Why You Can Trust CNET Polaroid Go is an adorably small instant camera ready for summer
And it snaps tiny pictures to match.
- More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
Phone cameras get better and better every year, but analog instant-film cameras still have an unbeatable shoot-and-share experience. Polaroid is now helping you take that experience on the road with its new ultracompact camera, the Polaroid Go.
The $100 Go (£110, which is about AU$200) is only 4.1 inches long by 3.3 inches wide by 2.4 inches tall (104 by 84 by 61 millimeters), which makes it the smallest analog instant camera in the world, Polaroid said in its announcement Tuesday. By comparison, the company's full-size Polaroid Now camera measures 3.7 by 4.4 by 5.9 inches (94 by 112.2 by 150.2 mm). Its closest competitor, the Fujifilm Instax Square SQ1, measures 5.1 by 4.7 by 2.3 inches.
The Polaroid Now towers over the Go (right).
While I like taking an instant camera on trips or to events, the size definitely stops me from doing it more often. The Go, on the other hand, looks just about perfect for slipping into a tote or backpack. The tradeoff for the smaller body is a smaller film though. The Go shoots a new Polaroid i-Type color film with a picture size that's approximately 1.8 inches square, or 2.6 by 2.1 inches if you include its iconic frame. The Instax Square camera film is a bit larger, resulting in a 2.4-inch square picture and you get 10 shots per film pack to the Go's eight prints per pack.
Still, it's pretty amazing Polaroid was able to build an instant camera this small. Plus, it has a built-in, longer-lasting battery along with a dynamic flash like the larger Now camera and double-exposure and self-timer options. Polaroid also developed a selfie mirror for the camera and will have travel accessories to go with it as well.
The Polaroid Go is available to preorder now and you can buy it starting April 27. Film for the Polaroid Go is $20 (£19, AU$35 converted) for a double pack with eight prints per pack for a total of 16 pictures.