There are some of you who may be too young to remember that what distinguished Polaroid cameras from tradional cameras was that seconds after you took a picture it would appear on the special film without need to send to a photo lab for processing. They were fun tools that gave instant photo-gratification, much as you get today from a selfie, but in hard-copy, rather than digital, form. The Polaroid SNAP was designed to bring instant prints to the digital age. It succeeds, but only barely. The SNAP is a digital camera. It has a flash, but no viewscreen, no zoom. To "frame" a picture you look through a pop-up piece of plastic that gives a general idea of what you'll get in your image. Since there is no screen, there is no way to review your pictures immediately unless you print them. Polaroid has a more expensive unit (the Z2300, $159 that has a screen.) Special packs of paper load into the unit and shoot out 2x3" prints several seconds after you press the shutter release. There are only a few settings on the camera, notably you have the ability to shoot in black and white, retro, and color. You can download the images to your computer, but the real draw here is the instant-print capability. Each print costs about 50 cents if you buy the paper in packs of 50 sheets; none is included with the camera. Typical of many electronic gadgets, this one requires a firmware update before use. I think this is unfortunate as it is a technical step that may be off-putting and/or difficult for users looking for turn-it-on-and-use-it simplicity. Beyond the lack of a screen, there were a couple of other issues with the design. A magnetic lens cap has no tether to keep it with the camera and is, hence, easy to lose. The viewfinder which doubles as a viewfinder is too easy to accidentally engage when put in a pocket or purse. If you really need the instant-printing capability this is one of the few choices on the market, but otherwise, you will find more camera (and less cost per print) if you go with a non-printing digital camera.
