Home > Consumer Reviews > Polaroid Fun Flash 640 0.3MP Digital Camera Kit

I gave this camera 3 stars because I was sastisfied with the quality of its overall purpose (taking pictures) but unsastisfied with the limited number of features it contains for it's price.

I've always had bad luck with cameras of any kind, but my constant yearning for pictures has not stopped me from using them. So I always stuck with disposables until I bought a digital. Well, until I bought a digital and had to take it back the first day because the flash quit working after I had taken two pictures. Yes, I'm talking about this camera, the FunFlash (aw..breathe the irony of it). I don't think it's a problem with the quality of the camera, my particular camera was just defective, especially after it sensed my camera-cursed aura. So I no longer own this camera, needless to say, but the three or four hours I spent playing with it was enough to learn enough about it to tell you a little something.

My dislikes: Limited photo storage on its internal memory (15 pics at high (default set) resolution, 20-30 at its low resolution). It also does not have the smartmedia feature where you can insert more memory if you want. This wasn't good for me, because I take alot of pics when I go on vacation, and only being able to get less than 30 would have been a very bad thing.

The only way to retrieve the photos off your camera is with the software. So if you're at a friends house and take some pics and want to show them off, don't forget your CD.

The LCD screen, not very clear or sharp at all. In my opinion, the LCD screen that comes with this camera isn't worth the extra $20 you pay for it because you can't really tell if the picture you just took will be a keeper since you can't see it very clearly. Which brings me to my next dislike...

The fact that you can only delete the LAST photo taken. So if you take a pic and it seems like it will be decent and then you take another right after it and it's even better, you can't go back and delete the one before without deleting the last one taken. Again, this would be a bad thing if you're wanting to save as much memory as possible while on vacation or something.

Default settings. Each time you turn off your camera, the settings return to default. And if you're anything like me, you'll take alot of pics with the default settings (high resolution, no flash) without realizing it till it's too late and you're downloading the pics on your computer.

Only one cable, the serial cable. WAY slow. Downloading takes FOREVER. Even on a jazzed up, custom built computer w/tons of memory like mine.

No zoom, but I didn't really see this as a problem.

No redeye reduction, we still ended up looking like demons.

My likes: The picture quality. If you're just looking for an inexpensive digital camera that takes good pictures, then I recommend this one for you. The pictures turned out very sharp and very clear.

Small. Personally, I would rather have a compact digital camera w/a lot of memory than a massive digital camera w/a floppy drive. But that's just me...

Attractive, sure to catch someone's eye.

The LCD screen is still somewhat of a plus, because it gives that Digital Camera kind of feel, and you can sort of get an idea of how your picture turned out in the way of centering, distance, etc...

The software. Some may not agree, but I had more fun with the software than the digital camera itself. I don't have any other photo editing software on my computer, but I've used some that have come with scanners and I still think Polaroids PhotoMax tops them.

Self-timer. Great if you're bored and want to take pictures of yourself to see what your best look is. Also good for taking group pics without having to leave someone out.

Three different flash settings (if you remember to change it from default (flash off) when you start taking pics).

The joy of being able to take a ton of pictures that you can see immediatly on your computer, and getting rid of the bad ones, without spending any extra money.

So overall, if you just want an inexpensive digital camera that will give you the digital camera experience then this one really isn't half bad. But if you're wanting an inexpensive digital camera with effective features as well as good pictures, I would spend $50 more on something a little more up to par, and they are out there. AND, if you're going to buy this camera, I would suggest you (shop around....)

After reading the other reviews from amazon.com, I decided to settle on this camera. Reasons are the price of this and its overall features. First off, I didn't expect this to be a high-end camera producing flawless photos, because obviously it is not the type. However, I think it's the perfect camera for the novice user, like myself. It's got all the basic standards that digital cameras should have, such as the LCD screen, self-timer, and a 640 x 480 resolution.

LCD - I agree that the LCD is not clear enough, but I think it's good as it is. I mean, the LCD is pretty useful since it allows me to have a good idea on how the picture looks like. I really enjoy this feature.

Self Timer - This is another fun feature and I'm glad that it came along with. I think self-timers are essential in any camera.

640 x 480 - This is resolution is really THE resolution to get average results. This resolution size is another essential in digicams and I'm glad it's w/ this camera.

Anyway, I enjoyed using this camera. It's very easy to use and not to mention, the software is top quality! I've printed out several photos and the smaller size ones aren't bad at all. You could minimize your photos and use them in your greeting cards, works better than very poor quality scanned pictures! Pictures posted on websites/sent through emails are very good quality.

As for the battery issue, I guess it does drain the battery. My hint is, use an AC adapter if possible, like when you're taking pictures indoors.

Overall, I'm glad I bought this camera :) I just hope it doesn't break (as another reviewer mentioned).

I recently purchased this camera, and wasn't expecting too much since I had already been disatisfied with 2 other low end digital cameras. I was very surprised at the quality of the pictures once they are downloaded. They are very clear. The lcd screen is pretty blurry, but I was tickled to even get one on a digital camera for the price! All I really wanted a camera for was to send family and friends pictures over the email. I don't care too much for how the camera shuts off after 30 seconds, but heck, for the price I'm not complaining! I only gave 80 bucks for mine, so I would definitely say it was worth it!

I bought the Polaroid Fun Flash 640 SE -- it has no LCD screen, so it's really like a point-n-shoot 35mm camera. I bought mine at Circuit City for $39.

I wanted a digital camera to take photos of preschoolers in my Bible club at church -- to post on a private Internet website, so parents can enjoy looking to see what their kids do during our club meetings.

I wanted a cheap, easy-to-use camera that took a decent photo when rendered on the web (I don't care to print the photos).

I wanted a camera that was easy to download photos into my computer, manipulate and upload onto my website.

I got exactly that with this camera product. For $40, it's a great deal. Spend more for the camera with the LCD screen if you wish, but you might not really need to go for that extra expense.

Installing the camera software went with NO TROUBLE whatsoever (on my 3-year-old PC). My particular camera model hooks up either via USB or serial connection (I use serial, which is slow but within a two minutes or so, I can download 20 photos onto my PC). The camera comes with easy-to-use software for manipulating the photos. Two complaints on the software: I have to click around too much to do the work I'm trying to do, and it's a little less than straightforward to create web-ready JPEGs outside of the software's "photo album" file format.

The camera itself is purely no frills. It does have a digital display to show number of pictures taken and the flash mode, but that's about it. If you take a photo too close to your subject with the flash on, the picture causes the person's face to wash out (and then they have no nose!). But most other shots can be easily enhanced via software -- to lighten, sharpen the pictures.

So bottom line, use this camera to take pictures to share on the web when resolution and photo quality isn't as much of a priority as low expense and ease-of-use.

My brother purchased this camera for my daughter who was only 7 at the time. My husband and I had purchased a Fuji Finepix for around $350 right around the same time. The Fuji is a good camera but this polaroid is also a good camera and for much less money. What I really like about it is that my children could use it, understand it, drop it. It went through a lot of abuse. My brother told me at the time that it was just a cheapy digital camera, I guess he did not want to let me know that he purchased a REAL digital camera for a child. But, I am glad that he did tell me that. I was under the impression this was a $10 - $20 camera and therefore I was not as concerned about the kids using it. The software that is comes with is a blast and also very easy to use. It is a straight forward decent digital cameral without all of the fancy options and buttons that most of them have now. They are too difficult to even understand and come with a 500 page book of directions. I would highly recommend this camera for children, adults, anyone that just wants a very good, dependable digital camera that is very user friendly. The only exception to the rule for this camera would be if you were using it for advertising purposes for your website or business. For that type of imaging you need to have more pixels for clearer pictures. But this camera will do just fine for sending pictures to and from family members, printing them out and making many creative projects. My daughter loves this camera, from what I understand they are no longer in production and I think that is a shame. I would also highly recommend this for an elderly relative. The words are large, the display is clear and easy to understand. Someone that is not as computer literate as others would not get so easily frustrated with this camera. So, thank you Uncle Gary, Beth and I use this camera more than the Fuji, it just collects dust.