Editorial Reviews : The Polaroid JoyCam is an instant camera designed in the spirit of the saying, 'Everything old is new again.' Polaroid has taken their signature product, the instant camera, and repackaged it in a slim silver body. In an age when camera makers are overloading their new products with automatic bells and whistles, Polaroid has instead made the JoyCam design simple and manual. This camera is so easy to operate that anyone can load and use it. It works with Polaroid 500 (formerly known as Captiva) film and produces wallet-size pictures. To advance your film, you simply pull a plastic ring on the side of the camera. The JoyCam also features a manually selected built-in flash.
What we found most pleasing about the updated design is that it is noticeably less cumbersome than traditional instant cameras. While still much larger than a 35mm point-and-shoot, the JoyCam is small enough to throw into a backpack and bring along. Also, because the film ejection mechanism is manual in this updated design, Polaroid no longer has to build a battery cell into each film cartridge--so film costs less.
In redesigning the body of the JoyCam, however, Polaroid has done little to improve the actual picture-taking mechanism or picture quality. In our tests, this camera was incapable of taking a decent indoor picture without using the flash. When we did use the flash, it distorted colors and produced washed-out images of the subjects in our photos. However, if picture quality and stunning portraits are what you are after, you'd be silly to buy an instant camera of any sort, much less a Polaroid JoyCam. The Polaroid JoyCam is designed for impulsiveness and fun, and it serves those purposes well.
Buyer Reviews : The concept is cool, and the camera is fun for kids/teens or parties. It is particularly suited to close-ups for the best picture quality.
However, I want to warn people that (unless they have changed the chemical makeup of the film over the years) the polaroid pictures do NOT age well. We have some pictures taken when we were kids 20 years ago with polaroid film. The pictures are ruined b/c the 'paste' or whatever the picture is composed of turns brittle, and if you bend the picture even slightly, the image cracks all throughout the surface like a mini jigsaw puzzle. It's heartbreaking to lose irreplacable photos like these because the integrity of the film deteriorates over the years. Whether or not the film Polaroid uses today will do the same two decades from now, I guess remains to be seen. But **JUST IN CASE** I would NOT recommend using a Polaroid camera for photos that will be precious to you in the future!
In summary, if you want quick photo enjoyment, this will do fine but be sure to bring a 'regular' 35 mm camera to that wedding, birthday, or family reunion in addition to this!! (by wildirishrose)
Features/Technical Specs : * Easy-to-use instant camera * Lightweight, small, and portable * Sleek silver design * Uses budget-friendly Polaroid 500 instant film * Lets you share pocket-sized instant photos with friends
