Polaroid Lab Review

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Photos are ubiquitous today. It used to be you needed to go to a photographer to get a good picture, but now taking pictures from a smartphone is easy, and we photograph everything from our milestones to our meals, and everything in between.
But how often do you get time to enjoy your photos? When was the last time you looked at the pictures of your last vacation trip? Usually, those pictures serve no other purpose than to eat your phone’s memory. Do you ever print them so you can see them every day?

What is Polaroid Lab?
The Lab is what Polaroid calls a ‘private desktop darkroom’.
The idea behind Polaroid Lab is simple: take the digital photos from your phone and turn them into tangible Polaroid pictures. How you do it is a bit odd, but the overall effect is designed to use digital technology to create retro analog photography.
You might think this machine is merely a printer, but what it actually is, is a unique photo transfer machine that captures and scans the photos off your phone’s screen and turns them into legitimate Polaroid photos. There’s no wireless connection between your phone and the Lab; it needs to be in physical contact with the Lab for it to work.

The Polaroid Lab uses a 3-lens system to project the screen image from your phone, exposing it onto authentic, vintage-style Polaroid film. A unique chemical process then develops the image into a Polaroid picture.
Setting up Polaroid lab
Currently Polaroid lab only works with two types of Polaroid film; Polaroid I type, and Polaroid 600 type film.

You can pick up the film anywhere you would buy film or paper, generally speaking. It comes in small packages of eight sheets. Surprisingly, this film is best stored in the refrigerator, just like the advice they used to give to vintage photographers back in the day. And in case you are wondering, the new I type film is not compatible with the vintage Polaroid cameras.

Setting up the Polaroid lab

Before you get started, charge the camera fully then download the Polaroid Originals app. This device only works with this app.

Because this device prints photos from your phone screen, it works best if you remove any screen protectors or other films on the screen. Cracks and scratches on the screen may also influence your picture quality.

To get started, remove the cover from the platform and turn the Polaroid lab on by pressing the platform release button on the right side of the lab. The phone platform will automatically lift into the ready position.

Why the Lab method?

The big question I had about this device is, why? If you’ve seen stuff about other instant photo printers, you may know you can just use an app and print your photos directly to the printer. No need to fuss with cases, covers, lenses and phone screens. The Polaroid Lab actually seems to be making printing out a photo more complicated.

What do the photos look like? I got both good and not great results. The first couple photos I printed were great; just like vintage Polaroids, with their colourwash haze, papery white borders and the square shape that was around way before Instagram.

The next couple were streaky and hazy, and it seemed like the film was almost scratched somehow.

Features: Add AI effects
With the Polaroid Originals app, you can bring static pictures to life. The app can add augmented reality (AR) features to your pictures. You choose a photo, then in the Polaroid app, choose a video you’d like to imbed in it (and you can make the video public or private). When the photo is exposed, there’s a barcode imbedded onto the photo, and when you use the Polaroid AR viewer inside the Polaroid app and hold it over the photo, you can see the video. That’s kind of neat.
Except when I tried to do this I’d say it only worked about one in three or four times. With the price of the film, that’s an expensive glitch to try to re-print.
Overall review of Polaroid Lab desktop darkroom
I have mixed feelings about this device. On one hand I really like Polaroid film format, but I feel like this device unnecessarily complicates the printing process. While I had some good photos print, I also had some duds.
I think the AR abilities are neat, but the process seems flawed. Plus, this device is expensive and it’s not very versatile, in that it can only be used one way; you can’t also print wirelessly. It sells for about $169CAD while a pack of film paper sets you back an astonishing $25 for 8 sheets, or just over $3 per photo!
In short while I get the nostalgia, I don’t know if this device is the best way to get it, particularly when you can get those same polaroid-style photos from other printers.

Видео Polaroid Lab Review канала Erin Lawrence