Polaroid JoyCam 500 Instant Camera, Blue

This camera is so easy to operate that anyone can load and use it. It works with Polaroid 500 (formerly known as Captiva) film and produces wallet-size pictures. To advance your film, you simply pull a plastic ring on the side of the camera. The JoyCam also features a manually selected built-in flash.

What we found most pleasing about the updated design is that it is noticeably less cumbersome than traditional instant cameras. While still much larger than a 35mm point-and-shoot, the JoyCam is small enough to throw into a backpack and bring along. Also, because the film ejection mechanism is manual in this updated design, Polaroid no longer has to build a battery cell into each film cartridge--so film costs less.

In redesigning the body of the JoyCam, however, Polaroid has done little to improve the actual picture-taking mechanism or picture quality. In our tests, this camera was incapable of taking a decent indoor picture without using the flash. When we did use the flash, it distorted colors and produced washed-out images of the subjects in our photos. However, if picture quality and stunning portraits are what you are after, you'd be silly to buy an instant camera of any sort, much less a Polaroid JoyCam. The Polaroid JoyCam is designed for impulsiveness and fun, and it serves those purposes well.

Pros:

• Light and portable body
• Simple operation
• More economical film

Cons:

• Flash causes color distortion
• Grainy picture quality

The design feature that sets the Polaroid JoyCam apart from other instant cameras is its film delivery system--or lack of one. Traditional instant cameras relied on film cartridges with built-in batteries to enable the camera to expel each shot; however, this model works without a battery. Instead, users pull a plastic ring on the side of the camera to extract the exposed frame. This manual process enables Polaroid to offer a lighter camera body and compatible instant film cartridges at a more reasonable price.

The Polaroid JoyCam takes pictures at a range of 3 feet to infinity. It works with Polaroid 500 instant film and produces pictures that measure 4.4 by 2.5 inches, which is slightly smaller than traditional Polaroid shots.

A bit bigger and lighter than a cell phone, this zapper fits into small purses, teen boys' cargo pockets, and safely in an auto's glove box. I like to keep it handy while driving about town. You just never know what you might see. I have spied an alligator slithering down a neighborhood sewer drain, a famous QB at practice, not on the grid-iron, but at a golf driving range, and unfortunately, needed insurance pix of a fender bender, mine. (That alone did pay for the camera and loads more film)

Also, having a 35-mm SLR and dabbling in photography as a hobby--this high-tech instant camera is useful for taking what my husband calls remembrance shots; places we want to shoot again. We just pull the 'lil cord, note on the back where we took the subject & file them on index cards with any additional notes and keep them in an old recipe box. And if we never pass that way again--at least we have some fond memory.

Hey, it's a fun camera, at a good price, which has practical uses and is sleek enough for first time users to the pickiest gadget-guru.


Sleek and easy   November 29, 2000
Jenna (Seattle, WA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

The JoyCam is a nifty little camera, the picture size is just about right for instant photos. The handle to pull out your pictures does feel a bit flimsy, but it seems to serve it's purpose well. The photo quality is good but not great, although I took some indoor pictures, which usually turn out really dark, and the photos turned out really well. As long as you are not looking to be the next Mapplethorpe, the JoyCam is an ideal way to go. Not too spendy, either, which in my opinion is the best part of it!