Polaroid Now009159 Purple 2025

The Polaroid Now Gen 3 is a charming instant camera with a better light meter, USB-C charging, and a 15-pack battery life. At $130 in the US or EUR 100 in Europe, it's a fair price for the hardware, but film costs about $2 per shot. It can't shoot video and has no stabilization, so it's purely for instant print fun. If you want physical photos and don't mind the film cost, this is the one to get.

Let's be clear about what 'performance' means here. This isn't a camera you buy for sharpness charts or low-light noise tests. The sensor is unknown, autofocus is basic, and there's no stabilization at all. In our database, it lands in the 29th percentile for sensor quality and 34th for autofocus. That's not a knock, it's just reality. Instant film has a look, and that look is soft, slightly dreamy, and full of character. The Gen 3's upgraded ranging sensor and twin-lens autofocus system do help it pick the right lens more reliably, which means fewer blurry shots when you're photographing your dog from three feet away.

The headline improvement is exposure in bright sunlight. Older Polaroid cameras tended to blow out highlights on sunny days, turning your beach photos into white rectangles with vague shapes. The repositioned light meter on the Gen 3 is supposed to fix that. We can't run our usual benchmark suite on an analog camera, but the design changes make sense on paper. The double-exposure mode is genuinely fun, and the self-timer is a nice addition for group shots. Just don't expect burst shooting or any kind of video. The burst score sits at the 32nd percentile, and video is a non-starter at the 23rd percentile. This camera does one thing, and it does it with personality.

The competitors in our database for this thing are a weird mix. You've got the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 and Sony Alpha NEX-6, both of which are proper mirrorless cameras that absolutely destroy the Polaroid in every measurable spec. But they're also completely different products. Nobody cross-shops a Polaroid Now against a Lumix G7. The G7 shoots 4K video, has interchangeable lenses, and produces files you can edit. The Polaroid produces one physical print and a memory. If you want a camera that does everything, get the G7. If you want a camera that makes people smile when you pull it out, get the Polaroid.

The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is another odd comparison. It's a gimbal-stabilized video camera that fits in your pocket and shoots buttery smooth footage. The Polaroid can't shoot video at all, so if vlogging is your thing, the Osmo Pocket 3 is the obvious choice. The Minolta MNF10Z-BK and Aboobu DC226 are budget digital point-and-shoots that cost less and technically do more, but they're also the kind of cameras that end up in a drawer after two weeks. The Polaroid has staying power because it's an experience, not just a device. That said, if you're buying for a kid who wants to take pictures of everything, a cheap digital camera with a screen might be more practical.

Pricing on the Polaroid Now 009159 is all over the map depending on where you live. In the US, you're looking at $130 from a couple of listings. In Europe, the spread is EUR 100 to EUR 112 across four listings in Germany, Spain, France, and Italy. If you're shopping in the EU, the EUR 100 listing is the one to grab. In Canada, it's CAD 180, and in Brazil it's a hefty BRL 1,287. That Brazilian price is rough, but import taxes on electronics there are no joke.

When it comes to value with instant cameras, the camera is the cheap part. A pack of i-Type film with eight shots runs around $16 to $20, which works out to roughly $2 per photo. Shoot three packs and you've spent more on film than you did on the camera. So the real question isn't whether $130 is fair for the hardware, it's whether you're ready for the ongoing film subscription. Compared to a cheap digital point-and-shoot, this is terrible value per photo. Compared to the joy of handing someone a physical print at a party, it's priceless. You know which kind of person you are.

The Polaroid Now 009159 is the third generation of Polaroid's classic instant camera, and it's refreshingly honest about what it is. No app, no screen, no 4K video. Just a chunky plastic body, a couple of lenses, and that unmistakable whir-click-eject sound that makes instant photography feel like a tiny magic trick every single time. If you're shopping for specs, this thing will look like a toy compared to the mirrorless cameras in our database. But that's kind of the point.

This camera is for people who want physical photos in their hands thirty seconds after pressing the shutter. Birthday parties, road trips, fridge doors, scrapbooks. The Gen 3 updates are subtle but meaningful: a better light meter position, an upgraded ranging sensor, and a tweaked two-lens autofocus system. Polaroid claims these changes add up to sharper pictures in bright light, which has historically been a weak spot for instant cameras. The body now uses 40% recycled materials too, which is a nice touch if you care about that sort of thing.

At 451g, it's not exactly pocketable, but it's light enough to toss in a tote bag. The built-in USB-C battery lasts over 15 film packs, so you won't be hunting for disposable batteries. And it shoots both i-Type and 600 film, which means you've got options when it comes to film stock. The real question is whether the improvements justify picking this over older Polaroid models or the cheaper instant cameras flooding the market.

Skip this if you need a camera that does more than one thing. No video, no zoom, no manual controls, no digital files. If you're planning to vlog, shoot your kid's soccer game, or take photos you can edit later, this will frustrate you within a week. The vlogging score is a dismal 13.9 out of 100, and the video percentile is near the bottom of our database. Look at a Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 for hybrid shooting or a DJI Osmo Pocket 3 for video-first use.

Also skip it if you're on a tight budget and don't want ongoing costs. The camera itself is reasonably priced, but film is expensive and you can't reuse it. If you shoot casually but often, a cheap digital point-and-shoot or even your phone will be far more economical. The Polaroid is for people who want the physical print experience and are willing to pay for it, not for people who want maximum photos per dollar.

If you're buying this for yourself because you miss the tactile joy of instant photos, you'll love it. The Gen 3 improvements make it the best Polaroid Now yet, and the USB-C charging plus 15-pack battery life means it's always ready when the moment hits. The double-exposure mode is genuinely creative, and the improved bright-light performance fixes the most common complaint about older models. Just budget for film, because you will burn through it faster than you think.

If you're buying it as a gift for someone who's never shot instant film, it's a fantastic choice. There's no learning curve, no settings to fiddle with, and the results are immediately shareable. But if you need a camera for travel photography, vlogging, or anything that requires zoom, low-light performance, or video, look elsewhere. This is a specialty tool for a specific kind of joy. It's not trying to be your only camera, and it shouldn't be.