If you’re currently at home with a young family you might be looking for ways to keep everyone amused or distracted with a fun project – and the new Polaroid Now might just fit the bill.
A point-and-shoot instant camera in the classic Polaroid mould, it shoots classic, full-size Polaroid film that is spat out instantly, but takes around ten or fifteen minutes to fully develop.
What’s new, though, is the addition of autofocus, which helps you get more consistent results than previous Polaroid Originals models and takes out some of the guesswork that’s fairly common with instant cameras.
The Polaroid Now’s classic, boxy shape is quite large and tricky to use one-handed, but the size means it is also suitable for most ages, thanks to its large buttons and simple operation.
We’ve been testing the new instant camera and our review concluded that compared to competing models from the likes of Fujifilm Instax “the Polaroid Now wins for sheer ease of use and its prints are larger”.
Polaroid vs Zink
The main difference between Polaroid Now and Zink cameras, like the Canon Ivy Cliq / Zoemini S, is that the Now’s I-Type film uses a chemical process, rather than simply printing your images.
This makes them larger and, when it comes to family shooting, often a bit more fun due to the delay in seeing your results. It’s also what purists consider to be the ‘proper’ kind of instant film.
That said, the film is slightly more than Fuji’s Instax Square format film – a pack of I-Type film costs around $19 / £15 / AU$32, although you can get multi-packs for a slight discount.
The Polaroid Now costs $100 / £120 (around AU$240 ) and for a more detailed look at the camera you can read our in-depth Polaroid Now review.
