HP has finally given us what we’ve wanted for so long. A photo booth that is 1) portable and 2) doesn’t make you spend a fortune trying to get good shots. The HP Sprocket Photobooth unveiled at CES 2024 could be the next cool thing if its quality-related promises are kept.
Retailing in 2024, the Photobooth is HP’s latest Sprocket line of instant photo printers offering. While its predecessors allowed you to print pictures taken from your phone, this one offers all the bells and whistles of an actual photo booth: themed layouts, filters, LED lighting, and a countdown.
Unlike a regular photo booth that doesn’t show you what’s being captured, this one displays what’s in front of the camera on its 10.1-inch capacitive touch screen. You can customize the countdown timer so you don’t have to stress about getting a bad shot.
Printing on the Photobooth—like all other HP Sprocket printers—is ink-free. All you’d need to do is stock up on HP’s proprietary glossy sticky-backed Zink paper, which displays all the colors in your photos. In the Sprocket Photobooth’s case, your prints will be 3.5 inches by 4.25 inches.
While the Photobooth does boast itself on being portable, weighing around eight pounds and measuring about 20 by 13 inches, it’s not the kind of mobile that you could plop in your tote for a casual hangout or take to vacation with you in your already crammed luggage. It seems more suitable for special events such as birthdays, graduation, or weddings. Similarly, while its $US450 price is quite steep, at least it’s a one-time investment with returns that would keep coming for years.