Polaroid launched an update to its “Go” instant film cameras.
The new Generation 3 Go is a little thicker — though still the smallest instant film camera in the world, according to Polaroid — with a more powerful flash, dual aperture, and a fast 1/500s shutter.
There are some new camera colours, yet, in general, the Go looks and works the same as before. The biggest technical differences from earlier iterations lie in slight adjustments to the aperture, flash, and shutter speed. Based on early opinions, it seems to be a significant improvement in image quality.
Whereas the previous version used the automatically selected aperture range of 𝒇9-𝒇42 and shutter speeds up to 1/300s, the new Go Gen 3 uses an aperture range of 𝒇14.4-𝒇32 and shutter speeds up to 1/500s.
The most challenging aspect of using Polaroid instant film has always been the exposure. It is a tough medium to master as its narrow dynamic range can make some photos simultaneously over- and underexposed.
The smaller main aperture, narrower aperture range, and faster shutter speed suggest that the company prioritized producing sharper photos and improving in-camera exposure calculations.
The updated specs suggest that you would need to use flash with this camera in most conditions other than direct sunlight (see the Sunny 16 calculator at analog.cafe/app/sunny-16-c… — Polaroid Go film is ISO 640). This was also largely the case for the earlier Go cameras, though with a larger aperture (𝒇9 on Gen 2 vs. 𝒇14.4 on Gen 3), you could get away with shooting in the light shade without flash.
The flash is on by default on those cameras, and the new version promises more power. Relying on it should give the Go an opportunity to create sharper images and fill in shadow areas for better exposure, though it also means your photos will have that “flashed” look (which is in, in 2026: younghollywood.com/scene/d…).
Dmitri Edited