The Polaroid Go is the brand's smallest instant camera. In fact, it's the smallest all-analogue instant camera on the market, full stop. Polaroid's name is synonymous with instant photography, and the Go is packed with their signature charm. But is it any good? Let's take a closer look!
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Design & features
In terms of the basic design, Polaroid have taken the full-size Now camera as their starting point, and shrunk it down into a more pocket-friendly package. At 105 x 84 x 61mm, it's maybe too large to fit in your jeans pocket, but should easily fit in a jacket pocket or handbag.
Why is it small? Well, it makes it that much more portable. The bigger Polaroid Now is a fair bit bulkier, whereas the Go is something you can, well, take on the go. It's ideal for some spontaneous instant photography, so it would be a great option for parties and so on.
Despite the smaller size, the Go still makes a big impression, with that iconic Polaroid silhouette. It's available in three different colours: red, black, or white. All have Polaroid's rainbow stripe logo on the top above the lens. The shutter button is up there too, to make the camera easy to use one-handed without the risk of getting your fingers in front of the lens and ruining your shot. On the back, you've got the power button and a digital indicator of how many shots you've got left, as well as the viewfinder.
Since it's so much smaller than other Polaroid cameras, it uses its own special film. Naturally, this is also smaller than i-Type film, and is similar in size to Instax's film. But while Instax shots are credit card-shaped, the Go film still keeps the iconic square design that Polaroid are famous for.
Performance
The Polaroid Go certainly looks the part- but what's it like to use? The short answer is: a lot of fun! When you switch the camera on, the flash is automatically enabled- ideal if you're going to be using it indoors, since you won't waste film on shots that come out too underexposed to see. However, you're able to turn it off with the flash button if you're shooting outside in bright light.
At heart, this is a point-and-snap camera, and one that any users can get to grips with pretty quickly. One thing to highlight is that there's no autofocus on the Polaroid Go, which is present on the Now and Now+. On those larger cameras, a half-press of the shutter button activates the autofocus. On the Go, though, it automatically adjusts the aperture setting based on available light.
Ever wanted to take the perfect instant selfie, but find that you couldn’t quite line it up properly without the viewfinder? Well, the Polaroid Go has a selfie mirror built-in- except not quite. What’s really going on here is the viewfinder has a smart one-way-mirror-style reflective coating. When you’re looking through it from behind the camera, you can see straight through, but from the other side, it’s just like a normal mirror. So you can line up your selfies seeing exactly what they’ll look like!
Polaroid Go: The Verdict
The Polaroid Go is a really fun little camera. It has all the core features of the bigger Polaroid Now, including rechargeable battery, but in a more convenient size, so you can always keep it with you for when the perfect shot presents itself. Instax film may be cheaper, but for that classic Polaroid experience, the Go gets our seal of approval.
