Are Disposable Cameras Worth It?

Let’s admit it, there is something really cool about a disposable camera. The pictures have a certain look, and when you pull one out, everyone wants to be in the photo. But as film prices are rising, is it still worth getting a disposable camera in 2022?

The cost of using a Disposable CAmera

Before we can really address the question of “Are Disposable Cameras Worth It?”, we should probably look at the total cost involved in using one. Disposable or Single-Use cameras are essentially economically made plastic cameras with a roll of 35mm film inside. Every time you buy a disposable camera, your essentially buying a new camera and a new roll of film. A quick check of prices today reveals that most color-negative disposable cameras are costing between $16 and $22 each. Most of the time, you will have to order them as fewer and fewer stores are carrying them in stock. Of course if you order one online, you’ll have to have it shipped, so for the sake of averages we will say that the average disposable camera is going to cost you $20 to purchase.

After you’ve shot your 27 exposures, the disposable camera must be developed. Prices for processing vary from lab to lab, but we are going to assume you will be using us, Shutter Junkies, to process your film. For camera processing, the cost is $12. You can add prints to your camera for an additional $12, but we won’t take that into consideration as must customers are happy with a digital copy only. Of course, you have to mail your cameras in to almost every lab, so we will add an additional $5 for shipping so we can truly capture all of the costs.

So here’s the break down of costs of using a disposable camera:

• Purchase the Disposable Camera - $20

• Developing the Disposable camera - $12

• Postage - $5

• Total Cost of Using a Disposable Camera- $37

Compare the Cost of Disposable vs. Digital

When it comes to comparing the cost, its hard to make a case for disposable cameras when digital photos on your phone or camera are practically free. We could easily try to factor in the cost of the phone, or camera, the cost of the SD card, the cost of the cloud storage, but the truth is that all of those things are reusable and so the costs are spread out so much across the life of the device that it would practically nothing once you calculated how many photos you can take with a device over its life. The costs of using digital are practically nothing. So there’s that to consider.

The real benefits of using a disposable Camera

While the allure of the freeness of digital is extremely appealing, there are several aspects of disposable camera photography that make it worth the cost!

The Film Look of a Disposable Camera

The first thing you cannot miss is that classic film look. Disposable cameras are just cheap, plastic cameras, but they are still film cameras and produce that classic, retro vibe associated with film. We develop thousands of rolls of film and even the most mundane film photos still has a unique look to it that digital just cannot replicate. You can try throwing filters and effects at a digital image, but you’re always going to fall short.

The durability of Film

The other awesome thing about a disposable cameras is that the film they use lasts a really really long time, once developed. We return all of your negatives to you so that you can archived them and either scan or make optical prints from them later. Film can be rescanned over and over again, and it lasts for years. Even if you lose your phone, get locked out of your iCloud or can’t access your digital images, you’ve always got you negatives with you! They will probably outlive you!

Standing out in a crowd

Every form of social media is saturated with iPhone images with the same old filters. Your digital images are more than likely going to get lost in the thousands of other similar looking pictures. But your disposable camera photos are going to be unique enough to stop the scroll and get those likes! Don’t believe me- just search the hash tag #disposablecamera on any social media and take a look at the amazing images! Film images still attract a lot of attention, simply because they look different and as we scroll, the brain is subconsciously looking for different!

Conclusion - Are disposable CAmeras Worth it?

An objective answer to this question would have to be “sometimes they are”. At a cost of $37 to get your images, its not something you’re going to be shooting with every day. But they are definitely worth it for those occasions you want to remember and create a special set of images for. With a disposable camera, its not just about taking photos, its about creating memories that will last for years.

So plan those trips, concerts, dates, outings with friends, or family, or the kids and stock up on some disposable cameras because those moments are priceless and deserve far better treatment that a quick generic photo with your camera phone.

Win a FREE Kodak FunSaver to Start Your Summer!

It’s time to kick-off Summer 2022 and we want to help you capture your summer memories on a Kodak FunSaver Disposable Camera!

Enter your information in the form below for your chance to win! We’re drawing our winner on Facebook Live on June 19th at 7pm Central.

The winner will be drawn live and will receive a new 27 exposure Kodak FunSaver Camera shipped directly to them for free! With disposable camera prices on the rise, you don’t want to miss out on this chance to win!

The Ilford IlfoColor Rapid Retro Disposable Camera Review

Sometimes, I have to admit, I just a sucker for vintage/retro packaging. I had been trying to resist the urge to buy one of Ilford’s color disposable cameras, but the more I saw them pop-up, the harder it was to resist. And so, I finally broke down and bought one. And after shooting with it, I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised!

What I assumed about the Camera before Even Ordering it

Ilford had been around a long time as a film manufacturer and even have a very good line of black and white disposable cameras using their HP5 and HP4 films. But I’ve never even really heard of them making a color film stock in recent years. I assumed that the Ilford Rapid Retro was more or less a repackaging/rebranding of another disposable camera with a 3rd party film. I couldn’t find any examples of the photos taken with the Ilfocolor film, so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. The film was rated at ISO 800, and what I expected was some of the cheap and absolutely awful Chinese film stocks that I often see in Etsy disposable cameras. But what I found actually surprised me!

The Ilford Ilfocolor Rapid Retro at First Glance

The packaging was cool looking, it had basic instructions. It appeared to be a slightly above average disposable camera once I opened the shipping box! Fuji and Kodak disposable cameras don’t really come in boxes any more so the packaging was far better than the norm!

The Ilford Ilfocolor Camera

The camera body here was definitely not a new design or even one that Ilford had used before. Shutter Junkies develops a lot of disposable cameras from all over the world and we’ve only seen this camera body type a few times. The body used to be sold here in the United States as some cheaper third party brands. But since film fell off they’ve all disappeared. This body is still used more in Europe however as we’ve received some newer cameras from there with this same body.

The body itself is standard. Basic film winder, exposure counter, shutter button, nothing fancy. The only really distinguishing feature is the flash’s on switch. Kodak disposable cameras have button you press to charge and Fuji disposable cameras come with a small slider that slides up with a prism that glows red to indicate that the flash is charged and on. The Ilfocolor Rapid Retor features a sliding switch that slides out, extending past the border of the camera body. Its a strange design and not particularly attractive. The one good thing is that you won’t forget that your flash is on!

The Form and Function of the Ilfocolor Rapid Retro

Beyond the goofy flash switch, the camera feels solid and works well. It fits nicely in your hand, and all of the winding, shutter, and flash switches work nicely with no excess play or sense that the camera is poorly made. The Rapid Retro is a solid build little disposable camera!

To be honest, the camera feels to be a little better quality that the Fuji cameras out there. Fuji cameras feel like they are just made from the cheapest plastic ever. The Ilford Ilfocolor feels a bit more solid. I decided to chase my children around the house and yard and see if the camera and I could keep up. I didn’t have a problem winding and shooting at the speed my little kids were moving. Overall I was somewhat impressed by the quality and build.

But I couldn’t help wondering with each click of the shutter, what kind of film was in this thing? What are my pictures going to look like??

Ilford Ilfocolor Rapid Retro Pictures

I opened the camera and pulled out what appeared to be a standard generic 800 speed film. There was no branding or indicator markings of any kind. This definitely wasn’t an Ilford film. The film canister looked very similar to that of the Lomography Color Negative 800 film, which is an amazing film stock that I absolutely love shooting with. But without any branding, I just assumed the worse.

I developed the film and watched impatiently as the film dried. The images looked decent. Most of the images were dense enough. There were a few I purposefully under exposed just to see how the film would perform. I had tried to take photos in a variety of lighting settings, similar to what I see my customers sending in with their disposables. We took some outside with and without the flash, inside with and without the flash, running, walking, and standing still. I could definitely identify the images where I thought I was underexposing. The negatives looked exactly as I expected. So far, the film was performing ok, like a normal color negative ISO 800 film in a disposable camera body.

Once the film was dried, the film went right to the scanner where I can finally say, I was very pleased with the results! The film itself still had no markings to indicate a brand, but the colors and the feel of the images really remind me of Lomography Color Negative 800 film. The images were saturated in some colors and a little more subdued in others but all of the colors were vibrant. The contrast to me felt a little low so I bumped it up in the software, but the unedited image was a nice colorful flatter style which was ok. It was nice to have some latitude to work with/edit with though. After reviewing the images over and over, I had to finally admit that I liked how they turned out! I don’t think I would recommend this camera for weddings or company events, but for individuals capturing moments that want a warm, personal, retro feel, the Ilford Ilfocolor Rapid Retro would be a great option!

The Final Word on the Ilford Ilfocolor Rapid Retro Disposable Camera

If you’re looking for a fun camera that will give an interesting and fun stylized look to your images, this camera is for you! A solid camera, easy to use, really just down right fun to use, performs consistently with other big-brand cameras on the market, this camera definitely does not disappoint. I expected the worst yet the results I got were exciting and fun!

If you’re looking for a slightly different experience with a disposable camera, the Ilford Ilfocolor Rapid Retro is the camera you should pick-up!

Can You Still Develop Old Disposable Cameras?

Last Updated: June 12, 2024

Not too long ago, we had a big ‘clean-up’ day at our house. Like a lot of people, we had collected too much clutter and needed to purge our house of all of the junk and random things that were just laying around, collecting dust. None of us were looking forward to it. I ended up being assigned the oh-so-much super fun role of cleaning out the random draws in our house. As I went through the seemingly endless odds and ins we had for some reason decided to save over the years, I made a discovery! A discovery that immediately ended my drawer duties, much to my wife’s frustration. In one of the drawers, tucked away for over 15 years, I found 6 disposable cameras! I had no idea they were there! My wife barely remembered putting them in the draw, but now could not remember what was on the cameras. For a photography and film nerd like myself, finding old disposable cameras or old film is like finding a treasure chest. Who knows what memories and images could have been taken. I was beyond excited!

Many of you have come across old disposable cameras as you’ve cleaned. Maybe they were yours, or maybe they belonged to one of your kids, or maybe another family member, but regardless, once they are found the question arises: “Can you develop old disposable cameras?”

Can You Still Develop Old Disposable Cameras?

The short and simple answer is yes, you can still develop them! The real question is, will we get any viewable images out of our old disposable cameras? And to answer that question, we’re going to have to consider a number of factors.

What can damage photographic film?

How film works is nothing short of a miracle. Silver bromide and dyes and other layers are applied to a thin film that when it works together are light sensitive and can even display color! There are so many chemical and physical aspects to film, but we don’t want to get too deep here. Let’s discuss the big issues. Heat is one of the biggest things that can damage the film. I’ve developed disposable cameras that have lived in the trunk of a person’s car for several years. Let me tell you, those images were a disaster. The images I was able to salvage had extremely distorted colors and the worst graininess I’ve ever seen. Most of the contrast was washed away also. The images reminded me of being a kid in the 1980s trying to get reception on a certain TV station only to be able to barely get a signal. You could tell there was something there, but not clearly enough to have usable to viewable images.

Besides heat, moisture can have a huge effect on the film. It is possible that moisture in the form of condensation can build up on the inside of the canister even (inside of the disposable camera). Moisture inside of the canister can damage the emulsion or cause abnormal effects with the film itself. Heat and moisture are the enemies of exposed film! But there are ways to battle heat and moisture. Exposed film has two more enemies that cannot be prevented.

One of those enemies is gamma radiation. Gamma radiation is all around us, causing issues all the time, but the older undeveloped film gets, the more it is affected by gamma radiation. According to Kodak, gamma radiation has an effect on the image effectiveness of the film, but it mostly increases the appearance of grain and fog in the image. The older the film gets, the grainier it is going to become. I’ve developed some films that are 20 to 30 years old and have terrible amounts of grain that really begin to distract from the image.

The other issue that drastically affects older undeveloped disposable cameras is the natural order of the energy and the chemistry that makes the film work. Essentially capturing photons in the form of electrons in silver-bromide, during the development process those molecules are transformed into fixed silver which creates an image. Until the film is developed, you actually don’t have an image on the film. Rather, it is a latent image made up of captured energy. And like all prisoners, that energy just wants to escape. Over long periods of time enough can escape to really degrade the quality of your image.

How I can slow this natural decay?

Storing your Disposable Cameras in the fridge helps! Keeping the film cold prevents those electrons from breaking free and making a run for it. But even cold storage will not delay decay for long. Most exposed films need to be developed within 6 months of shooting. Any time after 6 months, your images are going to start to break down. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is a very slow process. Disposable cameras that are 2 years old won’t be that bad. Disposable cameras that are 22 years old however will begin to look kinda bad. And to add to the issues, most manufacturers were not putting the best quality film in disposable cameras in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Kodak Disposable Cameras and Fuji Disposable Cameras generally hold up ok. But store brands and other off brands do not. And if you purchased cameras that were refurbished in china (most Etsy wedding cameras are of this type), those go really fast because they use really really a low-quality film stock.

The bottom line is if you want the best possible images from your disposable camera, store them in a cool dry place and get them developed as soon as possible!

What will the Images from My Old Disposable Camera Look Like?

So ok, you didn’t do any of the things above and you’re like us and have had these disposable cameras just sitting in a draw for years needing to be developed. What are your images going to look like?

The pictures from your old disposable camera are more than likely going to exhibit three traits. The first trait is decreased contrast. Your image will appear flatter with a less noticeable difference between the highlights and the shadow.

Definitely a lot of grain and distorted colors here!

Strong magenta shifts are very common in old disposable cameras

The second trait you will notice is distorted color. Your final images will have color shifts. Some of which can be easily fixed but some are impossible to restore without extremely detailed work. A way to work around this is to develop your old disposable cameras as black and white images. While you lose the color (which is distorted probably anyways) you can salvage some of the image quality. You can ask the lab to process your disposable camera as black and white if you’re worried!

The third trait is graininess. And oh my goodness do old disposable cameras get grainy. Combine that with the first two issues and you can end up with a mess of an image.

If you take a look at your negatives, you will also notice some pretty severe curling and brittleness. There is also a good chance that the negatives will be substantially darker than fresh film.

Is it worth getting old disposable cameras developed?

Absolutely! The images on those disposable cameras may be beautiful reminders of the past, holding precious moments, the faces of friends and family or special events that you have long forgotten. But you shouldn’t wait to get them developed! The sooner you get the processed, the better. The decay is only going to get worse!

Where can I go to get old disposable cameras developed?

There are actually a number of places that will develop your old disposable cameras. While you can take them to a drop-off location like CVS or Walmart, they may not provide your older film with the special care it needs. We could recommend using one of the higher-quality mail-in services that exist. Check out our post on Where do I go to get my Disposable Cameras Developed?

If you’re looking for a quality and customer service-centered photo lab for your old disposable cameras, then our photo lab may be exactly what you are looking for! We develop hundreds of disposable cameras every month, both new and old! Click HERE to get started!

Finding Treasure on an Old Disposable Camera

How do you get images off of an old disposable camera? That’s easy, you get them developed, which is exactly what I did when I found those cameras. On those 6 cameras were images of our grown son, and family that had passed away from a big family birthday party we had had. As I carefully developed and scanned the images I couldn’t help but well up with tears of joy at the smiling faces I saw, some of them I haven’t seen in years. My adult son’s little kid face, my grandfather’s amazing smile, my dad’s goofy grin. All images I immediately treasured, which had been almost completely forgotten about if my wife hadn’t made me clean up the drawers.

I shared all of those images with my family. We laughed and cried together. If you find old disposable cameras, remember that the cameras are disposable, but the memories inside are not!

Also, check out this great Kodak resource on storing and handling unprocessed film!

Kodak Reveals a New Disposable Camera with Professional Black and White Film!

The only frustrating thing about Disposable Cameras for me is their lack of variety. You can choose between Kodak and Fuji and you just get a low-grade color negative film in both. Or, if you want black and white, Ilford has a disposable camera out there. Really the only option you have is what film speed do you buy.

Now Kodak Alaris is upping the game with the announcement of a new black and white disposable camera! Not only is it black and white, but it comes loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400! Which just happens to be my absolute favorite black and white film.

The newly announce Kodak Professional Black and White Disposable Camera with Tri-X 400 film

Disposable cameras (also now called single use cameras) are so much fun and so convenient, but they do have their weaknesses. Two main weaknesses to be exact. The first is the low quality plastic lens. While these have gotten remarkable better over the years, a plastic lens is just never goin to give you the sharpness a glass lens will. There’s no way to fix this unless you’re will to pay a lot more for the disposable camera, which at the point, you might as well just buy a used point-and-shoot. The second drawback to disposable cameras is that the film that goes into them is really low-end film. Don’t get me wrong, it works fine and helps to provide the disposable camera aesthetic that we’ve all come to love. But I always think to myself, what if these single use cameras came with slightly better film?

A Disposable Camera with Professional Film

Kodak has seen the trend and has decided to invest more in the disposable camera market by offering a camera with one of their professional films, namely Tri-X 400. While the lens is still plastic, I’m convinced the marriage of the single use camera format with this black and white film will produce some amazing results. I cannot wait to get my hands on one!

The camera itself has a basic disposable camera set-up. Each camera comes in a plastic body with an automatically recharging flash powered by a AA battery. The camera body is nothing new and appears to be very similar to Kodak Max Flash disposable camera.

The 35mm film inside is Kodak extremely popular Tri-X 400 which is a high-speed panchromatic film that works great in low light and bright sunlight. Tri-X400 has a wide latitude and great in all sorts of situations. Color negative 35mm film often really struggle in low light and also has a tendency to desaturate in bright sunlight. Consumers will have a lot more luck capturing images at events with varied lighting, such as weddings and concert. The only sacrifice if the color.

Kodak Tri-X 400 is one of my personal favorite film stocks. I keep boxes of it on hand in several formats at all times. I’ve used it in a variety of lighting situations and events and I have never been disappointed.

Where can I get Kodak Disposable Cameras Developed?

When it comes to their color negative single use cameras, almost anywhere! You can actually read more about getting your disposable cameras developed HERE in our article “Where can I get My Disposable Camera Developed”. But this camera uses black and white film, so you will need to make sure that the place you are sending your camera can process this film!

The good news is that our lab can process these black and white disposable cameras for you! Just click this link to our Disposable Camera Processing to get started.

Technical information about the Kodak Professional 400TX Single Use Camera

If you’re looking for more technical information, here are two documents from Kodak that should help you find the answers you’re looking for. This PDF is an FAQ you can download with lots of common questions and answers directly from Kodak. This PDF is the Kodak Tri-X 320 and 400 film technical data.

Where Can I Buy the Kodak Black and White Disposable Camera?

If you’re looking to buy a Kodak Professional 400TX Single Use Camera, they’re coming soon! But sadly, they aren’t out yet. We will be watching daily as we can wait to buy a few ourselves and we will update this information as soon as they become available!

Polaroid Christmas Gift Guide 2021

Whether you’re shopping for that person who has everything or your niece or nephew or grandchild and you want to get them something to inspire them, you should definitely consider getting them a Polaroid as a Christmas gift.

Do Polaroid Cameras Make Good Gifts?

The short answer is absolutely! Well, absolutely for almost everyone. They are a one size fits all kind of gift and creates a wow and ooooh factor that yet another sweater or gift card just don’t have. From pre-teens to 80 year olds, polaroid cameras are easy to use and fun to use! All you have to do is point and shoot and you’re creating great images and memories to last a life time. Giving a Polaroid camera as a gift can inspire the creativity of the recipient, especially with some of the newer cameras with bluetooth connectivity! It’s a creative gift and a tech gift, all wrapped up into one great present!

Which Polaroid Camera Should I Buy?

It depends. There are a few great models out there this holiday season for you to consider. When shopping, you need to take into account the following:

• What features does the Polaroid camera have?

• How much does it cost?

• What type of Polaroid film does it use?

• Is this type of Polaroid film available at a local store or does it have to be ordered online?

• How much does the film cost?

Let’s take a look at some of the holiday offerings from Polaroid and find the answers to each!

Polaroid Now+ Starter Set

The Polaroid Now+ Starter Kit in Black

The Polaroid Now+ is one of the newest and most feature rich instant cameras out there! It comes with basic features like autofocus and a rechargeable battery, but also includes Bluetooth connectivity and a dedicated app to help you control your device! The app affords you the ability to use the camera to do a wide variety of creative shots. You can also choose between colors! You can get a Polaroid Now+ in white, black, and blue-grey. Getting the starter set is a great idea for a Christmas gift because it includes three packs of Polaroid I-Type film (2 color packs and 1 black and white).

Here are the Tech Specs:

The Polaroid Now+ Starter Set contents:
1 x Polaroid Now+ camera
+ 2 packs of Polaroid Color i-Type Film
+ 1 pack of Polaroid B&W i-Type Film

Camera:
Dimensions: 5.9 in / 150.16 mm (L) x 4.4 in / 112.2 mm (W) x 3.8 in / 95.48 mm (H)
Weight: 457 grams (without film pack)

Battery: lithium-ion battery (UN3481)

Outer shell: Polycarbonate + ABS plastics
Lenses: Polycarbonate resin

Shutter system:
1/200 - 1sec. (Camera only)
1/200 - 30 sec. and Bulb mode (App Mode)

Focal length:
Standard Lens: 102.35 mm (40mm/35 equivalent)
Close-up Lens: 94.96 mm (35mm/35 equivalent)

Field of view:
Horizontal 40°, vertical 41°

Flash system:
Auto-Adjust Output Vacuum discharge tube strobe system

Lens filter kit, USB charging cable and Neck strap included
Tripod mount on base of camera

Polaroid Now Starter Set

The Polaroid Now Starter Set in White

The Polaroid Now instant camera has a very similar form factor when compared to the Now+, it has the same basic layout and even uses the same Polaroid I-Type film. It’s even got a similar autofocus system and a rechargeable battery like the Now+. But what it doesn’t have is Bluetooth connectivity and app control from your phone. This is still a really solid camera and many people don’t actually need or will use the creative features included in the Bluetooth Now+. It does have a timer and will take double exposures so there are still some creative features included. But overall the Polaroid Now is a solid instant camera with basic features that will work great for most of the people you might be buying for. And again, buying the starter kit is a great idea because it comes with 3 packs of Polaroid I-Type film (2 color and 1 b&w) so that when the recipient opens the box they can immediately charge their camera and get to shooting!

Here are the tech specs for the Polaroid Now:

The Polaroid Now Starter Set contents:
1 x Polaroid Now camera
+ 2 packs of Polaroid Color i-Type Film
+ 1 pack of Polaroid B&W i-Type Film

Camera:
Dimensions: 3.7 × 4.4 × 5.9 in (94 x 112.2 x 150.2 mm)
Weight: 0.95 lbs (434 grams) (without film pack)
Battery: High performance lithium-ion battery (750mAh), rechargeable via USB
Outer shell: Polycarbonate + ABS plastics
Lenses: Optical grade Polycarbonate and Acrylic lenses, coated
Shutter system: Custom design, using precision step motor for shutter
Autofocus system via 2 fixed focus zones 0.55m-1.3m, 0.6m-infinity
Focal length
Close-up (lens 1) 94.96 mm
Distance (lens 2) 102.35 mm
Field of view
41 degrees vertical, 40 degrees horizontal
Flash system
Vacuum discharge tube storage
Neck Strap and USB charging cable included

Polaroid Go Starter Set

The New Polaroid Go Starter Kit

The Polaroid format has been around for years and is very familiar to everyone. We’ve all seen the classic square image with the white boarders in person and depicted in movies and graphics. The Polaroid Go departs from that very classic Polaroid format and gives us an entirely new format in a smaller size and is perfect for kids and teens looking to get into instant photography. Besides being smaller, the Polaroid Go and the film it uses are also much cheaper! The price alone might be enough to make you choose this starter set. The camera has similar double exposure and timer features as the Polaroid Now, but lacks the dual lens autofocus. This simpler camera is aimed at a market where portability and fun on the go are important. The size of the image it produces is closer to a Fuji Instax than a Polaroid, but its unmistakably Polaroid!

Like the other starter sets, the Polaroid Go Starter Set comes with film, 16 exposures of Polaroid Go Film. Unlike the other sets, the 16 pictures are part of just one pack of film and the only option you have is color.

Here are the specs for the Polaroid Go:

Technical Specifications

The Polaroid Go Starter Set contents:
1 x Polaroid Go camera
+ 1 Polaroid Go Color Film Double Pack


Camera:
Pocket-sized Analog Instant Camera
Dimensions: 5.9 x 3.3 x 2.4 in (105 mm x 83.9 mm x 61.5 mm)
Weight: 0.53 lbs (242 grams) (without film pack)
Color: White

Battery: High performance lithium-ion battery, 750mAh, 3.7V nominal Voltage, 2.7Wh, rechargeable via USB.
15-pack battery life

Outer shell: Polycarbonate + ABS plastics

Lenses: Polycarbonate resin
Shutter speed: 1/125-1sec
Aperture: f/12 and f/52
Focal length: 34 mm (35 mm equivalent)

Field of view: Diagonal 65.1°, Horizontal 48.1°, Vertical 49.1 degrees

Automatic flash (with override)
Flash system: Vacuum discharge tube storage

Packaging contents:
Polaroid Go camera
USB charging cable
Wrist strap
Quick Start Guide
Safety & Compliance Booklet

Compatible only with Polaroid Go film

Polaroid Film as a Gift

When you’re having fun and snapping photos, it takes literally no time at all to shoot up a pack of 8 Polaroid pictures. If you know someone that already has a Polaroid camera, getting them some Polaroid film is a great idea! Packs cost around $15 each and you can purchase them directly from Polaroid by CLICKING HERE or you can find other places to buy Polaroid film by checking out our earlier blog post HERE.

Make sure you know what film to buy, or at least which camera you are buying for. New Polaroid cameras, vintage Polaroid cameras, and the Polaroid Go all take different types of film. Polaroid’s I-Type film is similar to their 600 film but it does not have a battery pack like the 600 film does. So you can use I-Type film and 600 film in a newer camera, (Impossible I-1, Polaroid Now, Polaroid Now+, Polaroid OneStep2, etc). But if you’re buying for a vintage camera, you can only use Polaroid 600 film. If the person your are buying for has an SX-70, you can only buy SX-70 type film.

The best place to check compatibility is to go right to the source! CLICK HERE to go directly to Polaroid’s guide on camera and film compatibility.

Polaroid Starter Packs are a Great Place to Start Holiday Gift Shopping

If you’d like to browse Polaroid’s catalog and you’d like to SAVE 15% - CLICK HERE to sign up to get an exclusive coupon code offered only through Shutter Junkies! With shortages and supply chain issues, it would be best to order your starter sets early so you can get them in time for the Holidays/Christmas Season.

Should I Get Disposable Cameras for My Wedding?

Weddings have so much potential for creativity and fun! And one of the best ways to make a wedding amazing is to make it interactive. Games, dancing, toasts, even the wedding cake are part of an interactive event. But the wedding photography still remains somewhat exclusive. Sure, you can use your phone, but it’s not really something that you can share with the happy couple. At least, not easily…

This has led a lot of couples to choose disposable cameras for their wedding. Everyone can grab a camera and document the event from their own perspective! In theory, it’s an amazing and fun idea, but we have to ask ourselves - is it a good idea to have disposable cameras at your wedding? Let’s look at the pros and cons of having disposable cameras and figure out if they are the best choice for you!

Wedding Disposable Cameras: The Good

There are so many good reasons to have disposable cameras at your wedding. While this list is not exhaustive, it does give you an idea of how having disposable cameras available for guests at your wedding might be a great idea!

Disposable Cameras are fun!

Cameras are fun, but there’s just something about a disposable camera that brings out the best and sometimes worst (in a good way) in people. Their simplicity means that anyone can pick up a disposable camera and start shooting. Everyone can be a photographer and it can inspire some people to create some really cute and fun poses while making great memories for you and your spouse. Plus, having disposable cameras available just seems to really liven up the reception crowd! The fun factor of a disposable camera is a major pro when considering whether or not to buy disposable cameras for your wedding.

Disposable Cameras are Cheap!

I’ve seen couples try to use instant cameras at their weddings. Fuji Instax and Polaroid cameras can range from $60 to $120 each and then you have to purchase the film which roughly costs between $ and $3 per photo depending on which format you are using. Couples choosing to go with instant cameras at their weddings often discover that people have to wait around to have a turn and they can burn through a lot of film really quickly. Disposable cameras range between $10 and $20 per camera many times (though you can buy them in bulk cheaper) and come with 27 exposures. You’re getting the camera and the film at a fraction of the cost of instant.

Disposable Cameras are Easy to Use!

A shutter button, a flash charge button, and a winding wheel are all that make up a disposable camera. You charge the flash, press the shutter release, and then wind the film to the next stop and that’s it! If you buy regular consumer disposable cameras for your wedding, you’ll find the instructions are even printed right on the camera. If you purchase decorative cameras from Etsy or Amazon, those may be covered up, but the cameras are still ridiculously easy to use!

Disposable Cameras are Super Durable

Let’s be honest, many of your guests are going to be feeling pretty good once the open bar starts pouring at your reception. You wouldn’t want them handing your Instax or Polaroid cameras in that condition. One drop could send your $100 investment right into the trash when the camera breaks. While disposable cameras are cheap, they are surprisingly durable thanks to the extremely simple design and their plastic lens. You can drop them repeatedly and often the only thing that might happen is the flash stops working. Which doesn’t render the camera completely useless, merely limited in its function.

Disposable cameras are easy to buy

Cheap, durable, and they are still EVERYWHERE! Walmart, Target, and many pharmacies still carry disposable cameras. And you can easily purchase them online! Amazon carries them as well as Etsy and many other online retailers. If you’re looking for info on where you can buy a disposable camera, check out THIS ARTICLE.

You can also check out our Disposable Camera Packages for Weddings! We offer disposable camera packages in 5, 10 or even 20 and the price includes developing and digital delivery through an online gallery. All of our wedding disposable camera packages come with brand-new Kodak cameras loaded with the best film for shooting in darker areas like reception halls or at night. Of course, you should still always use your flash!

Wedding Disposable Cameras: The Bad

While there are a lot of pros to having disposable cameras at your wedding, there are a few things you should be aware of. The good news is that being aware of them can make your disposable camera experience much more enjoyable! Here are the things you should watch out for:

Your Guests may get crazy

I recently developed, processed, and scanned disposable camera film for a customer who had used these disposable cameras at a wedding. While there were many many amazing photos of family and friends, one particular individual decided to walk around and take photos of everyone’s crotches. He even snapped photos under the table. It was an entire roll, 27 exposures, of crotch shots. The customer/bride was extremely upset. I doubt any of those photos made it into the wedding album!

There may be a lot of Finger Photos…

Because you are looking through a viewfinder on a disposable camera, you aren’t actually seeing what is coming through the lens. Combine that with the smooth design (no protruding lens) of a disposable camera and you’re going to end up with a lot of people’s fingers drifting into the picture. I process a lot of wedding disposable cameras and I see a lot of fingers in pictures. Well, you can’t really tell it’s a finger, just a skin-colored blurry blob on the right side of the frame. Fortunately, many of the images can be cropped down to get rid of the finger, but sometimes, it just takes up too much of the image.

To Flash or Not to Flash

The biggest issue I see with disposable cameras that come back from weddings is that the images are always very very dark. People forget to activate the flash button or fail to understand that it has to be pushed each time you’re about to use the camera in most cases. The dark nature of most reception halls makes the flash absolutely necessary and even then, you have to understand that the flash is only good for so many feet. When indoors at the reception, guests should use the flash every single time! When outdoors and in the shade, there’s a good chance you should still use the flash. For most disposable cameras, the only time that you absolutely do not need the flash is when your subject is standing in very bright daylight. So if you have the opportunity to inform through an announcement or making a sign or whatever, make sure your guests know about using the flash!

Without flash…

With flash…

The Cost of Developing

Many couples come back from their honeymoon and discover a large box filled with all of the disposables they had at their wedding and are often sticker-shocked when they discover the cost of developing! Film processing prices are on the rise to get your film processed and scanned could cost as much as $20 or more per roll. When you have 20 or 30 cameras, that adds up to a lot of money and is a somewhat hidden cost and problematic for many who choose to use disposable cameras.

The good news is that WE PROCESS DISPOSABLE CAMERAS! We can develop, scan, process, and even print your images for you at an extremely reasonable price! We provide special care for our wedding customers and give extra attention to detail and image processing to make sure your images turn out beautifully! For orders of 30 cameras and up we even offer a special bulk discount! Message us to find out more!

Is it a good idea to have disposable cameras at my wedding?

While you have to weigh the pros and cons of wedding disposable cameras and consider your guests and your budget, we think it’s a fantastic idea to use such fun and interactive media at your wedding. Communicate with your guests and assume they have no idea how to use a disposable camera. You can use social media to hype the presence of disposable cameras while using it to inform your guests how to properly use the cameras. And, don’t forget to budget for the cost of developing your disposables. We have a new product offering coming soon that will allow for you to buy a package of cameras AND includes developing/scanning/prints!

Wedding Albums: Are They Really Necessary?

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We live in the golden age of digitalization. So it only makes sense that most of what was physical before are now finding their way to the digital world. This includes wedding photos and albums. 

Nowadays, most brides and grooms prefer receiving digital copies of their wedding photos. Not just because these files are more compact and portable than physical albums, but they are also much easier to share and brag about on social media. 

So, this begs the question:

Are wedding albums really necessary in 2021 and beyond? 

The answer is, well, it depends. 

Let’s take a look at a couple of factors that may influence a couple’s decision to get a wedding album for their special day. 

Professional- vs Consumer-Grade Wedding Albums

There are two main types of wedding albums available for soon-to-be-married couples — and these are your professional- and consumer-grade wedding albums.

Consumer-grade wedding albums are often made of low-end materials, which is why they aren’t the best option if you’re looking for high-value and high-quality printouts. They often use a default album design for every client and lack personalization options across the board. 

If you don’t want your wedding album looking generic and common, working with professional-grade producers is your best option. They offer customizable album designs and layouts that fit the preferences of each client/couple. Additionally, you get to enjoy high-quality images printed on premium materials. 

Pricing and Budgeting

One more thing about digital wedding photos that make them so attractive is that they are more cost-effective than traditional printed albums. 

Printed albums require a couple to shell out at least $500 to $800 on top of their photographer’s fee, which normally costs around $1000 to $2000, depending on the photographer’s level of expertise. 

Some couples may not like the idea of spending a couple of extra hundred dollars for a wedding album. However, others may find a way to fit the costs into their overall budget. 

Hard Drive Failure and Physical Backups

Hard drive failures happen every day, and when they do, hundreds even thousands of pieces of data are lost or damaged in the process. You can read dozens of stories on the internet of people wishing they had a physical copy of lost memories they stored on their phone or computer. 

Albums can act as a sort of physical backup for precious memories and milestones. Physical printed photos can last more than a lifetime and can be an incredibly “romantic” way of passing down memories to future generations. There’s something about the feeling of paper in your hands that makes you feel more connected to the photos you’re looking at. 

You can’t duplicate that feeling by handing your grandchildren a thumb drive. 

If you want something you can physically pass down as an heirloom to your grandkids, then a wedding album is a great choice.

Professional Photography

Weddings are already one of the biggest investments you will ever make in your life (apart from buying a home and getting a mortgage). Might as well go all out on this area of your wedding budget and hire someone who will make you, your spouse, and your guests all look good in your wedding photos. 

While we have nothing against hiring novice or amateur photographers, there is value in hiring a professional to capture the moments of your special day. 

A wedding album should be more than just a collection of photos compiled in one book. 

Professional photographers can work with you in designing your album. They can help you decide on a theme, a color scheme, as well as costumes — if you’re aiming for that vibe and feel. 

So, Are Wedding Albums Necessary?

While wedding albums are nice to have, they technically aren’t necessary, especially if you don’t have the extra resources to spend. As we said, wedding albums aren’t the cheapest memorabilia. They cost anywhere between $500 to $800 dollars, and those are just the numbers before adding the editing, layout, and designing fees.

You don’t want your wedding day to be the reason you go into debt, after all. 

If you’re only feeling pressured to get a wedding album because it’s the current “trend,” it’s probably best to sit that one out. As long as you have a solid backup plan in place for your wedding photos, you should be fine without a wedding album. 

On the flip side, if you have the budget for a professional-grade wedding album that is shot and designed by an expert photographer, then you should definitely consider getting one. 

Not only is it a great way to look back on important events and memories, but it also ensures that you have a high-quality backup to pass on to future generations — in case your files get lost in the cloud or your device’s hard drive fails and loses your data.

We hope this article helps you with your decision on whether to get a wedding album or not!

If you’re looking for a Wedding Photographer that will fill your wedding album with absolutely beautiful images, CLICK HERE to see our work and find out more!

by Sophia Young - Sophia Young Content Studio

Are there any Cheap Lightroom Presets that are any Good?

When I first started off in photography and was figuring out how to use Lightroom, it was obviously that I needed to get my hands on some good presets to help me speed up my workflow. I scoured the internet but anything I could find that was free, was honestly awful. I wasn’t a very good photographer, but I knew what looked good and what didn’t. So I finally gave up on free Lightroom presets and started to search for cheap or at least affordable Lightroom presets. But at the time, there just weren’t very many of those either! I finally gave up and started working on my own presets. It was a process that took a lot of time and effort. But fortunately, things have changed and there are some decent cheap Lightroom presets out there that you can use to help you give a boost to the look of your photos and speed up your post-processing workflow!

The BEST Affordable Lightroom Preset on the Market

Normally, I would do more of an in-depth discussion, but who’s got the time for that? By pure accident, I came across a set of presets by a company called Exposure Empire and after checking out all that they have to offer, they aren’t bad at all! In fact, they are actually pretty good! And for the price, you just can’t beat what they have to offer. Lots of different styles and packs, lots to choose from and all reasonably priced! For a limited time, they are offering their entire bundle for just $29! That’s right - $29 for an entire bundle of Lightroom Presets that you can use!

So if you’re seriously wanting to take your photography to the next level and speed up your process, you can do it for only $29 with these great presets from Exposure Empire. Click the button below to check out their page and order your bundle today before this offer ends!

Get a Free Disposable Camera!

It’s time for our September Give-A-Way and this month, we are giving away a FREE DISPOSABLE CAMERA! And it’s not just any old disposable!

The Ilford Ilfocolor Rapid Retro Edition Disposable Camera

I was able to get my hands on two of these hard to find cameras and they were just delivered! I intend to do a photoshoot and review with one and the other will go to one lucky winner along with free processing and scanning. All you have to do is sign up by clicking the button below and enter to win!

While Ilford is world renown for their black and white film, this color film camera with its 1980’s packaging looks like a fun way to play with and experience Ilford’s dive into color disposable cameras. The film inside is rated at ISO 400 so this is definitely a camera you want to use outside with plenty of light. We will be shooting the camera we are keeping for tests in a variety of situations to see how if fares!

Contest Details

The winner will be selected from individuals who have signed up by providing their email address. Winners will be drawn at random on October 1st, 2021 and will be notified by email. The winner will then have to provide shipping information as well as instagram and must agree to be featured/mentioned on Shutter Junkies social media to receive the prize.