Kodak Smile Classic Digital Instant Camera - DEMO & REVIEW

Kodak has been a mover and shaker in the photography world forever. The latest generation of Kodak cameras show a company trying to figure out how to offer the best of both worlds, traditional instant print color photography and digital imagery. Tech expert Dave Taylor of www.AskDaveTay... reviews the Kodak Smile Classic Digital Instant Camera, the latest from Kodak, and finds some quirks in its behavior.
The centerpiece of the Kodak Smile Classic Digital Instant Camera, however, are the beautiful 3.5 x 4.25" color photos it prints on demand. A bit lackluster in color and contrast, the sticky-backed ZINK paper still makes this a great addition to any scrapbooker, teen or party. But Kodak's approach to storing images on the MicroSD card (not included) and accessing it via the smartphone app (not yet!) are baffling too.
Check the camera out on Amazon: amzn.to/2KIZ4hx

[@CookieMonster70119]

Thank you for this, been looking everywhere for a review for this camera. You’re the man Dave!

[@andrewvillarreal2152]

All you have to do is plug the camera into the computer and you can access the photos that way. Your computer will read the camera as a USB, and then there’s a folder, open that, and then another folder, open that, and then photos!

[@brandonsmedley7362]

My micro sd card wont go fully in. Can you help?

[@wilhelmshadow3558]

Smooth review, very nice. I could almost hear an 80s lounge saxophone track.

[@AskDaveTaylor]

Gnarly. Thanks, man. :-)

[@betraveling3659]

Is there a way to print multiple copies of the same image?

[@vanesaalvarez4379]

yeah you use the app, sorry this is very late.

[@DeeSnow97]

lol, it prints slower than it takes Instax to develop This is such an interesting camera. You can feel Kodak's salt here, they are still not over 1986, but at the same time it's the only digital instant camera that actually tried to somehow recreate the magic of a real instant with digital tech. It looks and functions so much like a Polaroid Impulse, within the limitations of the tech of course, and I think it's no accident either that the pictures that come out of it are the _exact_ same size as a real Polaroid (especially with that bottom white border on the packaging). I like that it has a real viewfinder and the automatic printing, but the price of film is a real turnoff, at that point why not just go for an Instax 90 Neo Classic instead or something from Lomography. Kodak, if you are reading this, please add an option to shoot while the camera is still printing, then idk, it could queue it up to print or just save it onto the SD card for later. That print _is_ hella slow. I have definitely shot in a faster cadence on my Impulse AF before and it's never fun to lose a moment.

[@EJFulford]

Hi Dave, curious how does this stack up to the polaroid pop? I'm trying to find a camera that is the next best thing to the Instax square but uses zink technology. The Kodak mini retro square looked nice too but all those cartridges seemed like they might get expensive. There are lots of zink cameras but I love the border look - even if there were zink papers that came with a black or white border but alas, no, only rainbow. I think this is the closest I'll get to the look of classic polaroid but without having to worry about my cat or dog (who love to chew up stuff and destroy papers) from getting into the toxic stuff in those types of film.

[@AskDaveTaylor]

I haven't had much experience with the Polaroid unit but both seem pretty similar. The biggest thing to overcome is that the prints are *small*, smaller than you might expect.

[@EJFulford]

@@AskDaveTaylor I seem to have got to the point where it's down to the smile classic vs the kodak mini 3 retro square and it's a tough one because it seems like the fatal flaw of the mini 3 retro is that it doesn't back up photos to SD. The prints are stupendously good quality and said to last 100 years... yet the battery life is said to leave something to be desired so it's a tough call. There's something to be said for the simplicity of the smile classic and that little added touch of the photos being backed up to SD is a major plus. Sorry to drone on - it's turning into a bit of an obsession.

[@EJFulford]

@@AskDaveTaylor I also should say thank you because this review was very easy to follow and has helped a lot and it's got me a lot closer to making a decision. :)

[@kodakplus6508]

Hi Dave! Thank you for sharing this incredible review on the #KodakSMILE Classic Digital Instant Camera 😁📸

[@AskDaveTaylor]

Thanks, Kodak! :-)

[@alexanderfortunat8786]

Hey Dave, thanx for the gread review! i just got mine today. One question I do still have: is there any chance to obtain the firmware without the mail/post from Kodak? is there any ftp download available? I couldn't manage to updated without the mail to Kodak (which is just anoying in nowadays time ;-) )

[@AskDaveTaylor]

I don't know how it decides, but I had it prompt me to request an upgrade via mail, did that, then the next time I ran the app (when I was recording the review) it offered an online update! So maybe try a few times, making sure your phone is on wi-fi?

[@dinalefort5115]

How many papers can it take?

[@AskDaveTaylor]

You buy print paper pre-packaged and that defines the capacity in a single cartridge, Dina.

[@blisslove1041]

Does this needs ink for printing?

[@AskDaveTaylor]

nope, the Zink paper has its own ink system. Very much like the classic old instant prints!

[@blisslove1041]

@@AskDaveTaylor thank you!

[@ICKYSICK]

Hi I’ve just bought this camera for my wife for Xmas.(so not opened it yet) do the photos print in landscape or portrait? It’s looks from the video that phone photos come out portrait and the camera’s own photos come out landscape, is this correct?

[@AskDaveTaylor]

Yes, I think that's an accurate characterization, though there might well be some settings in the software to tweak that as needed for individual photos.

[@mikevandebunt811]

You can hold the camera sideways to get landscape. I'm pretty sure the phone photos come in whichever orientation the phone was in when the photo was taken.