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

This is a super little "starter digital camera" for about $50, and maybe even for the $119 original list price. It's small, light, convenient and the 640 by 480 pixel resolution is very reasonable for that price.

I didn't expect Leica or Nikon quality, and Polaroid didn't pretend to offer it. It's like the disposable cameras you buy at a supermarket, a quick, easy, convenient way of getting basic snapshots with minimum fuss.

If you want professional quality, consider a Kyocera Contax N Digital which is scheduled for release in February and has all the features found on the Contax N series of 35 mm cameras. The Contax will have a resolution of 6.29 megapixels, about 6 megapixels more than this Polaroid (if I did the calculations right), and will include interchangeable lenses. It will also carry a hefty price tag of about $6,450 -- without the lens.

Professional news photographers I deal with say their basic equipment now runs between $6,000 and $10,000, which doesn't include a satellite transmission system. My basic cameras are the Leica M-3 and Leicaflex; when you look at inflation, today's digital costs are probably equivalent of a full Leica or Nikon camera bag of 30 years ago.

Thirty years ago, the Brownie was a starter camera. Recently, I got this Polaroid to learn how to use the digital format and how to handle the images on my computer. It's been a fun camera for that; like the old Brownie (which I never owned), I don't expect 16 x 20-inch grainless enlargement quality.

It has provided good pictures at the indoor ballpark, of the nearby mountains, of local Christmas lights, of people indoors at a party and in reproducing several paintings. Downloading pictures to my computer is a bit complicated, but once learned it works well. Polaroid's goal was to make digital imaging easy and fun -- and they succeeded in my case, right from the moment I opened the box.

My next digital camera will be in the 2 to 3 megapixel range, which should handle most of my electronic needs for some time. But, I won't toss this camera aside; I'll keep using it for snapshots because of its convenient.

If you're tempted to buy this camera, read the other reviews. The reviewers have some of the same concerns as I do; but I think they miss the point that at $50 or so this is a starter camera and not one you want for every digital use. Unless, of course, you are a disposable camera fan -- then you may find this camera fills all your needs.

Take a serious look at it. It may surprise you. In my case, I was delighted; it's done everything I expected of a 640 by 480 pixel camera. It's the best $49 I've spent on a camera in a long time.

i have windows XP and cant use my camera now....no drivers for XP

I read reviews on this camera and decided to go with it simply because it was the only one in my price range that had an LCD screen. I didn't even benefit from the screen because it was so blurry that the only thing you could do was see if the picture you took was remotely worth keeping. The serial cable transfer is way to slow and the software that came with it really stinks!! I am going back to the Kodak EZ 200 that I had before I got this mockery of a camera.

In May of 2001 I purchased this item for my birthday. I was very excited about it. When I settled down to open it on I saw pictures of someone's home. Of course I was curious as to if these were sample pictures or it had been used. Come to find out it had been used because the guy at [store] told me it was new even though the corner had been slightly tampered with.

After this I was ready to get a camera that was brand new. So the next day I exchanged my old camera for a new one. This one had problems downloading onto my computer. I would have to push the portrait select button for the portraits to download, which made me really upset because it took me a long time to figure out why the picture wouldn't download.

I took it back and got another one and it worked pretty well and lasted for a little while. I took it with me to Florida. Even though it lasted for a while it didn't last that long. I had problems trying to turn it on. I would press the on/off button several times hoping for it to come on. I even checked the battery supply in the batteries and they weren't even close to going out of power. I finally took the camera back for good.

After going through several cameras I don't plan on buying another on like this. The camera doesn't even take all good pictures because it has no zoom. I don't recommened this camera.