A pocket full of images

Relive the Polaroid era with the pocket-sized Cube

Remember the days when showing old family pictures to guests while having tea and pakoras used to be the norm? Through those albums, we relived our moments of joy and glory multiple times. And the long reels of negatives always poured out the moment we opened the albums? Then DSLRs and digital cameras happened and we moved away, much away from the touch-and-feel memories.

Today, in the age of hard drives, I still believe nothing can match the good old days when keeping a creative album used to be a passion for some. Now, pictures are only savoured in print in wedding albums. As a refreshing break from the monotonous smartphones and their cameras, another exciting gadget, the Polaroid Cube, came to me as a cute little review device which, like its "instant" picture feature, instantly became a precious partner in my journey, travelling and recording some moments of my life.

A perfect pocket-fit, this Cube snuggles into the smallest of spaces and is light, making it extremely convenient to carry. I had a chance to record videos on it, while travelling recently. The curiosity to test the still pictures stopped me twice on bends. Almost immediately after reaching my destination, I plugged it into a laptop, excited to discover what the tiny, mysterious, toy-like box held. The results were not too satisfying.

Polaroid Cube:
Rs 9,099, available in black, blue and red

Polaroid Zip Printer:
Rs 12,350, available in black, white, blue and red

The Cube captured fairly good pictures under the sun and bright light. But, it disappointed in all the evening pictures. The colours of the camera are not too vibrant. But, when it comes to recording videos, the Cube has two resolution modes (720 pixels and 1,080 pixels) which can be easily switched by a button at its rear. It has a six-megapixel (MP) still camera which produces just average snaps. The videos were amazing though. The sun perfectly complemented the tall pine trees and the narrow lanes. Clear and continuous, one could even read the milestones and billboards in the pictures. The Cube is compact and easy to mount on your bike, bicycle or car since it has a magnetic base. One can also select a mount from the gamut of accessories Polaroid has come up with. The most adorable, however, is the monkey mount.

The camera is weather-proof and splash-proof and hence, an absolute fit for adventure sports and action photography. Its battery life is about one and a half hours, and storage is complete with a MicroSD card, which supports cards up to 32GB, making saving of these pictures possible, unlike other instant cameras where we click and lose the pictures to time.

The journey ended and I reached home. Now, was the time to print what the Cube had captured. So, I unpacked the Polaroid ZIP Printer and quickly downloaded the app (Polaroid ZIP) on my phone. Yes, the printer is app-controlled and connects with it through Bluetooth. Once paired, it is easy to select and edit pictures from your phone and print them. The best part being that one can click pictures with the phone and print it instantly using the ZIP. The app has options to edit pictures or make collages. The printer is quite light and portable, almost the size of a power bank.

The pictures from the Cube are easy to transfer using a data cable (just like a digital camera). These can be edited on the app and printed instantly. It must be mentioned here, that what lacks the Cube, is made up for by the ZIP. The editing beautifully glams up the pictures and the prints are good. Nostalgic, they make a wonderful memory to keep. The ZIP prints 2-inch x 3-inch full-colour pictures which are smudge-proof and have a peel-back, sticky paper for extra fun. It has no ink or cartridge hassles and prints on zinc paper which is tear-, water- and dust-resistant. The pictures get printed in about 35 seconds. Equipped with a 500 mAh Lithium battery, the printer gives 25 sheets per charge. Smaller and lighter than its counterparts from LG and Fuji, Polaroid does seem convincing and is uber cute. But, it is priced at higher than its competitors and hence, faces a not-so-easy battle ahead.