Polaroid brings retro instant printing to digital age

• This camera is so-so, but the instant prints are terrific fun
• Printer finishes smudge-free prints in about 30 seconds
• At under $200, camera makes a great stocking stuffer

Being a camera reviewer has its perks, mainly that we get to test many of the world's best cameras for free. Buying our own personal units isn't always a priority when we get to play with dozens of cameras all year.

But the Polaroid Z2300 is one camera that this reviewer would consider buying for personal use. That's not because it's a particularly good camera -- in fact it's quite horrible. But like Polaroid film cameras of old, it has a built-in printer that makes for a fun party trick. For very little money it's a decent investment in future laughs and shenanigans, in an ironic sort of way. We got a chance to take some snapshots and make a few quick prints at the Photokina expo in Cologne, Germany recently.

The nostalgic feeling produced by the front-panel rainbow is equaled only by the clumsy and uncomfortable body design. The boxy chassis has the ergonomics of a stack of graham crackers and makes the camera feel even cheaper than it actually is. We do like the manual shooting-mode slider positioned where your thumb comes to rest, though it's easy to move accidentally and confuse yourself. The manual focus-control lever on the side of the body is nice, but would only have been helpful if image quality was any good.

The menu is ugly and outdated, making it a slog to change the shooting, playback, and printing options, limited as they are. There also seems to be some overlap between the playback and printing interfaces. It also lacks modern conveniences, like half-pressing the shutter to close the menu and return to shooting mode.

In fact, the shutter release doesn't even have a halfway position, usually used for locking autofocus. Sheesh. There are also about two full seconds of shutter lag before each shot, so make sure your friends are standing still when they say "cheese."

The printer is built seamlessly into the side panel of the body, and really does finish smudge-free prints in only thirty seconds or so. Print quality is terrible, but who cares? This functionality is totally impressive in a sub-$200 model, and we felt hopelessly giddy once our goofy mugs came sliding out of the camera.

Of course the printer should only be partially blamed for horrendous image quality; shots are ugly long before they're spit out in ink form. White balance seems semi-random, the fill flash is harsher than a schoolyard bully, and we'd have to guess color saturation falls somewhere around 75%. Does it matter? Nope.

If you're seriously interested in convenient and quick photo printing, you'll be much better off with a separate printer -- something like the Canon Selphy series. Image quality will be about a billion times better, and you'll get to use a decent camera rather than this ridiculous brick.

Everyone else should wait for a price drop and then go buy this camera. Stocking stuffer, birthday gift, whatever. It's an awesome diversion that's rooted in the early traditions of consumer photography, and it will add a lot of fun to at least a few weekend events. The camera is available now at a suggested retail price of $199.99, though you can find it online for about $160.

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