Polaroid Camera

Well, you haven't given any specific models, so it's impossible to say. Polaroid and Fujifilm make a wide variety of products, and not all of them are good or priced affordably. You're more than likely better off printing photos from your smartphone, especially if it's an iPhone, which tend to take pretty decent pictures at worst. If you don't have major photo needs, then a smartphone will get the job done without requiring you to purchase another device to take and print photos.

 

Printing pics from your iPhone is not really a bad idea (or from any smartphone) but it all depends on the printing place you use. Some places have great services and will fix them up to come out right automatically (Costco) but other places will print them out however the machine is set and may cause dark picture (Walgreens, and other print pharmacies). With them is sort of a whole "are you feeling lucky?"

Like the prev poster said, you didn't really specify model so I can't really give my opinion on it because both brands have good and not so good.

 

I couldn't tell you guys the last time that I got some photos developed. I have a Polaroid camera, and have had one since I was around ten years old. It was cool having the ability to have instant pictures, but over time the quality diminished. Haven't purchased a Polaroid since. Of course, I can't speak for the instax fujifilm brand.

 

We have one and it's very fun to use, although I wouldn't call it necessary especially since the film costs you a small amount to replace each time, but it is worth it just purely for the novelty of having something you could instantly have and put up on your fridge or in a scrapbook. I'd say go for it only if you think you would enjoy it and if it's worth the amount you'd be paying for it regularly in the future. Also you have to consider if it's something you will use often or if it's something that you will eventually get tired of because it is a novelty item and those tend to get forgotten very quick if you're not genuinely interested.

 

If you want it just for the novelty, maybe you should look on eBay to see if you can get a really good price on it. Also, eBay is a good place to purchase accessories and supplies for many types of equipment, so you could check there for the film. It's usually cheaper for me to purchase replacement parts and supplies on there than anywhere in person.

 

My niece has a polaroid camera that she got for a Christmas present (2014). She tested it on us and it was really like the olden polaroid that instantly prints out the photo. But with the presence of the digital camera, I guess that polaroid camera would just serve as a novelty item. There's also the expense for the photo paper that is inserted in the cartridge. And from what I know, that photo paper is not cheap.

 

Polaroid cameras are so cool. I have a role of film, but no camera. I need to get one, but I wouldn't use it that often so it's okay to have. If you aren't going to use it that terribly often, you should get one so you won't be spending money on the film all the time. I don't particularly prefer those over regular pictures, but there have been times where I wished I would have taken polaroids on special occasions like birthdays. They would be neat looking in my baby's books and photo albums.

 

I'd stick with the phone if the camera quality is good enough. Otherwise, you'll end up having to carry around two devices around. You already carry your phone with you so why add anything else.

 

I love Polaroid cameras, they look amazing, specially the retro ones, for some reason I can't get them out of my head lately! Buying one of them is not on my priority list, but some day I'll buy one.

 

I also would stick with the phone mainly because I don't want to be carrying around a lot of stuff when I go out. My smartphone takes good pictures.

 

It depends on how much you really want the item. If you can spare some money buying the camera and the film then go ahead, but if you are having second thoughts about buying it then don't buy it yet and just stick with your camera phone. It may just be a passing fancy, you know?

 

I think the original poster is referring to the new Polaroid camera that prints images instantly - they're digital prints, but it's some new type of process called "Zinc" which stands for "zero ink..." something or other, I can't remember the full name right now. I haven't looked into the price for the printing materials that go into it, but the camera itself was reasonably priced for a small point and shoot. Printing via an ink jet printer at home though is not necessarily cheap either once you factor in the cost of photo quality printer paper and the ever increasing costs of printer ink. Not to mention, printer cartridges often waste a lot of ink when the printer keeps going into cleaning mode. And if you don't use your printer for a few months, they will also dry out and completely go to waste.

 

My sister has one and it depends if you have the money to burn in buying the film. This is also the complaint of my sister, that the film is so expensive but for the camera itself, it is great and the instant pictures on film have good quality and are nice. I think it's meant for people who are on the artsy side, because my sis has always been the artsy one and she uses the pictures for scrap booking and collages. If you are more on the practical side and shoots a lot of pictures then it's more convenient to just shoot in a phone or digital camera and print the ones you like.