Side by Side Comparison of: iON Camera vs Polaroid

 I've had this camera for almost a year now and have it mounted to my motorcycle helmet. The battery still lasts for about 2 hours of recording, and the 32gb sd card can handle about 4 hours of 1080p, 30fps video. This is plenty to record at least the interesting bits of a long ride, or to/from work, plus heading out to lunch. I do wish I could wipe the video without a computer though.About a month ago, I had a deer run out in front of me on the highway. I swerved left to go behind it, but it had the same idea. Either way, I survived and surprisingly enough, so did the camera with a few battle scars. The aluminum housing held up really well even though the impact of my helmet to pavement as I did a face first dive caused the camera to pop off. The faster spinning is after the camera popped off. Afterwards, it's like it had a mind of its own, capturing the scene for a few minutes until a police officer turned it off. I removed that part for the purpose of this review however.The wreck caused the bottom mounting plate to get ripped off, but somehow it's still able to screw right back in and holds tight. I guess I'll ride around until it falls off.I'm pretty happy with the video quality, especially at this price point. I prefer to keep it at 1080p in case i need to distinguish a license plate. I'm able to clearly see them from about 20-30 feet away, but I'm sure I could make them out at a little further distance if needed. I don't do much night riding, but you can see it worked pretty well just before dawn.

Great value. For $39 you get a full HD (1080p) action cam that can be mounted on a bike, a helmet, on your car's visor.....etc. This one also came with a WiFi attachment that I have not tried out, so I don't know how well the WiFi works, but I consider that a bonus. It records both audio and video and is VERY easy to use. The box comes with great instructions (a lot more than I expected) and there's a built-in EXE file in the camera itself (Windows) that you can run on-the-fly to set resolution, etc. For the price, this thing is a STEAL.

I have owned over 10 of these cameras. It has the very best audio an action camera can have. If you are concerned about that, you should be recording off camera anyway which I do. I have several DSL-Rs going, and a couple of Camcorders with premium mics. However with other brands I needed to overlay audio from other sources to sync with footage. Not with these. The audio is so good, I can sell these all day long. I have sold over 7 of these. I am down to 3 at the moment due to selling them off. I integrate the video into my YouTube videos with great feedback. I have mounted them on vehicles in excess of 2000 HP. They hang on for dear life with no problems at all. On roofs, on fenders, on windshields, on plexi-glass, you name it, I have mounted to it. I actually had a defective camera that won't turn off because I was being cutesy with it for Facebook post and dropped it on to a tripod that shattered the protective screen. When I have handled these in a professional, concerned, and deliberate manner, they have been great. I setup a kiosk for these at my events. I use Adobe Premiere CC to edit footage. It works like a dream. Using anywhere from 4 to 5 of these during any given event, I rename them as soon as they come off the camera. WWP on YouTube: [...]. My latest video with iOn ride on footage: [...]

This is a great little camera for the price. It does 1080p video at 30fps or 720p at 60fps. I use the latter to record motorcycle rides. The included handlebar mount is great for mounting in various locations on my motorcycle. This is older technology; the software is from 2012, but it still works great.I have had a few minor glitches. Once the camera turned off when I was on the road. I didn't notice until I got home and I'm not sure why it turned off. The SD card wasn't full. Another time the camera refused to turn on. I re-formatted the SD card and that solved the problem. I believe the manual suggests you do this when you first get the camera and I ignored the advice so that was problem the entirety of my problem.Also, you have to run the camera software off of the camera itself in order for it to detect the camera. If you download a new version of the software just copy it over to the camera and run it from there. The camera acts just like any other USB drive you attach to the computer.

The camera is awesome I went diving with it fishing with it hunting with it as it performed twice as good as any GoPro I extremely recommend buying this one is well worth the money

I had the GoPro, but found it very difficult to use and beyond what I needed. I wanted a camera to mount on my car windshield and film cruise events. This camera worked perfect! One button to start and stop. The vibration feature let me know it started or stopped. Solid picture quality. It did exactly what I wanted... and it was simple to operate!!

This camera has downsides, no wi fi, no lcd screen, but at this price, the video quality is great. I now have 3 of them and use them in a relatively low light music performance setting. I don't use the sound so I have no comment on that. If you need some good video in a setting where you have another source of sound (sound from another camera) these cameras are a no brainer.

Very good alternative to a GoPro. If you are wanting a very in expensive camera that records and takes pictures in 720p HD and 1080p HD then this is the camera for you. Just note two things, one, you need to buy a Micro SD Card with the camera. The camera doesn't come with the Micro SD Card. Second, it has a magnet on the bottom so be carful with nearby electronics.

This is a great camera for interesting b-roll shots. The magnet on the bottom of this camera is incredibly strong, I was able to attach my Leatherman to it and wave it around only holding the camera without it detaching. I was also able to put it on the hood of my car and drive around town without it moving, which I found incredibly impressive.This camera has incredible image clarity, but it does have a fish eye lense, so you will have that look to your video, but it offers an incredibly wide range of view.Photos taken with this camera tend to (in my experience) come out a bit grainy compared to the video quality, but they're still passable if you have no other camera and need a quick shot.

This arrived so quickly! I got this for an excellent price as a Christmas present for myself, and it was worth every penny. I love my little cube, and I am completely in love with the fish eye effect. The quality is excellent. I can hide this in plain sight and record people without them knowing it, and vlog without looking like a weirdo. I was a bit hesitant but I'm so glad I finally made the purchase. As for the sound once I downloaded quicktime it's fine, and it has pretty good sound quality. I love the magnet on it. It works well with my Sony Vegas program and again I love it so much. Purchase this camera it's a hit in my family and if you're into novelty and cameras and filming you'll love it too!!!

great camera, I was so surprised that is had such excellent picture quality.Its like watching my high definition television. Its also so small, that it attaches anywhere. I bought it to go on my gun, this deer season, and really didn't expect that it would be as good as those other expensive cameras. If you don't want to spend 4-500 on a little camera, this one is an excellent alternative.

Really handy for a quick picture or video. Takes great pictures and videos, exceptionally crisp and clear. Another great idea from Polaroid. I have mine on a lanyard but the carabiner makes,it easy to attach to a belt loop, key chain, button hole, or strap. I love gadgets and this is a, favorite. You can pop it in a pocket or purse easily get through airport security because no big camera case to open for inspection. A 32 GB card takes 90 minutes worth of videos and hundreds of pictures. Magnetic base attaches to any magnetic surface. The little stand in its display box is a great magnetic stand for a table or dashboard.

Video quality is spectacular and rivals what you'd expect from a camera costing 5-10 times as much. The camera appears to handle over- and under-lit scenery very well. Unlike a lot of cheap cameras, individual frames are clear enough to easily identify faces, license plates, street signs, etc. This is VERY important if you're using this for protection while riding! Audio quality is less impressive: wind noise is a problem, and audio occasionally cuts out.Unfortunately the apps leave a lot to be desired. The desktop fails to see my camera 90% of the time, and the mobile app is sluggish and always reports incorrect battery life (52%, even fresh off a charge). And because the WiFi module is such a battery hog, the mobile app is only useful for assisting with initial camera placement. Fortunately, the app is only necessary for configuring the camera. Once you set it up, you won't need to use the app again.The included mount will let you attach the camera to something solid, like a bike frame. However, all the vibration from your bike will carry through to the camera. The resulting video is so shaky that it's unusable. You'll want to upgrade to a helmet mount, which is sold separately.USB transfer speeds are pitifully slow. On every device I've tried, I max out just under 6 MB/s (about 45 Mb/s, or just under 1/10th the speed of USB 2.0). This is using the Samsung 32GB 95MB/s (U1) MicroSD EVO Select Memory Card with Adapter (MB-ME32GA/AM). It is much faster to simply remove the microSD and insert it into a reader, then copy the data that way. Otherwise, it takes about an hour to download a full 32 GB card.Battery life is as advertised. I went through two 60-70 minute rides with no problem.Despite these flaws, this is one of the cheapest action cameras you can buy. It's rugged and well-built, and video quality is outstanding. If that's all you care about, you'll be very happy. You might be able to find a cheaper camera, but you won't find anything with this quality for less.

Works well for me as a bicycle helmet camera--much more stable and aesthetically pleasing than my first attempt using an SJCAM SJ4000. This camera only came with a handlebar mount, as others have noted. I used a strap I from the SJ4000 kit to strap it onto the top of my vented helmet, and I used some Sugru to stabilize it on the sides. It stays put quite well (but can still be unstrapped). I haven't had the software glitch (hanging) problems that another reviewer described, and adjusting settings via wifi using the android app worked fine. Minor flaws: 1. I have to hold down the power button for about 4 seconds for the camera to turn on or off, which is way too long, in my opinion. 2. The wifi takes ~ 20 seconds to start up and you have to start the app after this--the app doesn't automatically try to connect. 3. I didn't see an option to automatically overwrite old videos when the card gets full--I have to clear the card manually.

This action camera has been a great buy. I have had it now for about a year and used it a dozen or so times. I mount it on the top of my windsheidl to record autocross runs. My favorite part about this action camera is the button layout and how it functions. I can press the power button and I get a vibration telling me the camera is on. I can use the record switch to start the recording without having to look at a screen or try to listen for a beep or look for a light, and it gives me another vibration telling me it's recording and when I stop. These functions alone make this so easy to use compared to other devices. In direct sunlight it's hard to see the lights and screens on some devices, and when you have 20+ cars idling and driving around it's hard to hear beeps. The camera also records in decent quality and the battery lasts a long time compared to the SJ4000 style cameras I have. I can leave it on for my whole heat which is about an hour of which I record about 5-7 minutes of. My SJ4000 requires two batteries in that same time span.My only gripe is with the wi-fi functionality. I use it to check my framing, but when I have used it to record I found that if signal is lost between the camera and phone it will stop recording, even though it's recording to the card in the camera and not the phone. Now I just connect to it to set up my shot, disconnect and turn off the wi-fi module and use the record switch.

 I like it based on it's price point and decent quality video. I've had issue from time to time, video went sideways for no reason once, one short clip had no sound. But over all considering it's price, compact size, good sound, decent quality video I still think it's worthwhile. Have used it on my street bike and also riding motocross, seems to hold up to abuse up to this point. One of my favorite things about this camera is you just push the button forward once and it's recording, no flipping through menu's or checking light cues, when it goes on it has a very solid vibration you can feel so you know it's on. Still pictures are pretty good too, has a fish eye lens effect to them but what do you expect?Also, thinking about it last night, the software sucks, have had a heck of a time getting the right app downloaded to my phone. The lens has such a wide view it's pretty easy to get it pointed in the right direction.

*** Update from October 2016 ***It doesn't seem like only eight months. I rode frequently through the winter so I've got several dozen hours on this camera now. I use it with the (optional extra) helmet mount while riding a motorcycle. Biggest issue in the material side is the awful sound. Once you get about 20 mph, there's nothing but wind and no way to block it (silence the camera). Annoying. But okay. I've had to pin-reset the camera probably five times in several months where it just decides to go buggy and not do anything. No loss of data though. I average 40 minutes a day. It records in both HD and FHD and you can't turn that off, so you get two files for every ride. Eats memory - roughly sixteen rides and its delete-time. Again, no big deal (and my purpose is safety and death-reconstruction, not videoing myself riding). The worst thing about it isn't the actual camera as much as it is the horrific app. There's two apps out there, one is the ioncamera plus app and the other is the ion camera app. They both suck but the plus app is so un-sized for iOS devices, you almost can't read the stupid words. I turned the auto-off ON to 3 minutes (was already on but when I hit the app, it got turned off on the camera) twice - have since deleted the new app and live with Apple's "your app won't be supported any more " message. The app is not friendly. The on-board software isn't exactly nice either. Don't try to manage this camera with any provided software,..just download the videos and do whatever without it. The camera itself doesn't appear to be wifi receive-capable, so you can't stream live even though it says you could (and then you've got to piggy-back it to get it on social media...not that I need to...So has the 3 of 5 rating changed? Yes, because the video is good and the camera is friendly although buggy and for the price I paid, its worth it. Might get another one to mount to the bike permanently. Just don't expect anything great from the managed software or applications.The description about the mounts is misleading - the helmet mount is simply - there is no mount for the helmet itself, but the pedastal is there. I also didn't get the pouch with mine. As soon as I order the mount, I might upgrade the review. Seems nice enough for the price.

For the price its great so far its my first day using it and it looks good when its in a well lite area but when its in a darker setting the camera doesn't do well at all. I would say it is even with the gopro 3UPDATE----- The cam fell out if my car doing 60mph and its still fine and it keep the video going the whole time during it rolling and getting ran over by a truck.

I'm a pretty advanced amateur photography / videographer. In my collection of camera equipment, I've got mobile phones, two point and shoots, one mirrorless and two DSLR's. For video, I've got a camcorder, several action cameras (Garmin VIRB and Mobius) along with my phones and cameras that can shoot video.So why the heck would I want a Polaroid Cube? First of all, I am a sucker for the Polaroid name and want to support them. However, as I had a ton of equipment already, I never purchased a Cube....until recently. With the new models of the Cube out, I saw the original model around $50 to $60. I decided to pick up the Cube along with some body and hear mounts for future usage. But it was a friend who showed me a magnetic tripod mount that I loved ($25). I plugged the Cube (plus tripod connector) into the magnetic tripod mount and had a new perspective on some basketball stuff I was shooting.I'm surprised that I've used the Cube as much as I have. It's small and portable and I can carry around to shoot stuff whenever I need to. The other stuff I have are pretty big and tough to carry around.If there's a downside to this edition of the cube:1. The covering requires a coin to pop open and it separates from the Cube. I accidentally left the cover at my house just today.2. Battery life is short (at about 1 hour and 30 minutes or so).3. No screen to make sure you see how your shots are. The newer models have wifi and an associated app.All that being said, The Cube has a place for those who want to shoot action activities. The GoPro Hero Session (which looks like the Cube) is a tad more expensive. The original Cube is a worth investment for videoing activities. Keep your expectations tempered as it's not perfect. But it works for what I want to do!

I like this little camera, it packs a mean punch! Really easy to set up and use. I really enjoy it and just ordered the newer wifi version because someone else in the family wants a wifi one. I however, did not need all the bells and whistles, but they do.Going to be hard to tell the two apart though, seeing as we got the same color :)

I've been using this as a helmet cam/dash recorder for a while now. Pretty decent little camera. Picture quality is ok for a quick no edit upload setup. Simple and small, the one thing I don't don't like is the orientation doesn't Auto adjust so you have to power it one in the orientation you want and if your recording and the 5 min clip runs out than its upside-down or sideways. For the price you can stick these all over so still worth having one or two. Battery life has been about 90 mins.

I really like this action cam. It has great quality but I would not say as good as a GoPro. However, it is not near the price of a GoPro.Pros:1. Awesome Size.2. Magnet sticks to anything. I put it on top of my truck and drove to pick up my kids. It did not come off even at 60 mph.3. Waterproof case works perfect.4. Very durable and a great size.Cons:1. Must use Quicktime to view the videos. Otherwise, it is jumpy and the sound does not match up.2. Sound is just OK.3. Lens gets dirty easily.4. Cannot put on a tripod as it does not have a tripod screw.Overall, I would buy this agin

this camera is really simple to use and the directions in the manual are pretty clear. the only bad thing is that you have to have a 32 gb microSD card because that is all it supports. we bought a 64 for $20 because we didn't know how much it supported so now we have to buy another SD card that is 32 gb.

As a lot of others have said, "Don't compare it to a GoPro.I am well pleased with the Cube at the cost I paid for it. To keep it simple, I will list the pros and cons.Pros:Lite and easy to use.Magnet base is a plusWide angle lens is very clearCons:Really, the only con is the price. I use it to film rc aircraft flights and for this purpose it is great. The cost should be more on the line of $60.00.Read this part, IMPORTANT.When I first played the files in QuickTime they were very jerky. I read about problems with SanDisk and tried a couple more brands. I still had the same problem. I contacted Polaroid support and received a reply the next day. I explained the problem persisted in both speeds.It was suggested I try another program and different size disc.I downloaded VLC (free) and the problem was solved. The microphone is a little weak but I really don't need the sound. I will go ahead and buy the Pro version since it was so easy to use. It wasn't the disc or the camera as many have posted. It was QuickTime. Make sure you use FAT32 for your files and the disc is new.Would I buy another one? Yes, but not at the current price.

Bought this Ion camera for recording my paintball games.This camera is quite good for the price.The recording quality is usable, not amazing but good enough for what I wanted it for.Do not expect Go Pro 5 video quality for this price range.It's really easy to use, just turn on and start recording, stop recording without looking at your camera, one button slide.The smartphone app is not the best, but it's easy to use. The live view has some delay on it and you can not watch live view while recording.One bad point is that the camera lens/sensor does not rotate, I wanted to mount this camera by the side of my mask on the mounting bracket but realized the image was going to be sided.I do recommend this camera for budget project or really extreme sports you want to experiment on, without risking a 500$ camera.

it has been recording in 2 different formats... and idk how to make it just record in one format... its like a cellphone format and a full hd wide screen format. needless to say its hard to sort thru them and match up the hd footage to make a full length video. the hd looks amazing.. the other format is horrible.. to the point of it being actually pointless as a current format. but all and all it will be useful to use simply and another camera. and the fact that it doesn't cost 400 dollars is a huge plus.. I have a hero 3 black and I love it but way to expensive for non pro usage. BUT and this is big... it is NOT compatible with the go pro clips or mounts.. it has a screw on slide at the bottom that simply doesn't fit the go pro stuff... also it took me a while to find mounts I think would work do to the size and the mounting screw that pokes out from the bottom of the slide mount. I hope they improve greatly and come out with better newer models.. id buy again if it was more universal with go pro dimensions. kind of a no brainer.. don't understand why they would have made it non-compatible.... and say that it is when clearly I have both and its it not.

I have not found anything better than this for such a low price, but there are real limitations. The camera does capture 1920x1080 video when oriented properly but if it is rotated 90 degrees to either side the video is 608x1080 instead of the expected 1080x1920.The available mounts are fairly flimsy feeling plastic and I doubt they will hold up well.I bought this hoping that I would get good enough images to read license plates on cars if I encounter problems while riding my bicycle but so far I have not found a way of mounting the camera in a way that allows it to get that much detail with any reliability.

love this due to the fact that once you turn it on it will automatically shoot video, I hate the other ones I have that after you turn it on and wait for a second then you have to hit record. with this just turn the switch to on and point it and it will record after you turn the switch to off it will have a couple of minutes before it powers off so if you need to shoot more video powering on is not needed, it automatically shuts off too after a couple of minutes after you shoot the video. tested this under water and it worked flawlesly, downgraded my review due to bottom screw for tripos is plastic and now its messed up, i have another one that water got into it less than 3 months and first time underwater and i tried to get a warranty thing and the seller wont even do it and ion company does not respond to my emails

Okay, I'm writing this before I've seriously put the camera though the paces, so these are my initial thoughts. First, for point of reference, I'm a software engineer with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Out of the box, the camera was easy to get up and running. Initial video quality seems good, and the audio is about what I would expect from a body mounted microphone.As for the wifi interface and the app, the interface is seemingly simple, I have yet to get the camera to connect with my Samsung Note 5. It's easy to discover the camera, but I am unable to achieve a connection. If you go over to the Google app site, you'll find that a good majority of the reviews indicate that this is pretty common place. From much of what I've read, the app's best use is for verifying mounting/aiming. Secondary use would be for quick/remote upload of video.What is most troubling is the inconsistent documentation. Despite the fact that the camera is simple enough to use, I was a bit put off by the fact that included manual is missing information. Further, if you visit the website, the instructional videos direct you to other web sites which no longer exist. Ironically, the opening line in the video is "at Ion, we are continually trying to improve our products". On the main Ion site (versus the site mentioned in the video) there is a downloads section under support, however, I was unable to locate anything for the wifi pod or the Air Pro Lite.Now, despite all of this, the wifi is really a matter of convenience and the documentation/support may or may not be an indication of things to come. I am eager to mount the camera and do some actual recording. If the record times are sufficient, and the video quality is good, for the price I would still consider this a good purchase. I will also continue to investigate the wifi connectivity.

For what I paid (I got this thing dirt cheap), I'm happy with what I got:- Really good graphic quality- Very easy operation- Easy to carry aroundIt does have its issues though:- Setup can be a pain. If you want your videos and pictures to have the correct date/time stamp, you need to connect your camera to a computer and run a setup utility.- It needs semi-frequent resets...on days when I really have my heart set on recording sometimes I'll flip the camera on and get that never-ending vibration that tells you you need to find a paperclip and reset the thing- It needs frequent recharging...case in point, sometimes I like to video my bike commute to work, which is about 45 minutes. On the return trip if I don't recharge, I get maybe two, three minutes of juice.- This is advertised as a helmet cam. You get a decent number of accessories, including a wifi adapter. You also get a mounting kit that will seemingly help you easily mount the camera on your handlebars (and it works very well, just takes a LONG time to tighten the thing!) and the mount will work with seemingly EVERYTHING including your pet duck...EXCEPT YOUR HELMET. You need to buy a separate mounting bracket for your helmet EVEN THOUGH THIS IS ADVERTISED AS A HELMET CAMERA!- Having said that, the mounting bracket is metal, but the mount on the camera itself is plastic. If you're lucky, this will last you maybe ten uses before you strip the thread and have to hack in your own metal nut.But seriously, it seems like I have more complaints than positives, but the truth is, I'm still glad I have this camera. For what I paid (which must have been a "discontinued product" price) I feel I got a really, really good deal.HEADS-UP TO MAC USERS: To run the Mac software, you need to visit Ion's web site and download the Mac software. DO NOT RUN THE MAC SOFTWARE FROM YOUR COMPUTER: you will get error messages saying the camera isn't connected. YOU NEED TO RUN THE SOFTWARE FROM THE MEMORY CARD THAT IS IN YOUR CAMERA. And your camera must be connected. And the memory card must be in your camera. I've seen a lot of people trash this camera because they couldn't get the Mac software running, but if they would only READ THE DOCUMENTATION, they'd understand why it wouldn't work!!

So far I really like the quality of the camera. Be warned the SanDisk micro SD card recommended with this is not compatible. Battery life is less than an hour which is a bummer but works great other than that.

A little hard to turn off and on, very small indicator light is hard to see in the sunshine. I have taken rides , pulled it out and found it wasn't filming.☹️ The video is fine, better than many I've tried, but the sound could use some work. But what do you expect for a cube about an inch and a half cubed.

I had high hopes for this camera but I was kind of let down once I started using it.I bought this camera as a cheaper alternative to the gopro hero. I debated between the two for a good while and decided on the Cube for two reasons: 1. the size and 2. the price.For $100 the Cube is a decent action cam. For casual video and photos it works well. The magnet on the bottom is useful but not as much as you would think. I found myself wanting a magnet on the side as well. The video can be flipped so mounting the camera upside down is not an issue.My biggest issue with the camera is the image quality. Unless you are outside in bright sun, the image quality is sub par. When shooting in bright situations the image is good enough.If I had to do it over again I would shell out a little more and go for a gopro. The size of the gopro is larger but the better image quality is worth it.

Image quality is PISS POOR on this camera. There s NO WAY this qualifies as HD. If you want sharp images pick a Go Pro. Having said that, this IS a neat little gadget, takes passable quality video, and fits ANYWHERE. The accessories for it are interesting, but the tripod mount does NOT secure the camera adequately (helmet, strap and bike mount all secure in the same way, so those aren't going to be all that great either)......to secure the camera properly you need to combine the tripod mount and the underwater case, but then the volume is heavily muffled by the underwater case (and the volume is slightly muffled to begin with). Magnet is a great idea....the Cube can be stuck directly to a car to capture some really dynamic video that will, unfortunately, be making you wish it was in true HD.

My cube arrived damaged it seems because the image quality was horrible and banded. Upon unboxing the cube I noticed one edge of the black area around the lens was not flush to the surface around it - that should have been my first clue. Nevertheless I took a few pics and video only to plug in and find that something was pretty jacked up. Returned the cube as defective and I'm uncertain I'll order a replacement.That being said, the magnet is indeed incredibly strong and the cube itself is a neat size and cool gadget, just not sure how much use I'd get out of it since it technically isn't waterproof either.

Received a lemon.When it worked, it was great, I can see it as something I would use a lot. Unfortunately, it worked once. I tried 3 different memory cards to make sure. After sufficient charging time (first time out of the box, no power), it would make the power on noises (occasionally), but never do anything else when pressed. After numerous attempts of making the "power on" beeps, and card switching, I was finally able to take one picture + one video, the short experience of which was really cool! -immediately after I turned it off, it stopped working again.Magnet, feature I liked, also was strong enough for low speeds on cars (outside), not a super magnet, but practicalSeemed durable enough for tossing around during activitiesI would give it a two star, because I didn't even get to use it really, but I'm guessing it was a dud. And two star ='s I don't like it. Which I don't.Great product idea, but needs to work on quality control.

Does not include the helmet mount as it states on the product description. Can't really even use this because that was the sole purpose of purchasing this item. Considering a return.

Ugh! was so hopeful for this product! its got a nice Metal body that seems rugged, BUT WHY DOES IT HAVE PLASTIC TRIPOD THREADS!? This camera has such potential, but it being an action cam and most people planning to mount it, it fails miserably because of the plastic tripod threads. They stripped the first time I used it, and I was being gentle! Had to return it, this product is useless without tripod threads! If it werent for that this would have gotten a lot higher rating! It got at least 2 stars from me because out of the box, the video quality and audio seemed decent for the price!

This is a pretty good camera for the money, but don't expect any support. All trace of documentation and support for this camera has been erased from the company website. A chat with the help desk on their site said "We are working on getting the documentation and support files for this discontinued product back on our site as soon as possible."Well... I've been looking for support for over a month and it's still not there, so whenever they get around to it doesn't help me now, and it won't help you either. This product was introduced at the end of 2015. That's a year and a half and they drop all support for it. That gives me little confidence in the newer products they're now pushing. I won't buy anything new from a company that won't support a product that I bought new 3 months ago.That said, this camera does take pretty good video and it IS waterproof as it says.

I used it for the first time on my bicycle yesterday. It records video quite well, and takes great pictures. I read a review saying it was better than then GoPro but I don't own one and can't make the comparison. It doesn't feel cheap, and pretty solidly constructed. I'm planning on purchasing the mount kit to attach it to my bicycle helmet.So far, my only gripe is the app you can install on your smartphone isn't very friendly with android. You're supposed to be able to sync it to your phone and then either send file to your phone or upload them to social media, but it won't do that on my Samsung Galaxy S7 active. It will sync to it and you can use the remote feature to take pictures and record video through it, and also view them.So far, I'm pleased with it, and will continue to use it. I may get one for my son if this one holds up.Update on review-7-4-17-well, I was riding my bike yesterday, and after almost 2 months of use, the threads inside the camera that screw onto the handlebar mount came out. The camera itself is ok, and still functions, but I can't attach it to my bike. I wonder if the manufacturers are looking into this. I'll continue to use it to take pictures and video, but I'm pretty disappointed in the quality aspect is this regard. I gave this thing 5 stars at first, but now just 2.

Picked up two of these, using them offshore on my kayak.Pros:; They're cheep, housing seems strongCons: Quality of vid is marginal, forget the Wi-Fi featureOther that the fact that their cheaper than some of the other cameras so if one goes overboard no big deal. I just want some vids or pics of my fish no big deal so their ok, in hindsight I think I would have been happier with an older used Go Pro.If you're a camera buff or want to make some real vids this isn't for you.

I had to give it only 2 stars because the product was defective and I had to return it. I do think it is a great camera for the price though. Had it worked properly I would of definitely kept it. two problems it had. 1. left it charging overnight and the battery would not charge past 64% (or so)2. Mounted the camera in my car to try it out and in less than 10 minutes, you couldn't even touch the camera anymore, it was EXTREMELY hot.I'm assuming both these issue are basically a bad battery issue and I just got a bad camera. But al in all , Don't be afraid to buy this camera. It's actually pretty nice for the price

don't like

Records videos in QuickTime format. My Win 7 pro machine with Wind-Media plays the video but with no sound. I thought the cube was broken out of the box. If I use quicktime or a 3rd party player, I can hear the sound. 2nd problem. The sound plays out of sync with the video. Like watching a bad foreign film. Can't imagine using this for actual action filming. I like the simple design, but they came up way short on quality. If they fix these issues, maybe 2nd generation would be worth it, but this 1st generation. D minus

I found that my regular USB - micro USB cables won't work. But the really short one that came with it does work. A sign of poor design.. . Equally annoying is that I can't find anywhere how big a memory card to use before the internal battery runs out. And that you have to buy a memory card but some don't work.So it is an expensive guessing game.. A suction mount for $39.95 ! 40% of the camera cost. Outrageous. I made a suction mount from a Transcend drive Pro mount. It t does take decent (but not great) pictures. I would not buy this Cube again

I wrote a pretty bad review of this camera -- see below... but I have since spoken with Polaroid's excellent customer service, which can be reached here: http://www.polaroid.com/support and some of the issues I had were the result of the SD Card not being inserted properly.... in fact, I had not been taking any videos at all, and the reason I couldn't see the camera when I hooked it to my computer was that the card was not inserted properly. I had tried to insert the card but it never really clicked into the device, so I thought you just had to put the cap back on in order to use it. Turns out you have to use your fingernail to insert the tiny card all the way into the slot deep enough for it to click in (pushing it in with just your finger doesn't work).So, while some of the issues with this camera still remain, I will update the review once I actually can see some of the videos. I will say that the usability of this camera is lacking and the manual does not give enough details for users to figure out how to use it properly. The ON / OFF / Video On / Camera On / Video Off / Camera Off functions are a bit cumbersom due to the one step button: OnON: Hold the multifunction button for three seconds. You’ll hear three beeps and the LED will blink green. All set!OFF: Hold multifunction button for three seconds. You’ll hear a two second beep, followed by a single short beep. Power is off.STILL PHOTOS: Press the multifunction button once. You’ll hear a beep and the LED will blink red once.VIDEO: Double press the multifunction button. You’ll hear two beeps and the LED will blink red until you stop recording. To stop recording, press the button once again. You’ll hear a single beep and the LED will blink green.-------ORIGINAL REVIEWSI've had some time to play around with this camera by now, and though I haven't yet been able to view any video that I've taken so far -- and not even sure that it's recorder any video so far -- I have had enough experience with this camera to write a review of it. Impressions:1) It's extremely frustrating not to be able to view any video on the camera itself, so you have no idea if it's recording, or what you recorded, and you can't even frame your shot2) I never quite not what the camera is doing -- you press the button and nothing happens. If you hold it down for a while a green light comes on... or a flashing orange light. Press the button again and nothing happens.3) The camera is somewhat useless without any kind of mounting bracket or hardware so be prepared to spend more money. I was going to use it as a little dash cam for my car, but it doesn't just sit on the dash -- kind of bounces around, so I'd have to buy a suction cup device. I also wanted to use it on my bike, but the magnet doesn't stick -- wrong metal I guess, so I'd have to get yet another mount for the bike. Soon it will be a $200 little camera.4) It comes with an extremely short and tiny USB. I had put the little SanDisk Ultra 32 GB micro SD card in the camera -- it doesn't seem to snap in or catch or anything. I guess you have to just push it down with the cover and hope that it's in far enough?? I'm still not sure if the card is in correctly. [SEE ABOVE - TURNS OUT YOU HAVE TO USE YOUR FINGERNAIL TO INSERT IT QUITE FAR INTO THE SLOT TIL IT CLICKS IN]5) When I plug the camera into my computer's USB, nothing happens -- I mean the computer beeps like there's a new device, but no new device ever shows up on the computer, so there seems to be no way to access the videos, if there are any. [TURNS OUT THE CARD WAS NOT INSERTED ALL THE WAY]6) Since researching all this, a lot of people say that the Cube DOESN'T WORK WITH THE SD CARD THAT AMAZON RECOMMENDS BUYING FOR IT! What?? Apparently a lot of people are having trouble making the camera work with the SanDisk ULTRA SDHC memory card -- I purchase this one when Amazon indicated it's that these two items should be bought together (it doesn't come with a card):SanDisk Ultra 32GB UHS-I/Class 10 Micro SDHC Memory Card Up to 48MB/s With Adapter- … [AFTER SPEAKING WITH SUPPORT, THEY SAID THAT USED TO BE AN ISSUE, BUT IS NOT AN ISSUE ANYMORE. ONCE MY CARD WAS INSERTED ALL THE WAY IT SEEMED TO WORK]I bought this in December, and am now just getting around to trying to use it again, since I was never able to use it as I had intended, and I haven't bought any new accessories because I don't even know if it works. It's not very user friendly.

The design looks good at the beginning. Then when you buy the accessories you realize that it is only design to work correctly when the cube is mounted on top of something. You can't mount it in front of a surface, it has to be over.It would be great if you can manipulate the angle from where you are planing to capture a video. Unfortunately all the accessories are designed only to be attach at the bottom of the cam. The don't work from behind or the sides.

Well, I was pretty excited about this, so maybe my expectations were set a bit high, but this cool looking item was a let down for me.First, at least when I bought it, I had to buy accessories for it direct from Polaroid, as no one was yet selling any of the cases or mounts or holders, so that was a bit of a drag, and I don't know why Polaroid would not release accessories for general sale along with the Cube itself. Doesn't make much sense.In any event, got some accessories, waited for the Cube, specifically for a trip actually, and it arrived the night before. It's definitely small, and is aptly named, as it is about the size of an ice cube.I wasn't too pleased with the access port -- you have to keep a coin or something handy at all times, because, in order to adjust settings or access the memory card, you have to unscrew the back piece. Seems it would be more wise to simply have that set up differently, since, considering that it is an action camera, it seems likely one might forget to have an implement handy at all times, such as going swimming or something, so that seems a bit poorly planned.The magnet mount is cool, but only if you have a metal surface for it to stick to, and, again, the fact that it ships without any other mounting option is a drawback, since you wind up shelling out another forty bucks or so to get a few mounting options, making it more like $135 to $145, depending on what you pay to acquire additional mounts. And, again, as an action cam, one might consider that there aren't a lot of metal surfaces if one is out hiking, for example, or fishing or whatever, so that is another point of puzzlement, in terms of being user friendly.As far as video or picture quality, well, I never had the chance to find out. I turned it on, the LED lights did not work, or didn't work in sequence with how they were said to work, and, in trying to make a first video, the Cube emitted a high pitch sound, the lens clouded up, the device got super hot, I could smell burning, and that was the end of it. It completely fried itself and died.So, I am sending it back.Considering all the other drawbacks of it, I won't be trying another one, especially since Go Pro has just released a base model of their famed Hero cameras, starting at $130, already in a waterproof case with mounting options, plus access to all of their epic editing software. Like the Cube, it also has no preview screen, but it's evident that one is getting a lot more for the dollar, and they have a long history of quality and customer satisfaction, so I would assume their new entry level device is equally awesome.So, too bad I received a lemon -- hopefully others can try it out, but, despite getting a factory defective one, having seen the limits of it, I think Polaroid needs to put some more thought into this, rather than just rely on it being a cool looking little device. It needs to deliver on what it claims to do, for it to be a serious contender. Otherwise, especially considering the new price point from Go Pro, then Polaroid should just consider this more of a novelty item, and charge about forty bucks.In it's present state, I can't say it's worth it.I do not recommend.

My Daughter was wearing this when she was involved in an accident, a car crossed the road she was riding on and she T-Boned him.. when I tried to review the footage to see what happened.. all the MP4's were corrupted and irretrievable.. So in conclusion,,, the ONE TIME I needed this camera to do it's job.. it crapped out on us.. I would recommend that you look for another camera that will be able to withstand some sort of shock without destroying the footage.

Good camera, decent function, but 1-star for me as the mounting is not compatible with the basic go pro type mounts. It includes a mount but was planning on mounting it on a helmet. The mount it includes is plastic. WiFi range is acceptable but ony about 20 feet line of sight. It is well made, fairly rugged, mostly metal and glass, easy to use, software is acceptable.

I got the camera for Christmas and wanted to take it under water and so I did and let it dry out and everything. I moved the next day so I got my hands on it 2 days later but when I went to charge it I saw that it was all rusty inside and out because of water damage and I made damn sure that everything was lock tight

 Received it as a late birthday gift back in Jun this year, about 6 months ago now, being it was in my wish list. Used it a few times, recording my daughter in her bicycle cart, this summer. Video quality was excellent, awesome features, but the audio was pretty bad. Very quiet, tinny and would have sharp high pitched chirps. The main reason I wanted it was for snowmobiling, so I bought a number of mounting kits for it. Problem is I used it one last time with it suctioned to the front of my daughters sled, pulling her around in the snow for about 5 minutes, and as I turned it off, it would not stop buzzing. It did that for at least 5 minutes straight till I found something to hit the reset button. So I tired to turned it on again, same thing. Tried it on and off thought the day, and finally just let buzz till it died. Checked it in the morning, it just started buzzing again. Right now I have it drained to the point where it buzzes for 2 seconds, and nothing, but 10 minutes later, you can get it to buzz another 2 seconds. If you plug it in, it charges, but once you hit the power button or record switch, it just buzzes continuously. Not sure what to do. I can't register it for a repair, as I don't have a receipt, being it was a gift. Asked for the amazon receipt from my mother in law that bought it, and she is pretty computer illiterate, so ya three weeks have passed and I am doubting I will ever get it. So now I have a non working camera, used less than 5 times, over about 5 months, that now only vibrates.

An absolute piece of garbage with abysmal customer service. Mine worked fine for a couple of weeks and then started shutting itself off after a few minutes. I returned it (RMA authorized) and it fell into a black hole. I called repeatedly and was told it would be replaced, but no one could tell me when. Finally, after 2 1/2 months it showed up in the mail. I fully charged it, and it recorded for 8:02 minutes Then it shut itself off. Now it won't recharge at all, and it doesn't show up when connected to my computer. It gives a reassuring buzz when I push the power button, but the LED does nothing. Maybe I can just use it as a vibrator. I don't think they did anything other than put it in an envelope and mail it back to me. Avoid this piece of junk.

Camera failed after just 6 mths. I contacted customer service n they gave me instructions to reformat my SD card. My SD card was formatted per instructions. It just stopped working one day. I paid for 2 yr insurance also n nobody wants to fix or replace this camera. So I missed getting pics n video on my vacation, the reason I bought the camera. Until customer service steps up, I would buy elsewhere.

I bought this camera on Amazon and the first time I used it, the battery will not hold a charge. Also, my "return window" at Amazon has expired, so I am stuck with a paperweight.

My camera came out off the box, and it doesn't record sound, I can't find a way to fix it, support doesn't help either

My cube was returned due to problems with it abruptly powering off in the middle of recording with an empty 32 GB micro SD card and a full charge. When powering back on, I could verify that the battery was still near full and the card nowhere near its capacity.My reasons for not exchanging for a replacement were not only due to the shear frustration of a defective unit, in comparison to the GoPro Session, the cube does not hold any benefits apart from its price. Below is my list of why I believe the GoPro Session is the better choice. Where the cube is not, the GoPro Session is...- Waterproof, great for snow and water sports- More and higher quality accessories, most of the cube accessories are very lacking- Integrated WiFi allows you to view your camera on your phone, exceptionally helpful when mounting on your helmet

Mine worked 4 times ONLY then i couldn't use it again. it just won't turn on or off or recharge. DONT BUY IT. I bought all the accessories after getting the camera, I wasted more money and time in something I could not even use more than three times. I wanted the Cube to use in my trips. So, It's very disappointing that a company that is so traditional and with so many years of making cameras doesn't know how to handle situations like this. I'm a client telling them that their product worked less than a month. I did a research on google and saw more people complaining about the same thing as me. That tells me Polaroid knows there is a problem, but instead of solving it and keeping the clients happy, the company prefers sweep the dirt under the rug.I had high hopes that this could reliably be part of my camera package covering mixed martial arts events globally. Sadly it seems that it's not the case. I won't ever ask for or buy a Polaroid product again! If you want to buy a Polaroid Cube don't waste your money and time! It's not worth it!

I really have no idea if the camera works or not because I tried to use the advertised Sandisk with it and it wouldn't work. I emailed Polaroid and this is the response I got:"Unfortunately, it has recently come to our attention that Sandisk Ultra brand cards specifically are not functioning properly with the Polaroid Cube. I am very sorry for the inconvenience. We have only just become aware of the issue. Please try another microSD card in the device that is up to 32GB and a class 10 speed.Try this out and see if this fixes the issue for you.Regards,CAuthorized Polaroid Service Provider"The camera may or may not be all right but I don't think Amazon should be advertising the Sandisk with it.

Terrible directions. Trying to figure it out still. looked on website for directions :(