Pros & Cons

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  Adorable
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  Compact
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  Clever selfie mirror

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  Image quality is poor, though maybe that’s OK
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  Extremely easy to take unusable photos

If I could recommend a product on looks alone, the Polaroid Go Gen 3 would be it — it’s absolutely adorable. It looks every bit the modern version of a classic Polaroid instant camera. The biggest difference is the dimensions. It’s smaller in every way, including its film and photos. 

I’m torn, though, because the resulting photos are exceedingly mediocre. It’s extremely easy to get blurry, over- or under-exposed photos. That, I suppose, is every bit as retro as the design. Personally, I’d go with something like the Instax Mini 13 for nearly the same price. Its photos look far better. However, if that warm, retro look is what you’re going for, the Go is smaller and far cooler looking than the Mini 13.

There’s not much to say about the hardware of the Go. There are three buttons, including the shutter and only an LED display showing flash readiness and the number of photos remaining. Aim, press the red button, and it makes the delightful mechanical noises of an instant camera spitting out the photo: brrr-brrrr-brrrrrt. Delightful.

There are a few modern touches. The Go charges via USB-C, and Polaroid claims it will take around 120 photos between charges. The front of the viewfinder has a mirrored finish so you can more easily line up selfies. Instax does this with a little convex mirror, but the Go’s is bigger and easier to see.

One of the changes from previous Go cameras is a longer focal length for “sharper, more zoomed-in selfies.” From arm’s length (my gangly arms anyway), the results are a lot closer than what you’d get with the selfie camera on most phones. This is definitely more for small groups and headshots, less for big groups and environments. That’s probably a good change for the expected use. Kodak claims the new lens on the Gen 3 also allows for sharper pictures with better contrast, but if that’s the case, photos from the Gen 2 must have been rough.

There is an app, but for the Go, it’s just for scanning photos you’ve already taken, not camera control. There’s no Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

Usability and photo quality

While you’d think there’s no “trick” to taking instant-film photos, that turns out not to be the case. I don’t remember restrictions when using my first camera (a black Polaroid 660, I think), but then again, I was a child, and my bizarre habit of reading owner’s manuals wouldn’t start until years later. According to the Go’s owner’s manual, you need to leave the photo covered by the “film shield,” aka a black plastic tongue that covers the photo as it leaves the camera, for 5 seconds. Then, don’t shake it and leave it either face down or in a dark place.

I mention this because my initial results from the camera were mediocre, even judged on the curve of instant photos. Extremely warm, and they’re supposed to be warm, with very inconsistent exposure. Once I followed the instructions and took more care, the results were fine. 

I use “fine” here as a synonym for “not great, not terrible.” Even when getting everything right, the results are soft, and I’ll generously say “golden.” They are objectively poor photos, but they also have an unquestionably retro aesthetic that I’d bet is exactly what someone interested in a Polaroid camera actually wants.

For comparison, the photos from the Instax Mini 13 have an almost cool color temp, with more detail and a natural-looking image. Definitely less retro, though. The Mini 13 is also far larger and, subjectively, less adorable. The Go is an attention magnet. The Mini 13 is not.

You’ll also want to make sure you disable the flash if you’re outside. By default the flash fires with every photo unless you tell it otherwise. It’s a serious enough flash that it can blow out the results from selfies very easily. 

A friend of mine is doing a whole retro thing for an upcoming Hilary Duff (aka Lizzie McGuire) concert. I gave her both the Mini 13 and the Go to test out for a few days before the show. Despite agreeing with me that the Instax photos were better, the aesthetic of both the Go and the Go’s photos was what she was looking for. Fair enough.

Is the Polaroid Go worth it?

Polaroid nailed the look of the Go. I think the white one looks the best (I bought the one you see here), but the four other colors look great, too. The Gen 3, with its longer focal length and bright flash, is simple and reasonably priced. It kind of needs to be. The money is made from the film. That costs $22 for a two-pack, adding up to 16 total photos or around $1.40 per photo. You can save a little if you buy in bulk.

What’s frustrating is how easy it is to get unusable photos. The slow lens means any sort of jiggle — all too easy when you’re trying to take a quick snapshot — will result in a blurry photo. If you’re not at least a little careful with the photo as it emerges from the camera, the exposure will look messed up. 

But maybe that doesn’t matter. I know no one is expecting Hasselblad clarity and Fujifilm colors from a sub-$100 instant camera. Personally, I still like the idea of one of the printer/camera combos like the Instax Mini LiPlay Plus, which lets you print only the photos you know came out. I’m coming at this from a different place than most people, though, as I’m thinking of the picture first and the print second. I know for a lot of people, likely the majority of potential Polaroid purchasers, the actual quality of the image isn’t nearly as important as the vibe of the photo. Something with a unique and decidedly non-digital capture of a moment to keep or share with friends. For that, the Go is perfect and unquestionably looks the part.

Geoffrey Morrison

Contributor

Geoffrey Morrison is a writer/photographer about tech and travel for CNET, The New York Times, and other web and print publications. He’s also the Editor-at-Large for Wirecutter. He is the author of Budget Travel for Dummies as well as the bestselling sci-fi novels Undersea, and Undersea Atrophia. He’s NIST and ISF trained, and has a degree in Audio Production from Ithaca College. He spends most of the year as a digital nomad, living and working while traveling around the world. You can follow his travels at BaldNomad.com and on his Instagram and YouTube channel.

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