Customer Reviews

Polaroid iZone 300 3.2MP Slim Design Digital Camera

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

I was highly disappointed after having purchased this camera. I wanted to use this camera as a way to quickly capture some white board information on business trips, and record a few sights along the way, with the built in battery. To do those few things and be small enough to fit in a shirt pocket seemed like it was a perfect fit, wanting to travel light.

What I got was a camera that may only take good pictures in bright sunlight, which I did not have. I was in a hotel room, and I would have been in conference rooms and factories, where the light would tend to be on the moderate side.

Without the flash (in a well lit hotel room), the pictures were very dark and noisy. Even holding the camera extremely still, I could not get a crisp picture.

With the flash, I got a picture what was still very dark in the darker colors, and very bright in the lighter colors (not very balanced). I tried the adjustments they allow (exposure compensation, and white balance adjustments), with no luck in making it perform any better. I know my way around digital cameras enough to know what I could adjust to make it perform a little better.

The pictures were basically 3.2 million pixels that formed a blurred image. Even the best photo's I took had very little clarity in the details when zoomed in after loading onto my computer. Not nearly as effective as I had hoped. I could barely make out typed words on a comment card, and I was trying to take the best picture of it that I could.

The camera MAY perform well in a bright sunlit environment, when all you want it a quick snapshot, but most people want an all around camera that will also take a decent pictures indoors, and some in low light with the flash.

Aside from the look and feel of the light weight and small camera, as well as the internal li-ion battery, I could not find anything in the way of the actual photographs that would make me want to keep it.

I promptly returned it and purchased a slightly more expensive and larger Canon Powershot A410. I would recommend you bypass the Polariod izone i300 altogether and go for the Canon... But that will be a different review altogether. I can't say enough good about the A410 for the price.

I purchased this camera KNOWING that I was buying an inexpensive digital camera that I could use for fun pictures. I didnt think I would be winning any awards with the photos I took with it (I have a $300 Canon Rebel EOS for that). So far I have had some struggles (mostly with the flash) but I have to say overall Ive been pleased with the results. Once you figure out that natural lighting works best, you can get good inside pictures. I took several beautiful pictures of the Rocky mountains from an airplane window as I flew over at 30,000 ft. Ive taken some great outdoor shots as well. When you buy a $70 camera with no optical zoom and 3.2 megapixels why would you expect perfect shots without some operator effort? I say, be patient with it and figure out what works best and you'll be happy with this camera as a fun, travel camera for vacations or just amusing day to day adventures.

I just returned from a business trip to Vermont. I had promised my daughter a picture of the snow and forgot my camera. I went to Walmart and was going to buy a disposable when I saw the iZone 300 and decided to buy it for the trip and then give it to my daughter. I went back to the hotel and looked up reviews on it before opening the box. After reading the reviews on this site I almost returned it before trying it out. However, since I had a week and nothing to lose I figured I'd give it a try and then return it before I left if it was as sucky as some of the reviews indicated. I honestly cannot find anything wrong with this camera. It is everything it claims to be and then some. It took absolutely amazing pictures and when I used the flash it worked flawlessly. It says right in the instructions to use the flash only at a distance of 3-6 meters. If you use this camera exactly the way it represents itself in the manual you will be delighted. If you expect more than what it is designed to do or do not use it as directed it will possibly dissapoint you. But, even then you've got to get your monies worth from it. It is a steal at the $78.00 I paid for it. Now that I am home and my daughter is using it she is delighted with it also. She is 10 and taking excellent pictures with it and finds it very easy to use. I highly recommend this camera to anyone wanting an inexpensive camera that's simple to use and takes outstanding pictures.

Do not buy this camera, I repeat do not buy this camera! Just read the reviews and you'll know exactly what I mean. Lucky I got this piece of junk for Christmas, so I didn't spend a dime on it. I opened the package BEFORE reading any reviews. Now I wish I've read the reviews before opening the box. I don't care what setting you use, I tried them all and I have yet to take a picture any better than my cell phones camera. The lighting sucks, you either end up with dark pictures or super bright ones. I really wanted this camera to work, it looks sweet but sadly it can't take pictures.

I've been using my iZone 300 for about four months now. I still love it. It's got round corners so I can carry it in my pocket, and it recharges while plugged in to the USB. I've almost never run out of battery power. I got a 256mb card that holds hundreds of pictures.

It _is_ a cheap camera. It won't take great low-light pictures. The flash is useful at medium-distances to help fill in the area, sometimes. Too close and you'll get a white smear.

It _does_ take very beautiful pictures. Somewhat technicolor looking, sometimes. It is fixed-focus and fixed-angle. You can digital zoom a little, but the default angle is just fine.

I find the UI very straightforward.

I was in Walmart looking for a digital camera, and came across this cute little thing. I saw it was a 3.2 MP, being a decent picture. I was sold solely on the compact look,the price and i assumed it has alright quality. (the pic's took ok in the store but only b/c of how bright it is in there)I got it home, and took a few shots, they were no good. so i thought id keep it for the weekend and play around with it, thinking i needed to get to know my camera. WRONG!! this thing doesnt get better!!! its horrible. the quality is crappy. the pictures blurr. the flash is delayed for 10 sec. u cant take a pic closer than 5 ft away from object (ex. fun pics of u and ur friends/family where u hold it out in front on you) the pics will come out white!!! BAD BUY!!! WASTE OF MONEY!! BEWARE

I'm a college student, and I got this as a Christmas gift from my girlfriend. I REALLY wanted to like this camera, but it eventually HAD to be taken back. I seriously thought it was just defective until I read some of these reviews. I read a review where some guy thought it took great pictures of some snow and gave it a 5-star rating... well, duh. Of course it takes good pictures of snow. Snow is white, just like every picture this thing takes. Every picture is at least somewhat blurry. And besides the blurriness, every picture is either too dark or too bright. I read some reviews that were defending this camera that say the pictures look fine if taken between 6 and 9 feet. Oh great. That's useful. Because no one ever wants to take a picture outside that range??? You have to have EXTREMELY low expectations to think that this camera takes decent pictures.

Besides the low picture quality, the fact the camera doesn't allow you to use AA batteries is a bad thing in my mind. What if you're on a trip and you don't have access to an outlet to charge it? It'd be nice to just have an extra pair of lithium AA's. Plus.. rechargeable batteries eventually no longer hold a charge. After a year, the internal battery, when maximum charged will probably only be able to take a dozen pictures before the battery is spent. This is just a simple fact of rechargeable batteries. That's why laptop makers provide a maximum of 1 year warranty on their batteries.

Also, the thing won't stop beeping! With every click of a button, the thing makes this annoying beep. You go to the settings to mute the beep, but when you restart the camera, the settings are reset and back comes the beep! And it takes about 8 clicks to get to the mute setting... So, say you're at a wedding and you want to take a picture.. all of a sudden.. BEEP... BEEP.. You may kiss the.. BEEP... c'mon Polaroid. I guess the picture wouldn't turn out unless your 6 to 9 feet away anyway...

One last bad thing about this camera. On any other LCD display I've used... even on my cheap camera phone.. when you're in a dark environment, the lcd display automatically adjusts to be brighter so you can see what you're taking a picture of. When the environment is bright, the lcd adjusts to be dimmer. This display doesn't change! If you're even in a simple dim living room, you can't see anything on the display! That is just ridiculous.

Overall, I feel this camera is a piece of junk. It looks cool, size is perfect, it could be pretty convenient if it worked, but the purpose of a camera is to take pictures. This 'camera' does that VERY poorly... therefore, this is a poor camera. Buy it if you enjoy disappointment.

I got this camera very quickly, service was fantastic. I say this because any retailer who sells these shouldnt feel too responsible for the sin that is this camera. I have had my dealings with 3.2mp cameras, some made in the 1990s and I am very appalled to have used this camera and to get this kind of low quality shot.

Pictures are blurry. Well unless you use the flash, then they are completely "pixelated" and are engulfed in white.

This is not a deal for the money, it doesnt even serve its purpose as a camera.

I will say I love the design of the camera, and this just makes me want apple to delve into the camera industry.

Conclusion: dont purchase this if you're looking for something to take pictures with. If you want to load this on your computer and waste your time, go for it, otherwise, buy anything else.

I bought this camera because Ive been holding out on buying an expensive top of the line point and shoot for casual picture taking. Im going on vacation soon, so I decided to spend a little to get a little. This camera delivers exactly that. The picture quality is good for emailing pictures to friends and relatives, and the size and style of the camera are great. The battery life and lcd screen are some things that arent that great. A room that you might think is not that dark will show only black on the LCD screen. The flash at close ranges will wash out colors at times. All these things that are considered to be flaws with a camera have turned out to be the reason I really love the pictures this camera takes. Many pictures look somewhat artsy and while others may think the colors are off or the picture is blurry, I think the pictures this little inexpensive camera takes are interesting. After buying this camera and a 512mb memory stick for less than $100, I may never get around to buying that expensive 7 megapixel camera.

DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT! IT IS ESSENTIALY A VERY EXPENSIVE DISPOSABLE CAMERA!!! I WOULD HAVE GIVEN IT ZERO OR NEGATIVE STARS BUT THEY DON'T HAVE THAT OPTION!

I bought this camera about a year ago for my daughter because it is relatively inexpensive and Polaroid has been around a long time. The picture quality was pretty lousy, but that really didn't matter since it was for a child...BUT, right from the start the battery did not charge...we assumed we were doing something wrong, and recently the camera was completely dead...we tried to find out how to change the battery and ended up contacting the company...this is the reply we received:

Thank you for your recent email about your needs for service.
There are no replacement parts available for the iZone 300 Digital Camera, including batteries.
If you need to order a replacement part for your Polaroid product, please call us at 877-388-3779 during office hours.
When you call us, please give the service agent your EMAIL ADDRESS so they can find you in our database for prompt processing of your request.
Regards,
Polaroid Technical Support


Not only is it crazy not to be able to replace the battery in a non-disposable type camera, but then they tell me to call to order replacement parts that they just told me don't exist...

You're better off spending a little more and dealing with someone that supports their product, like Fuji or Canon...please beware!!!!