You are being sent to a remote island, alone for 20 days… Instax or Polaroid?

I want to see it tested alongside an old regular polaroid camera. I bet most of those poor exposures would have come out fine with a regular old polaroid cam.

We see Becca we click!

For all its flaws (much of which has to do with the finnicky film), I want the I-2 to be a success, if for no other reason than to justify the R&D spend on an enthusiast level camera and to maybe push Fuji into releasing something similar. For a company the scale of Polaroid, they are taking a big swing with hardware investment here that I hope the market responds to. Great review as always!!

Her reviews are always so good! honest and real. great job as always

Thank you for this honest review! It's really refreshing to have an honest review. Many people had exposure compensation issues with the Polaroid Now + and I can see that maybe this first gen has the same issue.

I feel like every couple years I see teens and early 20's kids investing heavily into film cameras. Eventually they move on to digital cameras or just move on. It's always fun to see the industry put out new film cameras to hit this wave of consumers. Very expensive camera though. Good review!

This review really takes me back to my Polaroid teen years (79-82). I still have several that I took decades ago. I love the nostalgia this new camera has, but I don't think I'll be buying one just yet. Your review reminded me of all those "problems" it had with taking on photos; price, blurry, developing goo not spreading evenly on the photo. *But* if you can get that one shot, it's golden!

My husband ordered one for me this morning, i can't wait to get it. I see a lot of comments about, why would you want to spend that much money on a camera that shoots old looking photos? Well, that's the point. We aren't looking for super crisp ultra vivid photos. It's really what you're style is and how it makes you feel. Most people rather have digital because it's easy and it's super clear and crisp. The rest of us love the look of film and instant film. It's an art, really. The fact that we now have total control of an instant camera is just amazing. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone just starting out and don't understand what the settings are and what they do. Also, if you decide you just aren't into it, or frustrated that you can't get the desired look of your photos, that's a lot of money to throw down just to let it sit and collect dust. Just buy a now, stay away from the now+, it's so bad at over and under exposing film. Or buy a older camera, i love the SX-70 and the sun 660. It takes practice, knowing what time of the day is best and where the sun should be, Knowing where a subject should be when using flash... There's a lot that goes into it. Some just don't get instant photography, and that's cool. It's not for everyone.

So, essentially this is a bleeding edge Polaroid camera. High learning curve, but I sense that some independent lighting checks along with deciding what default settings you decide to master might reduce your frustration. I think a company practical instruction video would help, although I suspect the company already knows the difficulties and may not want to create a video that might reduce the number of potential buyers. The product is still a nostalgic item that many might want to try.

Personally, I’d pickup a $200, old SLR, $100 50mm lens, a $15 bottle of developer and 50 or so rolls of b&w film for less than the Polaroid and a batch of film.Thanks for the honest review ! Cheers!

$600 hahahahahahahha (ten minutes later) hahahahahahahahah

Fell back in love with polaroid film this year, and this camera was released for me. A polaroid camera with the flexibility to work completely manually, as well as a decently reliable auto mode is a huge selling point for me 😊 I have high hopes I will reach for this camera for a long time!!

I wonder if the reason you could not get the correct exposure is because you didn’t select which film you were using sx-70, 600 or I-type. You need to select which film in order to get the correct exposure.

the shot with the basketball rack is the best new polaroid shot i've seen so far

I love Becca ( not in a romantic way ) it's just like all her videos never miss and actually conveys something about whatever camera she is trying out. Becca is great she should get more content out maybe invite her to do a mid week series on the vergecast? Big big love for the work she does.

Don’t stop the Becca videos! Always a unique perspective they bring to it.

amazing, loved every minute of it, hello from Panama, truly inspirational

Everything you describe sounds like a Polaroid camera just way more expensive and unnecessary in these time. This should stay in the fun novelty camera but not at that price point.

Ive been wanting a manual instant camera for a long time, but honestly, at this price point, I'd much rather get a vintage Mamiya medium format camera with an instant back so that I could use nice professional lenses

Congrats Becca! Always a pleasure to watch your videos. Which app do u use for measure light?

Was excited to hear about this, but I’m not a pro with cameras and dont want to fumble with clunky settings.

8 shots in a pack - that's exactly like making your favourite chocolate bar thinner, whilst keeping the packaging the same.

I own four Polaroids, SX-70, Sun 660, One Step 2 and a Go. Each camera operates differently, and their photos look different. I had to learn how to shoot each camera. It took time and it took money. I would not recommend the I-2 to many people. It is a professional camera that the average consumer does not need. Personally, I want this camera, I know Polaroid, I've shot with their film and I know how to take a good shot or at least the conditions for a good shot. Even now I get a shot that may not come out well, but I accept it. I use the bad shots for coasters.Thats the process.

As the Manufacturing Engineer of the original One Step camera, believe me Polaroid cameras are more promise than actual delivery.

I love Polaroid, but let's just be clear...when you can have the quality, consistency, and ease of use that comes with Fuji's Instax, it is extremely difficult to justify spending 10x more money on a Polaroid that has a confusing UX and highly variable shots. Despite this, I still prefer Polaroid in general, but I will definitely be sticking with my PolaroidNow. The manual controls on the new model do sound awesome, however the execution seems to have missed the mark.

That shot at 3:23 is hardcore Saul Leiter vibes and I’m all here for it

What a great unbiased review. Valuable to us as consumers and to Polaroid.

I’d rather get a 60$ Polaroid from the 80s which actually counts the amount of photos correctly and doesn’t waste my money.

Becca is great, I hope she reviews cameras and phone cameras for manyyyy decades to come

I would probably buy this when it goes on sale. I am not a professional photographer, aside from my incredible images with my pixel phones, so it would be a learning curve regardless of which device I decided to choose for a non-phone camera.

Serious question, who is this camera aimed at? I'm still using a Pentax K1000 that cost a fraction of the price, with whatever film i can buy and it does the job perfectly.

What a pleasure to watch an honest review that is clearly delivered without hyperbole and wonderful settings as a bonus.

So, about 1000 dollars to get a couple of good 4x4 prints? Wow, sounds like a real winner.

Even though it has its flaws, I really love this camera! It really takes me back! I want to test it alongside the original Polaroid!

Also that opening a pack of polaroids side ways??? Good god

I really would love this camera, but not for that price right now

This sums up my experience but I got a lot more of those damaged photos that are not fully develop like you had few in video. Instax is better so much easier to get proper exposure

The cameras were never the problem. It was the film that got more and more expensive.

What a beautiful video! Always love your takes, Becca!!

5 years to develop and no diopter in the viewfinder…

Some people spend $600 on an instant camera and I don't understand it. But then I spend $450 on an ergonomic keyboard and no one understands it.

I'm a buyer. Glad you understand the charm and challenges of instant photography.

BECCA! 🔥

I already want one of those cameras 😍😍😍 I have a Polaroid Now+ 2nd gen and I love it, with all of its flaws it’s still a fun way to capture special moments.

Thank you for sharing this but I think I will wait for Next One.💯✌️

Having lived through the original generation of polaroid tech, I would not buy into it again ... but I will sell you my striped polyester bell bottoms! 😃

I will say, the fact that Polaroid keeps advertising their cameras with "embrace the imperfection" approach is starting to get sour: these imperfections come at 2-3 dollars mind you, and if you buy a 600-dollar camera, it should work? That said, I wish them well and hope I-2 will be a success, but from the video reviews it seems that my SX-70 shoots more consistently on the auto mode than these newer cameras

Polaroid always was exorbitantly over-priced, and you need to buy film by post, as no shops stock it, which adds 8 UK pounds to the price. Cheaper iType camera models have the same control of shutter and aperture, only via an Android or iPhone app. Which is a cheaper choice. I found an original SX-70, which takes Polaroid 600 film by cutting a lug off the film pack and shooting with a neutral density filter. Tip: avoid any subject contrast. This film has small dynamic range. Take the picture on your mobile phone first, and learn how this relates to Polaroid film.

Great review! Thank you soooooo much!

You’ve really sold me on this

I am buying this thing so fast.

Let's get a manually controlled, better lens, ZINK camera. I like Zink but right now they are just point and shoot toy cameras. Zink is way more economical and several makers use this format!

I’m buying it. Thanks for the great review !

Great review thanks, I shoot trains, but sometimes I wanted to capture rare locomotives for something unique, so I shoot on POLAROID!

2:50 I loved the overexposed pictures 😊

Let's go! new Full Frame

Thanks for the review!!

Alway appreciate your honest reviews, thank you!

Great video. If this had a screen and memory slot so you could choose to print or not this would be awesome. Maybe V2.

Yay! I was missing the videos with Becca

Button should be a scroll wheel or a knob or a dial with a click, would actually make it even more retro and more useful.

This just gives off vibes that it is not only $300 too much but that it is likely 3 generations away from being a viable product for the marketplace.

I would totally get this if I didn’t already have an SX-70 (that requires even more guesswork) but I love it and I wouldn’t have it any other way :’)

The expensive "cartridges" of Polaroids is one of the damn reasons why it's not beating instax.

The weakest part of any modern instant camera is the film stock. I'll never forgive Fuji for discontinuing FP-100C.

They need to bring back the SX-70 camera

Same picture quality as my old 8 dollars cellphone.

Exciting. The biggest killjoy was the price $599. Should be in the $300s.

Thanks for an honest review! I was hoping this camera would be "it", but this is modern Polaroid's seventh camera release (Impossible I-1 included), and they are still having issues with exposure, film jamming, glares in the viewfinder, among other issues 😬

What a surprise. Full of negative comments. This isn’t for your average consumer but for a photographer who wants professional Polaroids that are similar to the SX70 or SLR680. Those were also very expensive - over $1000 in todays money.

This company lost its mind a long time ago thinking their paper should be that expensive. I have not used my 2 Polaroids in years because of it.

Please publish that basketball photo. That looks amazing!!!😮

What light meter app do you use?

FFS Verge, give us more Becca! It's not difficult. Just give her a bunch of money and a camera and let her do what she wants and I'll watch it and click all the ads.

What a great review! Very refreshing.

fighting with manual cameras is the best part. learning and perfecting how the camera works is all the joy digital cameras took out of photography.

If someone as talented as Becca is struggling with this camera, this is a product I wouldn’t touch with a 50 foot pole.

the methodology of this camera is ridiculous, what it should do is have a screen that previews the exposure and focus and then prints the shot. it may be retro but it shouldn't work like something from 30 years ago.

I don't normally comment but Becca you are the best. Love your passion and how you present your perspective to the world. Please keep doing these more and more! I could listen to you talk about anything!

I’m sorry but for $600 I would prefer crisper higher definition pics and the issue with print blurry to nothing pics

Thanks for an honest review. I was thinking of selling my SX-70 (which was a gift) because of so many over/under exposed results. I accept that this might be me, but it’s very expensive to get it right by trial & error. I was hoping that this camera would take some of the guess work out of getting the exposure right most of the time, it seems not. I did want to get an instant camera for fun (I have a 100V and an R5 when I want to be ‘serious’) but maybe the 1-2 is not the one?

I think Polaroid absolutely NEEDS to make a modern SLR. It doesn't have to fold in any way, it just has to be SLR and have both Analog Manual Focus and Auto-Focus, as well as being able to take SX-70, and be capable of using 600/i-Type Film without getting blown out photographs, like coming with an ND Filter out of the box. Such a camera would be an amazing Flagship design, while expensive.

I like your conclusion about wishing a better I-2 but I think it could be of no use as the camera is limited by the film quality. Even the best Instax cameras are. I have been shooting Polaroid for decades to have an impression of a scene rather than a high detailed shot, I use analog cameras for this. A recondioned SX-70 will bring great shots for less and you can get far closer too. Also, is the I-2 an SLR ?

Many of the issues with the Polaroid film and the cost per shot and the throw away bad shots and trying not to waste a shot could be taken directly from a 50 year old review of a SX-70. To me, Instax film has been so consistant that it always seemed like the Impossible Project was unnecessary nostaglia; you complain that there's no analog instant film and yet there is and it's reasonably priced (relatively) and it's had quality that's been better than Polaroid's film from go. Yes, I get it - it's not the same camera that Aunt Marge used to use at your birthday parties, but still. Hats off to Impossible for using nostaglia to create their market and take them this far. That make a living doing it; I'm not shaming but stating the obvious that seems glossed over - there has ALWAYS been a really decent instant analog ecosystem if folks are interested in that type of photography. This camera is clearly higher end hardware than anything offered by Fuji or Polaroid in decades and perhaps there's enough more 'serious' photographers out there who want an instant analog experience to make the camera a hit for the company. At its 'James Garner & Mariette Hartley' mainstream height, Polaroid was always the outlier - always expensive, always more promise than reality and always a frustrating compromise. Perhaps an expensive neiche camera is what they really need to fill out their product portfolio even if I don't think it's going to sell in big numbers. Largely speaking, who is buying instant analog film? Polaroid nostalgia fans, Instax kids and Lomography types - I don't think this camera is what they are looking for nor what they can afford and those folks are the ones that have been keeping this instant analog photography flame burning.

First speakers and now cameras?

I like that you call us buds

This is a nostalgia thing, right? Like using one of those Imsai or Altair computer clones where you toggle switches and watch blinking lights to enter machine code?

Still can’t beat the industrial design of the SX70. Wish they just modernized that one to shoot I type film 🎞️

Very well done. Thank You.

Interesting video! But you guys need to find a replacement for Deiter, been to long without a good presenter.

Hey buds 👋 📸

This is the ultimate challenge for a film simulation EVF

Have you altered the images with popsicle sticks yet?

I think they are going about it all wrong. They should have an app in which you can take pictures polaroid style, be able to edit it, then send that picture via BT to the Polaroid camera where it can then dispense the print.

Sounds like you're paying $600 for a lot of headaches. The concept is cool but anyone who is buying this first gen it's probably making a mistake.

HUH? DID I HEAR A "vieni qua" in a B roll?? italian spotted, glad to see some italians in the youtube international community if it's the case

We love Becca’s reviews.

I want a folding I 2 not a range finder

6:03 there's one of your problem. This shot shows you putting the newly snapped polaroid in your back pocket. That is bad. You don't want to put any pressure on a polaroid for at least 15 minutes after you take it. My girlfriend and I figured that out the hard way. We ended up 3D printing a little box to put them in so they could develop without both in the dark and without anything pressing on them.