Polaroid Now Gen 2 Everything Box Review

Polaroid Now Gen 2 Everything Box Review

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Takeaway: Easy to use, vintage look and feel, modern construction.

The Polaroid Now camera comes with an instruction manual, USB-C-to USB-C charging cable, adjustable wrist strap, and 2 sealed packs of i-Type color film. This Gen 2 model, released in 2023, has the familiar look and nostalgic feel of a classic Polaroid instant camera, but with a few modern upgrades. The plastic body is made from 40% recycled materials but feels hefty and durable. Note that there is no thread mount on the camera to attach to a tripod, so you’ll need to place the camera on a flat surface when not handheld.

On the front you’ve got your flash, shutter button, 35-40mm autofocus lens with 40° Horizontal and 41° Vertical field of view, viewfinder window, self-timer LED, timer toggle, and film ejection slot, on its left-hand side is the film door release button, and on the back are the viewfinder eyepiece, power and flash buttons, film counter LED, and two mounting tabs for the wrist stop or optional neckstrap (sold separately). Finally on the right is the USB-C charging port for the non-replaceable Lithium Ion battery. It doesn’t come with an AC power adapter, so you'll need to provide your own.

After charging the battery for 1-2 hours, power it on by pressing the orange power button. The LED counter shows 0 because there’s no film loaded and the lightning bolt will stop flashing and stay lit when the flash it charged and ready to fire. When the camera battery is full, the LED by the charging port will be green and it’ll last through 15 film packs. The LED changes to orange for medium battery and flashes red when low.

Pressing the film door button drops open the door in the front allowing you to insert a tray of film, though I wish the door had a lock on it to prevent accidental opening. Make sure not to remove the dark slide on top which protects the film from exposure. The tab at the front will help you remove the cartridge when it is empty. After dropping the cartridge in, tab side out, close the film door and the dark slide will automatically eject. New film cartridges contain eight photos and pressing the flash button when it’s lit will disable the flash for the next shot, but note that it will automatically re-enable for the following photo. Double pressing the flash button disables until the camera is powered off or it is re-enabled manually.

Pressing the self-timer button once lights up the LED in front so you know the timer is activated. It’ll flash for 9 seconds after the shutter button is pressed before taking the photo. When you’re ready to take your shot, press the red shutter button down halfway to focus, then all the way to take the photo. The plastic shield prevents your prints from getting overexposed too soon, but will retract on its own once you remove the sheet. You should place newly ejected photos facedown or somewhere dark, like a pocket, for 10-15 minutes while the chemicals develop your image to avoid a blurry photo.

Pressing the self-timer button twice activates dual exposure mode and the film counter will start flashing the number 1, so you know that it’s ready for the first exposure. You can even turn the camera off between exposures giving you flexibility when superimposing two images for interesting and artistic combinations. The general rule of thumb is the first shot should be darker, so flash is not recommended for that one. This mode lets you be more creative, for example, for Halloween some of the subjects appeared as faded “ghosts” in the final image.

The built-in flash is bright but has a limited reach, so make sure your subject is within 2-5 feet in order to be illuminated properly. There is a slight difference in how the frame is aligned when looking through the camera’s viewfinder and what is captured on the film, called parallax. To properly line up your shot, aim the camera slightly up and to the left of the image you want to capture.

These photos measure 3.1 x 3.1 inches (7.9 x 7.9 cm) and including the frame/border is 4.2 x 3.5 inches (10.8 x 8.8 cm), though special cartridges can have different colored frames or shapes as well. The image quality of the photos has a distinctive antique look that is somewhat under-saturated, almost faded. Images often have a softer focus though may sharpen over the course of several days. I found that brightly lit outdoor lighting produces the photos with the best contrast, but can still look a little washed out. In medium to low lighting the photos tend to appear dark, especially if your flash isn’t close enough to your subject. Most of the ones that I’ve taken with the first film pack had a slightly green cast to them and occasionally I saw chemical bleed crackles or dark grayish streaks appear along the edges of the photo frame. If you’re looking for consistent crisp, sharp, digital precision, this is not the camera for you. The vintage look and feel of the photos, however, are definitely a selling point for creators, artists, and enthusiasts.

This camera works with both Polaroid i-Type film and 600 Film. The main difference between the two is that i-Type film doesn’t have a battery inside the cartridge and won’t be compatible with vintage Polaroid cameras, while 600 film is usable in all Polaroid cameras, but comes at a slight premium.

Overall, taking photos with the Polaroid Now Gen 2 is an enjoyable and unique photography experience in today’s digital, instant gratification age. Waiting for the film to develop is part of the fun, adding in an element of anticipation for how your photo turned out. I hope you enjoyed this review. You can ask me any questions in the comments. I’ll put a link to the product in the description below. Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel and join me next time.


As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. #CommissionsEarned
Buy it at Amazon: Polaroid Now Gen 2 Everything Box [Affiliate Link]