Introducing a new action camera in a market dominated by GoPro, the company that invented the go-anywhere device, is an uphill battle. Enter Polaroid, a brand that once pioneered convenient, go-anywhere instant film photography and, not coincidentally, is the inspiration for Instagram’s logo. Affordability is where Polaroid plans to hang its hat, and the Cube+ certainly hits that mark coming in at under $150.
As the name suggests the Polaroid Cube+ is a slightly improved version of the original Polaroid Cube. The Cube+ offers Wi-Fi functionality with the addition of a companion app.
The stand out feature of the Cube+ has to be the magnetic base. Offering some amazing real world applications, the camera sticks like glue to metal surfaces. We stuck it to a car, drove up to 50 mph and the thing didn’t budge. Unfortunately, the case is also very limiting. Mounting accessories are specific to this camera, so you’ll have to purchase other mounting rigs from Polaroid.
The Cube+ is $149.99 and is offered in 3 distinct colors: red, black and blue. This little unit accepts up to 128GB’s of storage through a Micro SD and comes with an 8GB card in the box. The viewing angle is wide, you can capture almost anything that you point the Cube+ at, the lens captures 124 degrees. The unit is weatherproof and includes in-built stabilization. You can capture still photos as well with up to 8MP stills achievable. An automatic low light sensor allows for an easy transition into those dark environments. Sound is a big downfall with the Cube+, audio is barely usable and even after a software update to try and improve this issue, I still find the audio to be a troubled area for this unit.
The singular button functionality is easy and carefree. You can control slo-mo, time lapse, video and photo options through the app. You can record for up to 107 minutes without the Wi-Fi on from a full charge. Charging takes around an hour through a USB connection and the Cube+ houses a 600mAh battery.
Overall, the Polaroid Cube+ is a powerful and affordable action camera with a variety of features. Audio is a negative and the controls can freeze up sometimes when swapping from the app to the physical button controls. I love the image that this camera produces and it is extremely user friendly.
Available at: Amazon
