For an update, please see here.
A couple of months ago Photojojo opened pre-orders for the then newly announced Polaroid Cube. A 1080p, 124° wide angle lens video camera that also takes stills for $99? Oh yes. I bit, I bought, I waited, and a few days ago, I received.
I don’t typically write about the products I buy, I’m usually so caught up in actually using them that by the time I have anything to say, it’s all been said. This time it’s different, I haven’t seen much in the way of reviews by anyone who has actually used one, and that’s a shame because there are things to say about it. Not all good.
What the Cube is
The Cube is billed as a “lifestyle action camera” akin to a GoPro or Contour camera, but instead of being marketed towards capturing first person views of extreme sports, it’s instead focused on being good for anybody, anywhere, anytime. It’s small (35mm on all sides) and magnetic (on the bottom) as well as splash-proof, shockproof, and weatherproof (thanks to its rubberized exterior, available in 3 colors of course). You can even by a mount that makes it waterproof. (Which I did. It’s also ok.)
Pop in a micro SD card up to 32GB and it’ll record 90 minutes of either 1080p 0r 720p HD video. There’s no screen and no companion app for your smartphone. You point and press the single button to either snap a photo (1 press) or start recording a video (2 presses). It would be extremely difficult to make it any simpler. When you’re done, unscrew the rear cap and plug in a micro USB cable to download your videos or charge. While connected you can access the app on the Cube to adjust its settings.
My experience
The packaging is beautiful without being fussy. There are a good assortment of accessories and mounts and that means lots of options for ways to record. I bought the waterproof suction mount (quick review: nice but not nearly suctiony enough).
All in all, I really, really like the Cube. Pocket-sized, go anywhere, simple to use. The magnetic bottom is really cool to me. I admit that the coolness come from a sense of reinforcement as a good idea, a couple of years ago I made a pinhole camera from a 35mm film box and put a magnet in the bottom of it so I could affix it to things for the duration of the exposure. Pretty clever.
The video and still quality are above adequate, though I’ve seen at least one other person say he found the stills to be consistently poor. The Cube’s video appears steady and looks good, maybe not AS good as a newer GoPro Hero, but it’s far from terrible and better than some other inexpensive cameras by a mile. (Personal note: If Parrot put this camera on their drones, it could be amazing.)
It’s weatherproof which appeals to me because I don’t like fair-weather devices. I want to use them when I want, not when I can. Plus I dig the rubberized finish because small slippery things tend to fall out of my hands.
It’s fun to use! One of the videos I made was in the spur of the moment on an escalator, I was pleased to find the magnet was strong enough to hold on to the hand rail, and the recording was butter smooth. Admittedly the subject is rather boring, but that’s not the point. It went from pocket to recording in a flash.
All of that said, I’ve run into a few things that weren’t so great, though, and it took me a while to figure out just what they were and why they happen.
LED Quirks
The manual shows a few LED modes that reinforce the simplicity of the Cube. If it’s green, it’s charged. If it’s steady orange, it’s below 10% charge. If it’s blinking orange, you’re transferring data. If it’s slowly flashing red, it’s recording. Easy peasy.
Or maybe not. See, out of the box the Cube doesn’t include a micro SD card. Without one inserted, this is the behavior you get:
- Turn it on = Steady orange (I know this, it needs to charge!)
- Plug it in to computer or charger = Blinking orange (Wait… what?)
- Disconnect and reconnect = Steady orange (Oh ok, charging. Right? Or needs to charge?)
If left plugged in (flashing or not) the led will never turn green without the SD card installed.
I can kind of forgive this, I mean, how often are you going to turn it on without the card inserted? On the other hand, charging functions should be consistent whether or not there’s a card.
After you’ve used it a while (with a card, like you’re supposed to) the light legitimately turns orange. You plug it in to the computer, get your blinking orange as you download your photos and videos, and wait for the green light to say it’s charged. Fine. But what if you plug it into a charger? It will charge faster of course, so you do that and you get… a steady green light! Yes, if you plug in the cube to a charger with the SD card installed, you will always get a solid green light, even when it’s in desperate need of a charge. How can you know when it’s done?
Shockproof (Kinda sorta)
With it’s compact size and rubberized exterior, it feels like it can withstand a jolt, a jarring, a bump, a smack, a drop, and it can. The Cube is really solidly built. Shockproof is even one of its claimed virtues. In practice it’s not quite as advertised.
Yes, it can withstand some light abuse. Maybe even heavy abuse, but I’m not willing to find out on purpose. Where it fails is when it encounters said light abuse while recording. If it takes a hit or a jolt while you’re capturing video, the 5 minute block you’re currently in will become corrupt. I guess if there’s a bright side here, it’s that video is recorded in 5 minute blocks, so you won’t lose any previous segments. However, further recording will not take place even though the Cube will still appear to be recording as the red light happily continues flashing. The only way you know something is wrong is when you go to stop the video and find that the button is now ignoring any input other than to power off. Scenario: you’re 10 minutes into an awesome 30 minute ride and you take a hard bump *bam* that block is corrupt, the next 20 minutes disappear into the ether, and all you’re left with is the first 5 minutes. This is a total bummer.
It’s ok.
TL;DR: that’s my summary. It’s awesome in that it’s small and simple and pretty and fun. It sucks in that you lose video if you’re being really active and cause it to take a jolt. (Maybe, see update above.) Throwing out everything else I said, good or bad, this single problem underlines the point that this is not a GoPro and until that problem is fixed, it’s not much of an action camera.
Would I buy it again for $99 knowing what I know today? Probably.
Update regarding taking a smack and corrupting video: Talking with a rep at Photojojo it sounds like I might have a defective Cube.
11.14.14 It turns out I did in fact have a defective Cube. For an update, please see here.
