kodak instant print camera with lcd touch screen price

Take life one step at a time! Whether you’re an avid traveler, social influencer, nostalgic partygoer or on-the-go photographer, one thing is certain—printing pictures takes too many steps! Now, with KODAK Step Touch, printing full-color photographs is as simple as point, shoot and print! This 3-in-1 device features a powerful 13MP camera, 1080p HD camcorder and built-in printer with ZINK Zero Ink technology. Use the handy touchscreen to take, view and edit photos, then press ‘print’ to receive stunning 2”x3” sticky-back prints in an instant. Photos come out clear, bright, colorful and covered with an extra layer of protective coating to prevent smudges, rips and water damage. Bluetooth is also built right in, so you can connect to your favorite smartphone or tablet to print memories from yesteryear. Use our extensive editing tools to apply flattering filters, funny emojis, decorative frames and other personalized flair.

Whether you’re an avid traveler, social influencer, nostalgic partygoer or on-the-go photographer, one thing is certain—printing pictures takes too many steps! Now, with KODAK Step Touch, printing full-color photographs is as simple as point, shoot and print! This 3-in-1 device features a powerful 13MP camera, 1080p HD camcorder and built-in printer with ZINK Zero Ink technology. Use the handy touchscreen to take, view and edit photos, then press ‘print’ to receive stunning 2”x3” sticky-back prints in an instant.

Photos come out clear, bright, colorful and covered with an extra layer of protective coating to prevent smudges, rips and water damage. Bluetooth is also built right in, so you can connect to your favorite smartphone or tablet to print memories from yesteryear. Use our extensive editing tools to apply flattering filters, funny emojis, decorative frames and other personalized flair.

Instantly get everything you need in a camera here and now! Use the integrated 3.5" touchscreen to line up photos and make changes to your image before even going to print. But the editing magic doesn’t stop there.

Download and connect to the free KODAK STEP Prints app to customize your photos like never before. Add colorful borders, silly stickers, and funny filters to really make these photos stand out in your scrapbook. Spend hours on hours letting your creative ideas flow as you enhance, improve, and change ordinary pictures to eye-catching, jaw-dropping prints. Create a photogenic masterpiece and print them on sticky-backed Zink paper to decorate your walls, notebooks, laptops and more. Or share them in seconds on social media for all to see!

A step up from your ordinary digital cameras, this innovative, handheld device comes with a built-in touchscreen giving you the ability to line up the perfect shot. Take beautiful, clear photos, or record memorable HD videos with friends and family. And when you’re done capturing the moments, with Bluetooth® connectivity, edit all your photos with the KODAK STEP Prints app. Add borders, stickers, filters, and really make your photos pop like never before.

Talk about the total package! Take fun photos; add borders, stickers, and filters with the free KODAK STEP Prints editing app; choose and print pictures in under a minute; record HD video and sound; and share all of it with your friends on social networks. Use your phone to adjust the photos before sending them to print from the camera, or use the built-in 3.5″ touchscreen to make changes directly from the camera. Everything you need for prints on the go, you’ll find wrapped up in this smart bundle, and it’s still small enough to fit in a purse or a pocket!

Digital instant cameras are perfect for taking and printing photos on the go. Most of them also enable you to print photos you took on your phone and even edit your pictures in an app first. They"re small, compact and lightweight so great to take to festivals, holidays, weddings or weekend escapes. You can view the image before you print it so you can be sure no print is wasted.

Most digital instant cameras use ZINK (a.k.a. zero-ink) thermal paper to print their images. There are several reasons for this: it doesn"t require costly ink cartridges, it"s reliable and the images are smudge-proof. They also tend to be hardier than instant film images and resistant to water. Another upside to ZINK printers is that the paper costs less to buy than instant film.

You may be confused as to why the best instant cameras(opens in new tab) don"t use Zink but truthfully, the quality of Polaroid or Instax film is a lot better. The colors are much more vivid on instant film and the shadow and highlight areas retain more information. It"s also possible to see banding on images with a lot of negative space when you"re using Zink which is where instant film wins. Minolta is the latest brand to jump on the digital instant camera trend with the new Minolta Instapix(opens in new tab) - you won"t find it on the list just yet but we look forward to getting our hands on one!

You can great images out of both instant and hybrid cameras but which you go for is down to you. The advantage of a digital printer is you can also print photos you took on your phone, edit them in specific apps and connect via Bluetooth.

We"ve picked out the top models on the market and put them through their paces. So, here are our picks for the best digital instant cameras and hybrids with instant printers. If you"re sorted on the image-capture front and just want a quick and portable way to print your images, check out our guide to the best portable printers.(opens in new tab)

Unlike all the other cameras on our list, the Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay uses Instax Mini Film which is much better than Zink thermal paper. This is the main reason it came top of our list - as well as the fact it"s really cute and stuff with desirable features.

At just 255g, it"s small, lightweight, and can easily fit in jeans or a jacket pocket. It might only have a 4.9-megapixel sensor but that"s big enough to make decent 1.8 x 2.8-inch prints. Plus you"ll achieve that gorgeous vintage aesthetics that"s impossible to recreate in other mediums. It stores up to 45 photos on the camera"s internal memory or you can insert a micro SD card should you need more.

One nifty little trick LiPlay has is its ability to record a sound clip that can be shared with images via a QR code. So if you want to send a photo to someone with a short message or a clip of a song, simply record and the QR code will be printed on the photograph.

If you"re happy capturing and printing on Zink paper, as opposed to real film, the Kodak Smile Classic offers both the best print quality of any Zink-based instant printer we"ve used, as well as full-size prints. Typical Zink prints are 2 x 3 inches, but the Smile Classic produces more substantial 3.5 x 4.25-inch pictures, which more closely resemble traditional photographic prints.

This is by far the best Zink printer on the list and it"s aided by the larger 16MP sensor although it"s more likely to be an interpolated 8MP sensor. Its design resembles an analogies camera but the downside to that is it has no analog screen so you can"t check the photos you"ve taken. It does however have a slot for a micro SD card so you can review the picture later.

The pleasing design and pure point-and-click simplicity make this an appealing camera to hold and use – especially for kids. Likewise, the app is friendly and fun to use and enables you to add augmented reality features such as video. If you want an authentic retro instant camera experience, this is hard to beat.

One of the most affordable digital instant cameras out there, the Kodak Printomatic is an extremely basic setup for those who like to keep things simple. It"s a no-frills digital instant camera, simultaneously saving 5MP digital photos and printing out 2x3-inch prints on Zink paper. So while you get the advantage of a point-and-shoot so straightforward a child could operate it, the quality of the images you get is pretty average. There"s also a lack of useful features like a self-timer or an LCD screen.

The Polaroid Pop is the instant camera and printer hybrid with the best set of features, but it"s also the one with the biggest price tag – and the biggest body! A real tank of a camera, the Pop is pleasingly designed but is definitely not pocket-sized, being about as chunky as an ordinary analog instant camera.

Not only can it take photos, but it can also shoot 1080p video and capture 15-second GIFs. There is space for a microSD card up to 128GB so you"ll have plenty of memory to store video. The large 3.97-inch screen functions as a viewfinder and a touchscreen which enables you to edit, rotate, crop, or even draw on your images prior to printing.

Amazingly, despite its long history and diverse product range, Canon has never released an instant camera before. Thankfully, its instant camera/instant printer hybrid gets a lot of things right. Called the Canon Ivy Cliq+ in North America and Canon Zoemini S in Europe, it is clearly geared towards the selfie generation with its giant mirror with frame markings (which takes up a quarter of the camera"s front), along with an 8-LED ring light for flattering self-portraits.

It"s quite analog in operation, with no rear LCD screen meaning that every shot you take is immediately printed. Strangely, then, there"s no counter to indicate the number of shots remaining, though with MicroSD card support you know that all your images can be stored safely. The free app is both easy and fun to use and makes transferring and printing images from your phone an enjoyable and kid-friendly process.

Spitting out stylish photos onto Kodak Zink paper, the Mini Shot Combo 2 is a pretty straightforward instant digital camera and printer. While it"s not exactly palm-sized, it"s slim enough to fit in a jacket pocket or small bag, and the photos it prints come out looking punchy and sharp. The little mirror on the front is a welcome extra that makes it easy to compose selfies and group shots, and Bluetooth connectivity is also useful for printing directly from a smartphone.

The LCD screen isn"t huge or terribly high quality, and it would have been nice to have some kind of low-paper warning for those who aren"t as good at remembering how many shots they have left, but for the price, this is a great little camera and printer combo that reliably gets the job done.

The Kodak Smile is a slim-as-a-smartphone instant camera that sports a sleek design, and uses Kodak"s smaller 2 x 3-inch sticky-backed Zink paper. Like its bigger brother, the Kodak Smile Classic, the printing here is a cut above, as Kodak"s apparently superior printing process combined with the smaller resolution produces the most pleasing results for these credit card-sized prints.

With an LCD screen, you can check your image after every shot and decide whether or not it"s worth printing – and the microSD card(opens in new tab) slot means that you can save all your photos, and only print out the best or the ones you want to share (there"s internal storage for three shots if you"re in a jam). Though obviously, with the camera"s 5MP sensor (software-interpolated up to 10MP), the images are intended for the 2 x 3 format and not for blowing up on your computer.

One of the newer digital instant cameras from Kodak, the Kodak Step instant camera (not to be confused with the Kodak Step printer... I mean, why on earth would anyone mix those two up?) is a delightfully simple point-and-shoot. There"s no control over exposure, no zoom, or anything like that. You hit the button, and it prints, while also saving a digital copy of your file to an SD card. There"s some scope to choose colors, and you can add a frame or use the self-timer, but otherwise, that"s it.

The little brother of the Cliq+ / Zoemini S, there are a few key differences here on the Canon Ivy Cliq (in North American) / Canon Zoemini C (in Europe). Firstly, if beauty is only skin deep, this model comes in a more fun and expressive series of colors – Bumble Bee Yellow, Mint Green, Seaside Blue and Bubble Gum Pink, to be precise. These capture the fun, summer-loving spirit of the camera, and make them both kid-friendly and fashionably Instagrammable.

More fundamentally, though, this model comes with a smaller 5MP sensor, slightly reduced 314 x 500dpi print resolution, a single flash light and a much smaller selfie mirror – and, of course, it isn"t an instant printer, so you can"t use it to print photos from your phone.

Still, it otherwise handles and offers the same functionality as its big bro, with fire-and-forget simplicity that foregoes things like exposure so that you spend more time snapping and less time faffing. Again, it prints every time you press the shutter so it behaves a lot like a traditional instant camera. Kids seem to especially love playing with the Cliq / Zoemini C, thanks to its candy colored body and sticker photo prints, so this could be a hit with the little ones if you want to get them into photography.

The Instax Square SQ6 feels solid and durable, and it stands apart for its exceptional image quality and ease of use. The cost of its 3.4-by-2.4-inch prints have gone up to a still reasonable 90¢ each recently, and while their 2.4-by-2.4-inch image area is about half an inch smaller in each dimension than classic Polaroids, the SQ6’s results look just as good, if not better. The Instax film reproduces a wider range of tones and more pleasing-looking colors than any other option currently available—including Polaroid’s revived instant film cartridges. The SQ6’s exceptionally sharp lens further improves quality, even compared with other Instax cameras, and its exposure-compensation controls and multiple-exposure mode give you options if you want to get creative.

The Instax Mini Evo is the best attempt at a hybrid instant-and-digital camera we’ve seen so far. It offers all the analog charm of an instant camera but with digital control over which images to print onto Instax Mini film using a small LCD screen. At about 70¢ per image, that’s a thrifty restraint to ensure you’ll only print your favorites. A smartphone app unlocks features that the tech savvy will have fun fiddling with, including remote shooting and printing images from a smartphone library.

If all you need is a fun toy for taking easy snapshots, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 is perfect. Its compact body feels durable, with controls that are intuitive enough for you to pass this camera off to a family member, and its 3.4-by-2.1-inch prints (with a 2.4-by-1.9-inch image area) cost only about 60¢ per print, so it won’t break the bank. But its photos aren’t as sharp or saturated as those of our main pick, it doesn’t offer as much creative control, and its batteries last for only about 100 shots, whereas our top pick promises 300 shots per set of batteries.

The Wide 300 produces larger, wider prints at a lower price than the Instax Square SQ6 and runs on AA batteries, but the camera is quite a bit larger than most modern instant cameras and gives you fewer options.

For larger, wider-angle prints, we like the Fujifilm Instax Wide 300. Ideal for landscape and group shots, it produces 3.4-by-4.3-inch photographs (with a 2.4-by-3.9-inch image area and classic white borders) that are closer in dimensions to old-school Polaroids. Those images cost about 90¢ each, which is about the same price as the Instax Square SQ6. With only one button for exposure compensation and another for flash output, you can just point and shoot, but it’s considerably bulkier than our top pick, and you get fewer creative options.

Even with the ability to take excellent photos with our phones and instantly share them across the world, there’s something magical about the old-school instant camera. With just a click of a button, you can capture a moment in a photo that you can see and touch almost immediately. Images captured by an instant camera aren’t as pristine or perfect as modern digital cameras, but their soft images and imperfections are often a big part of the allure.

Yet not all instant cameras are the same, and some of them are better suited for different needs and budgets. That’s why we tested some of the most popular instant cameras on the market from brands like Fujifilm, Polaroid, and Kodak.

All of the models featured in our best instant camera guide here are enjoyable to use, but each offers a different set of features at a different price point. As a result, some are more appropriate for a child or the budding photographer, while others are more advanced and provide added creative control (for a price). When it comes down to it, though, we consider print quality, ease of use, and affordability to be the hallmarks of a quality shooter. That’s why we picked Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 11 as the best instant camera for most people, as it ticks all three boxes wonderfully.

If you’re looking for more creative control or features like filters, however, the Instax Mini Evo is our choice, one that boasts great image quality and allows you to choose which photos you’d like to print. Other instant cameras, like Polaroid’s Now Plus and Kodak’s Mini Retro 3, also offer a variety of advanced creative modes for those who desire more.

PS: Black Friday is here, which means we’re seeing great discounts on instant cameras. Be sure to check out our main early Black Friday deals post where we’ll keep you updated.

Each instant camera requires a different kind of film, which means that the actual sticker price of the camera isn’t the true price. This is something you should take into account before making a purchase, as the cost of film can quickly add up. Depending on the brand, you may have to pay anywhere between $0.50-$2 per shot.

Most instant camera brands also sell films of varying quality in a range of styles. Some are decorated with colorful frames and patterns, while others are black and white. They also vary in shape and size, from small rectangular prints you can stick in your wallet to square-shaped ones. You can also buy wider prints, however, and some brands even sell film with an adhesive backing that allows you to use the resulting images as stickers.

If all you’re looking to do is just click a button and get a decent print for a reasonable price, we recommend Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 11. It’s a basic instant camera that’s easy to set up and use, which makes this a good choice for kids or those new to photography. It took us less than five minutes to insert the included AA batteries and film (not included), quickly read the instructions, take a photo, and print. The image took about 20 seconds to begin showing up and less than a minute to fully appear.

The Instax Mini 11 uses credit card-sized Instax Mini film that typically costs around $0.99 a sheet and comes in packs, some of which offer up to 20 prints for around $19.99, although you can currently buy it for $13.98 from Walmart. You can easily purchase the Instax Mini film at most major retailers, unlike some other films, such as the film needed for Kodak’s Mini Shot 3 Square Retro.

For an instant camera, image quality is better than most of the other cameras I tested, producing relatively true-to-life photos. Most of the cameras I tested struggled to capture low-light conditions well, and this one is no exception, but the camera’s built-in flash does help. On the flip side, however, the flash — which you can’t disable — can be overpowering in some instances, resulting in a few overexposed images.

True to its name, the Mini 11 is one of the smallest instant cameras I tested and very light at around 10 ounces, which made it easy to carry it around and maintain a steady grip while taking pictures. It uses a plastic build like many others and comes in a variety of fun colors ranging from pink to blue to white. The included selfie feature — which is really just a small mirror mounted on the front of the camera — is simple but effective, even if the flash was still overpowering and didn’t capture my features or skin color particularly well.

The Mini 11 has a number of other niceties as well. I appreciated the larger-than-average viewfinder and the fact the camera comes with a small counter that displays the remaining number of shots, which is a feature many of the other instant cameras I tested lacked. It’s easy to lose track of how many photos you’ve taken, especially while out for drinks with friends or sightseeing during a vacation. Yet, given each print costs about $1, it’s important to be mindful of how many shots you’ve got left.

All in all, the Instax Mini 11 is a basic camera that caters to all ages and experience levels and gets the job done — and done relatively well. It doesn’t feature Bluetooth or pair with a companion app that allows you to edit photos, nor does it offer advanced features like filters, lens options, or portrait modes. But if you’re looking for an instant camera that offers a great, traditional analog experience, this is it.

Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 11 is the best instant camera for most people. While it lacks more advanced features, the simple instant camera takes good quality shots quickly and easily and offers a built-in selfie mode.

Fujifilm’s newest instant camera, the Instax Mini Evo, is my colleague Becca Farcase’s favorite — and it’s mine as well. A hybrid camera that bears a resemblance to Fujifilm’s more expensive Fujifilm X100 line of cameras, it looks good and boasts vintage dials and buttons so stylish that they even caught the attention of passersby as I walked around Los Angeles taking photos.

It’s easy to balk at its $199 price tag, but this camera offers a level of flexibility that could save you money in the long run if you plan on using it a lot. That’s because the Instax Mini Evo includes a full-color LCD screen that lets you see and select which images you want to print before doing so, which can help you avoid wasting film on unwanted shots. The added flexibility gave me more room for creative experimentation, too, as I wasn’t worried about running out of film. I also loved using the Instax Mini Evo app to print photos from my smartphone. Plus, unlike the Instax Mini 11, it’s not battery-powered. While it’s a shame the Evo uses a Micro USB port for charging, the fact it’s rechargeable means you don’t need to keep wasting money on buying new batteries.

The Instax Mini Evo comes with a large LCD screen that doubles as a viewfinder and allows you to choose which photos to print. Becca Farsace / The Verge

Like Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 11, the camera took less than five minutes to set up and uses Instax Mini film. However, you can actually turn off the flash on the Mini Evo, which helped me take far better photos, as did the large three-inch LCD screen you can use as a viewfinder. You can also use the menu to adjust how bright you want the film to look when it’s printed out. That was helpful given neither the Evo nor the Mini 11 is particularly great at capturing dark environments, though it didn’t solve the problem completely either.

Being able to adjust the brightness of the prints helped me capture night photos and a low-light immersive exhibit a little more clearly and realistically, which is a feature the Instax Mini 11 doesn’t offer. Photo by Sheena Vasani / The Verge

Of course, it’s not a perfect device, and there are some downsides to consider outside the price. For instance, although you can add some filters and make a few edits using Fujifilm’s companion app, it just isn’t as feature-rich as some of the apps available for the other digital and hybrid instant cameras I tested. The Evo’s extensive menu system also wasn’t particularly easy to navigate, and it took me some time to figure out how to turn the flash on and off. Plus, if you rely on internal storage solely, you can only take 45 images before the device is full. Still, all of these are minor issues, and I was very happy overall with how portable the stylish camera is, as well as how easy it is to take good photos quickly.

Fujifilm’s stylish Instax Mini Evo is the best premium instant camera. With it, you can choose which photos to print, while also boasting good image quality.

Whereas the Instax Mini Evo’s companion app is more functional, Kodak’s hybrid Mini Shot 3 Retro is all about fun. The camera’s accompanying mobile app allows you to apply frames, stickers, filters, and a plethora of customization options to photos, making the camera great for scrapbooking. There’s even a beauty feature within the app to conceal blemishes, as well as a set of Snapchat-like filters you can use to add, say, dog ears, making this a fun instant camera to use as a mini photo booth of sorts at parties.

Like the Instax Mini Evo, Kodak’s Mini Shot 3 Retro comes with an LCD screen (albeit a much smaller one) you can use to decide whether or not you want to print a shot. It also supports Bluetooth, and you can use the Kodak Photo Printer app to upload photos to social media or to print decent, relatively crisp photos from your smartphone. Unlike the Mini Evo, however, Kodak’s Mini Shot 3 Retro retails for around $150 and includes a pack of a film (it’s also often on sale for a lot less). It also uses cheaper film; you can pick up a 60-sheet cartridge for about $19.99 at the moment, which equates to roughly $0.33 a shot. The fact the film is cheaper arguably encourages play and creative experimentation.

However, there are notable drawbacks to the Kodak Mini Shot 3. For one, the camera prints larger, 3 x 3-inch square photos on Kodak’s film — which feels lower-quality and more flimsy than Fujifilm’s and Polaroid’s. Also, although you can add colorful borders within the app, they’re modern-looking as opposed to retro, which might be a turnoff for some.

Perhaps my biggest issue with the Kodak Mini Shot 3, however, was that it doesn’t print photos taken with the camera itself anywhere as crisp nor as clearly as it does pictures shot with a smartphone. Photo quality wasn’t consistently as good as the Mini Evo’s or Mini 11’s nor, for the most part, as clear and sharp. The photos also sometimes had an excessive pink tint that interfered with quality. It doesn’t store images the way the Mini Evo does, either, which means you can’t decide whether or not you’d like to print them later.

Design-wise, the Mini Shot 3 is noticeably heavier and not as stylish as the Mini Evo. Having said that, there is the option to buy a white and black model that, at least on paper, looks nicer. Also, while I eventually got the hang of the camera and found it easy to use, it took a little longer for me to set up out of the box, as there were more instructions to follow than with Fujifilm’s cameras. The instant camera doesn’t run on disposable batteries and wasn’t fully charged when it arrived, which means I was also only able to use it for a few minutes before charging. Yet after recharging it with the included Micro-USB cable, it lasted most of the day afterward.

Nonetheless, if you don’t mind compromising on photo quality and want a relatively affordable hybrid camera that comes with a bunch of fun app features, the Kodak Mini Shot 3 Retro is a good choice.

Kodak’s hybrid Mini Shot 3 Retro instant camera comes with a fun companion app you can use to add frames, stickers, filters, conceal blemishes, and more. As long as you don’t mind the so-so image quality, this is a good digital instant camera for parties.

The Polaroid Now Plus is a good combination of old school and modern but was way too big for me to hold with just one hand. Photo by Sheena Vasani / The Verge

If you’re looking for an instant camera that offers the most old-fashioned, instant-film experience, the Polaroid Now Plus is the camera for you. Compared to the other instant cameras on this list, the Polaroid Now Plus most closely resembles vintage instant cameras like the Polaroid 600 with its classic, retro-inspired design. Meanwhile, its square I-Type film prints and iconic Polaroid-style frame give photos a more authentically vintage look.

Yet, at the same time, the Polaroid Now Plus also comes with the convenience and usefulness of more modern features, like the ability to recharge with the included a Micro USB charging cable. It also offers Bluetooth support and a companion app boasting several creative modes that allow for greater photographic control. These include a remote shutter, a self-timer, and a “Polaroid Lab” where you can adjust the exposure and various color settings. The app also features a handful of shooting modes — including a manual option and one for capturing multiple exposures — while the camera includes a set of five colored lenses you can snap onto the front. These were enjoyable to play with and allow for more artistic expression.

If there’s one thing the Polaroid Now Plus isn’t known for, it’s portability. Given how heavy, large, and awkwardly sized it is, it’s not the kind of instant camera you can easily slip into your purse or carry around. Plus, it takes up to 15 minutes for prints to develop, and you have to make sure it’s not exposed to light while developing. That’s quite an inconvenience if you’re out with friends, say, at the beach on a sunny day.

If you’re looking for an instant camera that can easily print a good, clear photo without much effort on your part, this is not the camera for you. Of all the cameras on this list, the Polaroid Now Plus struggles with low-light environments the most, making it extremely difficult to capture a good shot in darker conditions. Images are not as clear in comparison to Instax film, and both contrast and color saturation levels tend to be quite low. While this gave my pictures more of a vintage, dreamy look that felt artistic — and you can use the Polaroid Lab to slightly adjust saturation and exposure settings — that could prove to be a lot of work and frustrating for some.

For the most part, I barely could see images I took indoors, and I found I was only able to get the clearest shots when the light was directly behind me during the day — more specifically, in the morning. Given the Polaroid Now Plus lacks an LCD screen for selecting photos, it’s easy to waste film, which can prove expensive. After all, you only get eight I-Type sheets for $16.99, and that’s in addition to forking out $149.99 for the camera. Luckily, the Polaroid Now Plus has a small counter on the back so you can keep track of your shots.

Truth be told, however, you could argue that many of these shortcomings are typical of a retro, Polaroid-inspired instant camera and thus part of the experience. If that’s what you’re looking for, and you don’t mind the price, the Polaroid Now Plus is the perfect camera for you.

For retro fans, Polaroid Now Plus is a great instant camera that prints vintage-style photos. It also offers a variety of creative modes, making this a solid choice for artistic photography as well.

Whereas the Polaroid Now Plus is huge, the Polaroid Go is tiny. When I first held it, I couldn’t help but find it adorable. It easily fits into the palm of my hand — which is saying a lot given I’m petite and a little over five feet tall. In fact, it’s so small there were times I forgot I was even carrying it in my purse, making this easily the most portable instant camera on our list. It even produces the tiniest prints of all the instant cameras I tested, which could be nice if you’re trying to save some space and want something even smaller than Instax Mini prints.

Weighing just over a pound, the Polaroid Go is also the lightest instant camera I’ve ever held, and you can easily use it with one hand. That’s actually pretty convenient, given I sometimes struggled to take pictures with the heavier Polaroid Now Plus and, to a lesser extent, some of the other instant cameras I tested. In fact, if the images produced looked more true-to-life and didn’t require you to hide them from light for about 15 minutes while developing, I’d be tempted to call this the best instant camera for travel or small children.

The Polaroid Go is one of the most affordable Polaroid cameras currently on the market, with film that costs just a little more than Fujifilm’s Instax Mini shots (or about $19.99 for a 16-sheet double pack). Thankfully, the low price doesn’t come at the expense of image quality. While the Go struggles with capturing low-light environments like the bulk of the cameras on our list, it’s not to the same extent as the Polaroid Now Plus. Surprisingly, it was easier to capture clearer photos indoors, which meant I didn’t waste as much film. Contrast and color saturation levels are still low, but in a way that still exudes the vintage, almost dreamy look of the photos the Now Plus prints.

Unlike the Polaroid Now Plus, however, it lacks creative modes and more advanced features, although double-pressing the flash button does give you double-exposure shots. There’s also no Bluetooth support and thus no fancy app that will allow you to add extra effects – although, thankfully, it is rechargeable and includes a Micro USB charging cable. In addition, as mentioned, the prints are even smaller than the Instax Mini, which could be a drawback for those who prefer larger, more traditional Polaroid photos. While it produces similar vintage-style shots, design-wise, it doesn’t look anything like old-school Polaroid cameras either, which could also take away from the retro experience some desire.

That said, none of the older Polaroid cameras came with an app either. All in all, the Go’s simplicity makes it a suitable candidate for those seeking a camera that provides a more traditional instant film experience – one they can take advantage of just about anywhere.

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If you want the instant gratification of snapping a photo and sharing it on social media, use the cameras built into your smartphone. But if the idea of immediately sharing a physical print with other people intrigues you, one of the best Polaroid cameras or instant cameras is the way to go. Such cameras—including our pick for the best Polaroid camera overall, the Polaroid Now+—combine a film cartridge with paper to capture and develop an image in front of your eyes, just like the iconic Polaroid cameras of yesteryear.

Today’s best instant cameras, which still include Polaroid cameras, have a more diverse set of features than the vintage models from the 1970s. Some even have memory card slots, so you can capture a digital version of the image as well as print it instantly. Whether you’re with a group of friends and want to share candid photos, or you’re attending a special event and want to capture spontaneous memories, taking photos with an instant camera is both fun and rewarding. People of all ages still love the instant gratification of watching a color print come to life in their hands, which is why these cameras make great gifts for teens and adults alike.

After testing and research, we’ve rounded up the best Polaroid and instant cameras available right now, so keep reading to learn about all of your instant camera options. If you’re looking for something less retro and more digital, we’ve got you covered. Check out our coverage of the best action cameras, best point-and-shoot digital cameras, and best mirrorless cameras.

To make getting started with instant photography easier, Polaroid shifted to selling its popular Now+ camera as part of specialized sets. For example, there’s the Starter Set, Travel Set and Gift Set. Each comes with at least one box of instant film and includes at least one camera accessory. This Starter Kit bundles the Now+ camera, two boxes of color i-Type film, one box of black and white i-Type film and five camera lens filters.

This modern twist on a vintage Polaroid camera can wirelessly link with a smartphone, and you can remotely control the camera via your phone—making it easy to focus, adjust aperture priority and create cinematic photos using light paintings or double exposure techniques.

Polaroid Go offers the same instant gratification of being able to snap a photo and then have a print in your hand within minutes, but the camera is shrunk down to make it much more portable. Features include a self-timer and the ability to capture instant selfies. However, with the smaller camera size comes smaller size prints that are just 2.1 x 2.6-inches.

This camera works exclusively with Polaroid Go Film (sold separately). Amazon separately sells a discounted film bundle that includes five double film packs—enough to shoot 80 photos—for $110.

The Kodak Mini Shot 3 Retro has a different design than the Polaroid Go, but it’s as compact and portable. It serves as a 10-megapixel digital camera stores images on internal memory, as well as an instant camera that can create 3 x 3-inch prints.

The camera connects wirelessly with any smartphone, so you can transfer images from your phone’s camera to print on the Mini Shot 3. You can also snap photos on the Mini Shot 3, create instant prints and then transfer the digital images to your mobile device. It comes with two boxes of Kodak Instant Print 3 x 3-inch film cartridges—enough to create 60 instant prints.

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 is one of the simplest and most affordable of Fujifilm’s instant cameras. The camera features a curvy, ultra-simplistic design, and its casing comes in bright colors. It has automatic exposure so you don’t have to fuss with settings, and a built-in flash for shooting in low-light situations.

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 comes with a pair of shutter buttons, so you can choose among a jewel or glow-in-the-dark button. Want to take a selfie? Pop the lens out to configure the camera for a closeup and take aim. A tiny selfie mirror embedded beside the lens helps you frame your shot, perfect for a gaggle of friends on an afternoon out. Film comes in packages of 20, 50 and 120 sheets. A package of 20 Instax Mini film sheets sells for $14 on Amazon, while 50 Instax Mini film sheets costs about $41 and 120 sheets costs $80.

Back in the day, the popularity of Lomo’s simple point-and-shoot cameras gave birth to an entire style of photography, called Lomography. Today’s rendition of this camera, called the Lomography Lomo’Instant camera, is for the more adventurous instant photographer. Like most instant cameras, it’s fully automatic, however, it’s focus is not automatic. This camera is more advanced than the typical instant cameras: It comes with three interchangeable lenses—for far, moderate, and close focus distances. And it has other advanced features like multiple exposures and long exposures using a “bulb” setting that leaves the shutter open for as long as you hold the button down (up to 30 seconds). This is a popular technique for night photography and for creating artistic light trail photos. The removable lens cap for this camera has a wireless remote control built in for triggering the shutter from a distance. The camera uses Fujifilm Instax Mini film cartridges to produce its creative prints.

The Polaroid Now+ Gift Set is very much like the Starter Set, but it includes the camera, just one box of i-Type film and a camera strap which uses Polaroid’s iconic color scheme. This bundle also includes a set of five lens filters. Unlike the Polaroid cameras of yesteryear, this one has a built-in rechargeable battery. As its name suggests, this is a great gift for someone who would enjoy discovering the art of instant photography.

The biggest drawback to this camera is the cost of the film. A single box of i-Type film (enough for just eight shots) costs around $17, so you wind up paying slightly more than $2 per image.

The Canon Ivy Cliq+2 serves three purposes. It’s an instant camera, a digital camera and a photo printer for your smartphone or tablet. As an instant camera, it can take photos and instantly print them on low-cost Zink paper (which has a peel and stick adhesive backing). As a digital camera, it can take digital images, store them on a microSD card and print your favorites at will. Or you can transfer those images to a computer or mobile device and then share them online. The Ivy Click+2 can also receive images from your mobile device via Bluetooth wireless and quickly create prints of those images.

The camera has a two-inch selfie mirror and eight LED ring lights, making it perfect for selfies and group shots, too. With a compact, easy-to-carry design, this instant camera is great companion. Its biggest drawback is its comparatively low-resolution, 8-megapixel image sensor—which is enough for images printed at 2 x 3 inches, but less compelling if you ever want to print the image at a larger size.

If you care about the instant print aspect of instant cameras but prefer to use your own digital camera or smartphone camera, the Canon Selphy CP1500 standalone photo printer can get you started. This printer produces 4 x 6-inch prints from digital images sent to it via Bluetooth wireless or from an SD memory card. While compact, it weighs two pounds and is large enough you won’t necessarily carry it around with you all day, but it can be a great asset at a party or on your desk. It can work via a battery (sold separately).

The Selphy uses special label paper from Canon. Its proprietary ink/paper cartridge can generate 108 glossy prints before needing to be replaced. Cartridges cost around $33, which brings the print cost down to around $0.30 each. Each print uses dye-sublimation printing that’s water resistant and will not fade for up to 100 years. It’s easy to preview an image before it’s printed using the printer’s built in 3.5-inch display. It can also output 2.1 x 2.1-inch square prints on sticker-paper.

The battery-powered HP Sprocket Studio Plus printer can generate a single 4 x 6-inch, glossy print in about a minute. The printer connects to Android and iOS devices via Wi-Fi, so you can output images from your smartphone or tablet with ease via HP’s app.

It uses dye sublimation technology to create vivid prints that are tear-resistant, smudge-proof and waterproof. Prints are dry to the touch as soon as they come out of the printer. Replacement ink and paper cartridges cost about $30 and generate 80 prints, making the cost per print around $0.40.

These days, most modern instant cameras—including Polaroid’s instant cameras and Fujifilm’s Instax cameras—take a similar approach. These cameras develop their own prints, ranging from nearly instant output to up to 15 minutes to fully develop after a sheet of film leaves the camera.An instant camera offers interesting ways to tap your creativity when taking photographs—and you can ... [+]see the results almost instantly.getty

While Polaroid and Instax cameras expose traditional, chemically treated film with light, a very different—and less costly option—is a Zink camera. Short for “Zero Ink,” these instant cameras are digital cameras with a built-in Zink printer. Instead of using ink cartridges, like normal inkjet computer printers, Zink embeds all the ink into the paper itself, similar to how Polaroid prints carry their own chemicals for printing. The benefit, of course, is the nostalgic thrill of snapping a photo and then having a full-color or black and white print in your hands in a matter of minutes.

Ease-of-use, focus, features and film/paper price and size are all aspects of instant cameras worth looking it before you buy. Options vary by model and manufacturer. Instant cameras are all about fun, so they mostly offer the most basic point-and-shoot functionality, and they have similar features and performance. A few, however, add a few modern twists as compared with the original instant cameras from decades ago.

Yes. Most instant cameras are simple point-and-shoot cameras. You look through a viewfinder, frame your shot, press the shutter button and an “instant” print pops out of the camera. Some models, however, offer additional functions that require a bit more tinkering with the camera when snapping photos.

The price of instant film is often the biggest deterrent to purchasing and using one of these cameras. Each instant camera model requires a very specific type of instant film. In some cases, you could pay between $1 and $2 per image, so as you’re choosing an instant camera, pay attention to the cost of the film and how many shots (image sheets) are included with each film package.

Additional features built into some instant cameras give you more creative control over your photography. These features may include a selfie mode, a remote shutter, advanced exposure controls (like flashbulb photography), a landscape shooting mode, a macro shooting mode or the ability to transfer images directly to a smartphone via Bluetooth. Some of the latest instant cameras even allow you to remotely control the camera from a smartphone while you’re taking pictures.

The design of each instant camera is slightly different, although most offer the same core set of features and functions. Choose a camera that will fit well in your hands and has intuitive controls.There are many ways to share and display instant photos once they"ve been taken. Be creative and ... [+]have fun collecting and sharing memories.getty

Another consideration is the size of the camera itself. If you plan on carrying the camera around while on vacation or taking pictures at a special event (such as a wedding), a smaller size camera may be more convenient. The smaller instant cameras, however, generate smaller size prints. Figure out what size prints you want to generate and then choose an appropriate camera.

Most of today’s instant cameras rely on a built-in rechargeable battery. Pay attention to the average number of shots you can expect to take per battery charge and make sure this matches your needs. Once the camera’s battery goes dead, you need to plug it in and wait for it to fully recharge, which could take up to several hours.

This decision comes down to answering three main questions. First, how large of a camera do you want to carry around in order to take instant pictures? Second, how much are you willing to spend on film? Third, beyond simply point-and-shoot functionality, what additional features are you looking for? Once you answer these three questions, which instant camera is the best camera to buy for your needs becomes much more obvious.

Again, this decision comes down to what you’re looking for out of your instant camera experience. Polaroid offers a selection of updated instant cameras that look very much like the instant cameras from yesteryear, but they include some modern features. If you’re looking to recreate the picture taking experience you had back in the 1970s, the Polaroid Now+ is a great option.

However, some of the instant cameras offered by Fujifilm or Kodak, for example, offer a different camera style altogether, support different film types, and create different size instant prints.