode, double-tap the flash button. As soon as you switch to double exposure mode, you will see the number 1 flashing on the display, indicating that you are in the first of two exposures. After the first exposure, the number 2 flashes in the display. After the second exposure, the film is ejected as usual. FEATURES There's no other way to say it. The new Polaroid film is absolutely awful. Not only does the film take 10-15 minutes to develop (hardly "instantly"), it is also extremely underexposed after full development. All the photos I took with this camera turned out too dark. I have attached some samples to this review. My digital camera actually made them appear a little lighter than they actually are, and yet they still look dark. All photos were taken outdoors in very bright sunlight (but not in the sun) or indoors with the flash on at a distance of 2-3 feet from the subject. I've had big new Polaroid cameras and experienced the same thing with their large format film, so I don't see how this could be a problem with the particular camera I have unless all of their cameras have issues and film underexposure. The photos get so dark it's almost impossible to use them and I have to say that both the camera and the film (which is quite expensive for such a small image) are a waste of money. I have used all 3 Fuji Instax film formats and they all give results that are much better than these new Polaroid films. Bottom line: Do yourself a favor and avoid all new Polaroid products. If you're into old-school instant photography, you'll have much more fun and better results with Fuji Instax products.