KODAK PRINTOMATIC

KODAK PRINTOMATIC

After
giving some thought to what I wanted I went to the usual place,
Amazon, I did a search for “instant camera” and the first one
shown was an Instax Mini but on reading some of the specifications I
realised it needed batteries and that was not an option for me, I
wanted a camera that has a rechargeable battery so the Instax is not
an option. So let me scroll down a little further and near the bottom
I find the Kodak Printomatic and, on paper, it ticks all the right boxes.






 Console

 Kodak Printomatic 


 Dimensions
 3” high, 4.7” wide, 0.9” deep 


 Battery
 7.4V Lithium-Ion


 Paper Capacity 
 Can hold up to 3 images


 Print Tech
 ZINK (Zero Ink) High-Quality, Smudge-Proof & 
 Water-Resistant Prints


 Image Sensor 
 5MP Lens: wide-angle 8mm

 Aperture
 f/2

 Indicators
 Printer, Low Battery, Low Paper, Low Memory Storage 

 Storage
 External Memory: microSD up to 32GB



24
hours after purchase and it arrives at my front door while I am in, however it
arrives at my front door without my knowledge, most annoying. It is
left on my doorstep in an Amazon package stating it contains electrical equipment in the pouring rain, thankfully on checking my emails on
my laptop I see I have been left a package. I also made sure to
purchase extra Zink (Zero Ink) paper at the same time. I have used Zink paper
before in a small handheld printer I have so I know the technology is
tried and tested.



Seeing
the camera above you may think it looks more like a toy than a
camera, personally I thought exactly the same thing when I saw it but
that wasn't an issue for me. On opening the packaging and reading the
quick start guide  it took me less than one minute to be taking
pictures. It was literally a case of opening the back, placing the
included 5 sheets of Zink paper in the rear of the camera, face down, closing the back then
just point and click, it even makes the noise of an old 35mm camera
shutter.

My
camera skills are not the best so I wasn't expecting Lord Lichfield
quality pictures but I was expecting some quality. Maybe I was
expecting too much of this budget camera. A 5MP lens is not the ideal image resolution for photographs. I think I'll try taking photos outside and in other locations to see if I get better results.

Would I Recommend This Camera?
The quick answer is no. Having seen the pictures I had taken I wasn't impressed. My first picture was overexposed so I thought bad lighting, I took a picture elsewhere in the house and it was almost black. I took three more pictures around the house and not a single photo I would want to show anyone.

Next Step?
There is the Kodak Printomatic+ but exactly how much of a step up is that? I have had a quick look at the specifications online and it appears the only real difference is the lens is now 10MP, personally not really worth it.

Michael