I recently picked up a Polaroid Go 2 instant camera kit and wanted to share my thoughts and experiences with it.
Take a look at the related YouTube video this article is based on for a lot more examples and information on the camera:
First, a quick note about this specific kit. I found this one locally at a heavy discount (you can see the sticker in the video if you are curious how much I paid), which probably means this particular bundle with the photo album and wrist strap might be discontinued or harder to find online. I did see other kits that come with the camera and film, but maybe not these exact accessories as a bundle. If you really like the little photo album featured in the video, I did see that available as a separate purchase in black instead of red. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this look at the camera itself! It was a fun video to make.
Look for the Polaroid Go 2 camera and various accessories through my links:
- Moment: https://partner.shopmoment.com/GKVaGr
- B&H: https://bhpho.to/4kHTLyB
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/4kMrbfn
- Best Buy: https://bestbuy.7tiv.net/yqbz9v
The album that's sold separately (in black instead of red):
As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases! It's not about the product I linked but rather the time from click which is usually 24 hours.
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| The Polaroid Go Generation 2 Instant Camera Kit box. |
What's In This Kit?
This kit included:
- The Polaroid Go 2 camera itself.
- Two wrist straps (one for the camera, one for the album maybe? I'm not totally sure).
- A small red zippered case that is a photo album.
- A USB-C to USB-C charging cable. Keep in mind you'll need a USB-C charger or a different cable (like USB-C to USB-A) if your available chargers are more widely available USB-A type ones.
- A 16-photo pack of Color Go Film (two packs of 8).
So, it definitely comes with everything you need to start shooting right away, excluding a charger. But the camera did have enough of a charge to work.
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| Looking at contents of the Polaroid Go 2 kit. |
The Camera Itself
The camera is tiny! It's cute and has a surprisingly nice feel to it. I'd say the build construction is very decent.
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| Front view of the Polaroid Go 2, showing the lens, flash, viewfinder/mirror, and light meter. |
On the front, you've got the lens in the middle. The flash on the side with a light meter below it and an LED alongside that's for the self timer, and the viewfinder that doubles as a selfie mirror. The slot where the photos come out is on the bottom edge covered by shiny black plastic film. This film rolls out to cover the photo.
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The side has the USB-C port for charging the built-in lithium-ion battery. |
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| Top of the camera with the flash button and a red shutter button. |
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| Back of the camera showing the viewfinder, frame counter display, and power button. |
On the back is the eyepiece for the viewfinder and the power button, which also shows the remaining frame count when turned on. Speaking of the viewfinder, it looks decent, but remember it doesn't look through the lens. This means you'll potentially get some parallax error, especially for close-up shots, but it's not like the camera focuses, so that shouldn't be an issue in practice. What you see won't be exactly what the lens captures, so keep that offset in mind.
Some tech specs mentioned include a polycarbonate resin fixed-focus lens, an aperture of F9 and F42 (likely meaning it stops down significantly in bright light), shutter speeds from 1/300 to 1 second, and a 51.1mm focal length, which is pretty standard. The field of view is basically square.
Getting Started
To turn the camera on, just long press the power button on the back. It starts up quickly and shows the number of shots left. Since I didn't have film in initially, it showed '0' with the dot indicator for the flash on as well.
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| Inserting the film pack into the back of the camera. |
Loading the film involves opening the back door, sliding the film cartridge in and closing the door. Following the arrow markings close to the door switch, and on the photo cartridge. When you first load a pack (or turn it on after loading), it will eject the dark slide.
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| My second photo which I had taken indoors. |
Now, here's something important I almost messed up. When a photo prints, it comes out with a black plastic shield covering it. You're supposed to let it sit like that for about 5 seconds before gently letting the shield retract. Don't pull on it! I was pulling quite hard on that shield initially, thinking it was part of the photo film packaging, but it seems to be built into the camera to protect the photo as it first comes out. So, definitely don't yank on that flap.
You can control the flash by single pressing the flash button on top. It cycles through flash on (default), flash off, and back again, indicated by a little light next to the frame counter.
Taking Photos & Image Quality
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| Example indoor photo showing better contrast and color than my outdoor examples. |
I took the camera out on a photo walk. It was very cold and windy, but the camera worked fine. At least if you don't consider the resulting photos.
Example outdoor photo showing the muted, green tint experienced in cold weather.
Image quality... well, it's an instant camera. Don't expect high-fidelity images. You get that instant print, which is the main appeal. My indoor shots seemed to have more contrast and color. However, all my outdoor photos from that cold day came out with a very strong green tint and looked quite muted. It could be the cold temperature affecting development, maybe the film was a bit older, or maybe I didn't shield them from light well enough right after they ejected. The instructions suggest shielding them well for those first 5-10 seconds (the included case is great for this). It definitely produces a unique aesthetic, though!
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| All of the photos I had taken. Showing the consistent green/muted look. |
Special Features
The Polaroid Go 2 has a couple of neat tricks:
Selfie Mirror: As mentioned, the viewfinder reflects, making selfies easier to frame. It works okay, though the fixed focus means you might not be perfectly sharp, depending on your arm length.
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| The album and two photos. |
An example selfie taken with the Polaroid Go 2.
Double Exposure: To activate this, double-press the flash button on top. The display on the back will show a '1'. Take your first shot, compose your second, and take the second shot as normal. The camera then ejects the combined image. You can turn the flash off for double exposures by pressing the flash button once while in this mode. To cancel double exposure mode before taking the second shot, just double-press the flash button again. I got some relatively artistic (if green-tinted) selfies using this mode. It's fun to experiment with.
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| Activating double exposure mode, indicated by the '1' on the display. |
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| An 'artistic' double exposure selfie example. |
Self-Timer: Press and hold the flash button for about 2 seconds. A little orange LED light will turn on under the flash on the front. Now, when you press the shutter button, you have 9 seconds before the photo is taken. I used this to take some portraits with cool rock sculptures ("rock soldiers"). It worked well and is easy to use once you know the button press.
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| Rock soldiers and me. |
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| The included red photo album/case, useful for storing and developing photos. |
The little red photo album/case included in this kit is surprisingly useful. You can clip it to a belt loop or bag. After taking a photo and waiting the initial 5 seconds under the camera's shield, you can immediately tuck the photo into one of the sleeves inside this case to finish developing in darkness. Definitely a handy accessory.
However, one of the viewers of my video said "Polaroid does not recommend to keep in plastic albums during the first month." - TungstenOvergaard
Polaroid claims you can shoot 15 packs of film, which would be 120 photos, on a single battery charge. That's quite a lot! I definitely didn't test that. It would be very expensive. But it sounds like the battery life is pretty good. The only potential downside is that since it's a built-in battery, its lifespan over the years is unknown.
Overall Thoughts
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| The camera in my hands-on recording area. |
The compact Polaroid Go 2 camera.
Overall, the Polaroid Go 2 is a very fun camera to use. I enjoyed taking it out on a photo walk. While the image quality isn't amazing (and my outdoor shots were very green, possibly rather more likely because of the to conditions or handling), you get those instant physical photos, which is always a joy.
I think it's a nice compromise. I like the smaller photo format compared to standard Polaroids, and I especially like the much smaller size of the camera itself. It's way more portable and easier to carry around than the classic, larger Polaroid models.
It's simple to operate once you learn the few button presses for the different features. I'll probably grab some more film and try it out in warmer weather and different lighting to see if I can get better results.
So, that was a look at the Polaroid Go Generation 2 instant camera.