Polaroid Mio Film Camera

I was so thrilled with this little camera that I bought two of them and put them out at parties with a punchbowl full of film packets for guests to take candid shots - the quality of the prints (Fuji Instax Mini) and the ease of use are incredible - also the batteries are readily available (CR2 Photo cells) - the colors and clarity are unsurpassed - I just wished I would have found more of these little gems before the craze started in finding these. I should have just kept my mouth shut so I could have bought more of them but the price is skyrocketing on these now - good luck in your quest for one of these - and happy picture taking if you are lucky enough to find one.

First of all, this camera IS BULKY! No matter what they say, no matter how does it look to you in the pictures, it is quite big. You can see nobody was thinking of holding this camera when design was made. The "grip" is more slippery then the rest of the body so you should wear protective bracelet all the time. This baby was designed for slipping!
Apart of that camera is still cute and with the right film (Fuji Instax mini) will deliver great satisfaction to whomever decides to buy it!
It is rather simple to use. Wide angle with no zoom capability, it can focus from 60cm to 3m or from 3m to infinity (with button selection). Flash is automatic, but will not go off if there is enough light at the scene. There is also an option for fill-in flash if you have strong back light behind your model.
Flash can be used up close without fear of overexposing faces which is rather nice but it also means you cannot use it on longer distances.
There is also a darker/lighter option which lets you choose, well... Exactly that!
Overall, I'm very satisfied, considering I paid $30 +s/h for it (new).
You can find it on ebay and even amazon has it sometimes with that price!
As alternative in the same range, you can look for Fuji mini instax cameras or even their wide brother if you're into bigger instax reproduction.

This is a really awesome camera to have.
The only thing I don't like about it is that you can't really turn the flash off -- it's automatic. There were times where I thought there would be enough light in the scene and the flash wouldn't go off -- but it did anyway. This is only a problem if you're not a fan of on camera flashes like I am.
I also love the small size of the film. The camera itself is larger than what you'd think it would be, but it's still very portable.
Other than that, if you've been thinking about getting the Polaroid Mio, get it.

I have used Polaroid cameras since the early 80's and love to collage the prints into poster sized collections. I have rediscover my love of Polaroid with the purchase of a Mio. Pictures are best when your subject is close (2-3') - I have shot landscape shots as well and the wide angle captures a large area. I use Fugi Instax film with great results, the colors are rich and the skin tone is very natural looking. I have shot in shade with flash with good results as well. When I break out this camera at a party - watch out it can be addictive and $$$$ as you burn through your film! Gotta love the instant gratification factor!