Rambo, Robocop, Terminator, and Polaroid… what do they all have in common? They are the undeniable heroes of the 1980s–1990s. Like iconic characters, the instant photo in a frame was an integral symbol of those years: a symbol of coolness, technological progress, a little everyday magic. Recently, Polaroid released a new instant camera for the first time in over ten years (a clone of the Fuji Instax camera). It’s a kind of “back to the future,” or Star Wars with its mixed-up episodes, and how the new camera is a continuation of the iconic 1970s model — the Polaroid One Step. So, meet the Polaroid One Step 2!
Design and Functional Elements
Taking it out of the box… Wow! First impression — it’s cool! Of course, not everyone will like the sharp design of the late ’70s, but luckily, I’m not one of those. At first glance, the camera looks identical to the old OneStep, except, of course, for the flash. But when you hold the camera in your hands, you notice there are some differences.
So, the first thing that catches your eye and is a bit confusing is the viewfinder. Unlike the original model, here it’s practically absent, meaning it lacks the usual protruding eyepiece. Whether this is an advantage or a drawback, we’ll find out in field conditions.
The second noticeable change is the flash. This is clear: old cameras like the SX70 mostly lacked a flash. The OneStep 2 has one, so that’s great. On the front, there’s a small self-timer button, which is cool and never unnecessary. On the back, there’s the power button, a flash off button, and a USB charging slot. Yes, I forgot to mention that the biggest difference in this camera is that it works with new I-type cartridges. They are cheaper because they don’t have a battery. That’s why the camera has a power button and a charging cable slot. If you happen to have a large stock of 600-type cartridges at home, don’t worry — the camera works perfectly with them too (it only doesn’t work with SX70-type cartridges).
Controls
After charging the camera (it comes half-charged from the factory), I inserted a cartridge and headed into the city. When packing the camera into my backpack, I liked the absence of the long viewfinder — the shape became smoother with fewer protrusions. That day, I had a meeting with friends I hadn’t seen in a long time, and I dedicated the first precious shot to them :) When they were taking a selfie against a wall, I approached and said, “Wait, I’ll take a picture of you with this cool camera,” and took the shot. Ah, the red button is awesome! It brings back that childlike excitement: you press one big bright button, and you have a photo in your hands! The girls were thrilled too: both by the camera and the photo developing process.
The flash fires every time you take a photo: both in darkness and on a sunny beach. If you want to take a photo without flash, you need to hold down a small button on the back. The photo came out a bit overexposed, but in my opinion, this is a common issue with almost every instant camera. For me, it’s better not to turn off the flash in bright sunlight, as it can illuminate deep shadows. It’s better just to set the exposure compensation to minus. You don’t need to focus; it has a hyperfocal setting — everything from 60 cm to infinity will be more or less in focus. To better understand the distance, keep in mind that 60 cm is roughly the length of an outstretched arm. While shooting, I also realized that the absence of the long eyepiece on the viewfinder is indeed a drawback, especially for people who aim with their left eye.
It was extremely uncomfortable for me to squint with my left eye just to somehow see the composition. Even right-handed people find it uncomfortable because you involuntarily tilt the camera at an angle to see better, which shifts the composition upward. This is not fatal, but not ideal either.
Photos
Shot with the sky. For such a simple camera, this was a challenging task, but in my opinion, everything turned out great. Quite decent contrast, incredible color. Maybe with a minus exposure compensation it would be more saturated, but I’m fully satisfied with the shot as is.
Hnat Khotkevych Palace of Culture. Here I tried to make a “California style photo.” An old sign, a brick building, sunny sky. This shot was made with minus exposure compensation, and I really like it. Kind of a Brooklyn 1970s vibe.
That day I also had with me the original One Step camera (Polaroid 1000).
In one of Lviv’s courtyards, I took two identical shots. Both cameras performed well. What surprised me was that the shot from the new One Step 2 looked more retro than the one from the original 1970s camera.
Left: shot taken with the original One Step; right: with One Step 2
As evening approached, my wife and I went to watch the sunset at Kaizervald (a large park in Lviv). On the way, I tried to recreate an old shot I took a few years ago at the same place with a Fuji Instax 300.
Left: shot taken with Fuji Instax 300; right: with One Step 2
I understand this isn’t a completely fair comparison since the shots were taken at different times, but the shooting conditions were very, very similar. Unfortunately, I didn’t like the Polaroid shot very much. The light meter made a mistake in such difficult conditions, and the shot turned out worse than the Instax. At that moment, I really liked the frame counter; it nicely displayed how many shots I had left.
Counter
The light in the park was very nice, and I wanted to take a photo of both of us. I placed the camera among the branches, pressed the self-timer button, then the big red shutter button.
The photo came out well, everything in focus, but I composed the shot a bit poorly, so it’s a little crooked. But I’m happy, especially that now with Polaroid you can easily take a photo of yourself and a friend in an empty park without anyone’s help. That truly pleased me.
When I tried to take the next shot, something strange happened. It simply didn’t eject. After waiting a few minutes, I tried again, and it started to eject but got stuck. This scared me quite a bit. After several attempts to take another shot, I decided to open the door from which the photos eject. As soon as I started opening it, the camera spit out the photo. Seeing that the next shot was also partially ejected, I carefully pushed it back in and tried to take a photo again. This was a glitch caused by a factory defect, which, unfortunately, happens very rarely. I don’t take it to heart; as they say, sh*t happens! :) Fortunately, the next shot worked fine, the light was good, and the focus was sharp. This time I also set the exposure compensation to minus. There were some small flares on the photo when I opened the door, but they don’t bother me.
Also, from my purely subjective point of view, a downside of the camera is that the flash off button is located in a somewhat inconvenient place. To press both buttons simultaneously, you have to twist your fingers a bit.
Also, when shooting, fingers often cover part of the flash, which is not a big problem but can slightly affect the photo.
Overall, the impression of the camera is good. It feels nice in the hands, and I like the absence of various moving parts like on the old 600 series cameras (such as the famous 636). The photo quality is also quite good, although the image is probably not as sharp as on wide-format Fujis. For people satisfied with their Polaroid 600 series cameras, this camera will be a serious step forward. It has a powerful flash, supports new I-type cartridges, a self-timer, and overall slightly better image quality.
So, if you love your old Polaroid from the ’90s but still want something new with the character of the famous cameras, the One Step 2 is the right choice. Also, if you’re looking for your first “party camera” and want it to be a true Polaroid with its iconic square frame, this is definitely a good choice. With this camera, you’re guaranteed attention. You will definitely get good shots without much effort. But if you’re an experienced photographer and want to develop and get high-quality instant photos, this camera is not for you. Better save up for an SX70 SLR or SLR 680. And if you’re left-handed like me, this camera is not for you either :)