Best Polaroid OneStep Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020:
One year after the release of OneStep2, Polaroid returns to the front of the stage with a modernized version of its device. The ergonomics have been slightly revised, but it is especially the Bluetooth connection and the dedicated application that make its specificity. A more modern use for still 100% instant photos.
Presentation
Polaroid CEO Oscar Smolokowski was clear: in an interview published on our site , he explains that Polaroid will not borrow the voice of digital and instant hybrid shooting, unlike Fujifilm with its SQ10 . However, the firm that renamed its brand Polaroid Originals does not shy away from modernity. On the contrary, since it offers in its new device, the OneStep + , a Bluetooth connection which allows via the dedicated Polaroid Originals application to access multiple functions. A feature that was already in the Impossible Project I-1 .
With a few details, this is the only difference with the OneStep2 released last year. The newcomer is adorned with a black dress – white for his predecessor – whose center is underlined with a multicolored band, historic sign of the brand. It sports a protruding viewfinder and has a lever to switch between a lens dedicated to distant shots and a portrait lens whose focus distance has been reduced to 30 cm.
Best Polaroid OneStep Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020
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3. Polaroid Originals OneStep 2 VF – White (9008) – LATEST EDITION
4. Polaroid Originals Now I-Type Instant Camera – Black (9028)
5. Polaroid Originals 9002 OneStep 2 Instant Film Camera, Graphite, Black
The differences with the OneStep2 are few, but nevertheless significant enough to greatly modify the handling of the device.
Keeping the dimensions (150 x 111 x 97 mm) of its predecessor, the OneStep + is distinguished by its protruding viewfinder which naturally comes before the eye. It is much nicer than with the OneStep2 on which you had to place your cheek to get as close as possible to the aiming lens.
The precision remains very uncertain, in part because of the large parallax that exists on these uncorrected remote viewfinder systems. For close-up views, it is better to judge, without using the viewfinder.
The back of the device remains the same, with an. On / Off switch, a button to deactivate the flash and a. USB socket to charge the lithium-ion battery.
Above, Polaroid has renewed the eight light-emitting diodes which indicate the number of views remaining in the cartridge. Next to it, there is now a lever to rotate a turntable on which there are two lenses, one dedicated to distant shots and the other for close-ups such as portraits.
According to the information communicated by Polaroid, the standard lens would have a focal length of. 103 mm and that for the portrait of 89 mm with a focus optimized for subjects located at. 30 cm distance. In practice, we did not notice a difference in angle of view between the two lenses nor a glaring difference in sharpness. On the other hand, the image is always denser with the standard lens than with the portrait.
More
On the front of the device, the old button dedicated to the self-timer mode has been transformed into a “+” button which enables Bluetooth. Once this connection is activated, it allows you to take control of the device from the Polaroid Originals app. And that is all that makes the interest of this new model. From the application, strongly inspired by the existing modes on the Impossible Project I-1, it is possible to access a remote control mode, a self-timer function whose duration can be set between 1 and 11 seconds, a function of double exposure, a Light Painting mode equivalent to a T exposure, a sound trigger function or a manual mode allowing you to adjust the exposure time
All these modes do not in our eyes have the same interest. Thus, we very much appreciated the self-timer, double exposure or Light Painting functions but judged the sound trigger, although effective, to be less useful, the manual mode which requires carrying out a measurement of light in incidence at the level of the subject to hope for good ones. results or the remote control, less useful than the self-timer.
However, we recognize that thanks to this application, the OneStep + becomes a very playful and creative device. The application, easy to use and very reliable on our device, also has a function of scanning printed images with automatic cropping for sharing on social networks. It will not be useful to everyone, but we have found it to be effective.
Reactivity
Obviously, we did not compare the Polaroid OneStep + with our stopwatch to measure the time to start up, the speed of the autofocus or the cadence in bursts. The trigger immediately leads to the exit of the print which then requires more than ten minutes of development. It is much longer than the Fujifilm Instax system, but it is not unacceptable.
Regarding the application, we found it very reactive. You quickly go from one mode to another by sliding your finger on the screen while each setting is done without latency. Triggering takes place instantaneously when the button on the screen is pressed.
Image quality
Judging the quality of the Polaroid OneStep + images amounts to judging the quality of the exposure of the device, but obviously also that of the emulsions. The device appeared reliable to us, with a constant behavior which did not involve an overexposure or excessive underexposure.
Regarding emulsions, we cannot make the same observation. Polaroid films are not always very reliable and it is not uncommon to observe areas of development. The contrasts are weak, the blacks not dense and the colors little saturated with colorimetric variations. We are far from the rendering of Fujifilm Instax films.
These remarks would tend to make think that the Polaroid films are bad. But in reality it is also all that makes their uniqueness and their charm. Color films are soft and warm. Relatively neutral black and white.
Our only regret comes mainly from the random rendering which is paid at a high price since each photo costs practically 2 €. But let’s also admit that on the four test boxes that were useful for us to carry out our tests, no development was completely missed and no photo unusable. Proof that the quality and reliability of Polaroid films are improving.
STRONG POINTS
- Ease of use.
- Good responsiveness.
- Complete and stable application.
- Overprint modes.
- Light painting mode.
- USB rechargeable battery.
WEAK POINTS
- Cost of emulsions.
- Obligation to go through the application for the different modes.
- Second unconvincing objective.
CONCLUSION
We do not choose a Polaroid OneStep camera for its objective image quality but for the charm of its films with a past appearance. However, given the cost of each image, it is important that it is reliable, easy to use and functional. These criteria are perfectly fulfilled by the OneStep + which exhibited very good behavior. We just regret that you have to go through the application of a phone, and therefore manipulate the device with one hand and the phone with the other, to access functions that could have been easily introduced into the case itself. -even.
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