Smile, everyone: Polaroid employees bring back the instant camera
Filed under: Company News, Technology, People
The eight-track tape never got a second chance. But things are looking up for instant film, which last year seemed destined to follow the sound-recording technology into the history books. A Polaroid licensee, the Summit Global Group, said Tuesday it would be re-launching Polaroid brand instant cameras. That proves The Impossible Project (that group of Polaroid employees who leased the Polaroid factory and purchased the company's equipment in the Netherlands) is now entirely achievable. The licensee did not give a time frame for the relaunch. But The Impossible Project still says it is being commissioned to develop and launch a limited edition of Polaroid-branded film in mid-2010. "Large-scale production and worldwide sale of The Impossible Project's new integral film materials under its own brand will already start in the beginning of 2010 -- with a brand new and astonishing black and white Instant Film and the first color films to follow in the course of the year," says the press release.
I was one of many film nuts who saw Polaroid's mistake in the time it takes to develop one of the company's iconic photographs. Shutting down the instant film and camera business in February 2008 may have been pictured -- by the consultants and brand strategists -- as a graceful acquiescence to the inevitable annihilation of film by digital imaging.
But the tangible magic of film -- and most especially the not-quite-instantaneous revelation of an image from dark rectangles of photographic paper -- had an unusual meaning for many Polaroid aficionados. Polaroid lovers couldn't let go, scouring eBay (EBAY) for old film and stockpiling all that could be found. In an extraordinary move, some of them went so far as to purchase the assets of Polaroid's film production and pool their money to develop an entirely new, Polaroid-compatible instant film.
The story is a tale of victory for the power of consumer desire; in this case, fanatic and devoted artists and regular people who couldn't let the dream die. Between 1972, when Polaroid first began producing its instant cameras commercially, and 2000, when the company went through bankruptcy proceedings, 13 million instant cameras were sold. Many of them were celebrated, not just for their unusually gratifying functionality, but for their iconic design.
Artists and photographers loved the film for its ethereal look and cloudy, mystical color. Its quick output added to its appeal. Some photographers work mostly in Polaroid even today, stubborn holdouts against the modern pixelation of the art. Thanks to thousands of Polaroid fans who buy old Polaroid film off of eBay and post their work to Polanoid.net or weekly flickr groups -- and to modern digital developments like the Polaroidonizer -- demand hasn't gone away.
In a month in which Gourmet magazine was closed to much subscriber outcry, Polaroid's comeback represents a rare victory for actual customers who didn't want to see a beloved product sent to the graveyard of iconic objects. You wanted Polaroid instant cameras and film back: and you got it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-13-2009 @ 9:42PM
Alessandro Machi said...
the Lens matters. If a new camera is made, please include a nice lens. Check out these BW polaroids made with a 50's era polaroid camera that had a "real lens" along with an aperture ring.
http://www.super-8mm.net/8.html
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10-14-2009 @ 7:48AM
DEAN said...
Yea i love poloroid cameras i have had them for years. i like the instant pic if it is not what u want do it again. i am so glad i kept my old one hopei can get film again i used the film one and had them all the time with me. like what i saw.
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10-14-2009 @ 8:14AM
adamp said...
WHY NOT MAKE ONE THAT IS DIGITAL WITH INSTANT PICS?????
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10-14-2009 @ 2:14PM
colcam said...
"digital with instant prints" is limited by the digital capture system, the record and output system, the included printer, and the lens-- so a cheap ccd output to a chip and "attached or included print unit" hits all of the major issues with digital prints at once. The ccd that records the image in terms of pixel count, color handling, and exposure latitude is a major issue, and the reason that many "cheaper" digital camera don't produce acceptable images is the first issue, the way the image is compressed and recorded is another, and we can keep this up through the entire loop. Things just aren't as simple as they seem-- and the quality and care of the printer you use is the last straw. A fairly good image via a good processor-- your computer-- and an excellent printer-- different components, different places, adds up to a higher cost result.
10-14-2009 @ 8:43AM
KELLI2L said...
I still have my beloved Poleroid.....
Glad it won't be dying after-all. . . .
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10-16-2009 @ 1:00AM
deb said...
yeah!!!!!!!! I am thrilled !!! A true victory for all of us who love the immediate gratification of POLAROID PICURES !! I have two digital cameras' and I never print them off; their in computer chip land. My POLAROIDS' ARE IN MY DRAWERS AND IN ALBUMS AND IN OUR PURSES'!!!
I'll be the first on in line buying the film and then if they make new camers' (I have two others') a new POLAROID CAMERA !!!!!!!! I will never be a profressonal photographer, Just a mom/gramma with 'pictures in her hand to shw off immediately !!!!!!!!
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10-14-2009 @ 9:42AM
gomola said...
PLEASE COME BACK, THERE IS STILL A NEED FOR INSTANT PIC. AS I MADE A SUPER KALIDASCOPE AND MAKE MONEY WITH IT AT LOCAL EVENTS, AFTER ALL ONE PIC. AND THEY GET 19, ALL IN ONE SHOT OF THEIR FACE AND THEN I CHARGE THREE BUCKS, YOU GET TWO AND I GET ONE, AND I NEED A PARTNER LIKE YOU. DON'T PUT ME OUT OF BUSINESS, PLEASE BOB
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10-16-2009 @ 1:37AM
gomola said...
THANKS AGAIN. BOB
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10-14-2009 @ 9:48AM
Melanie said...
You should really watch your language. GROW UP! The camera would be great for older people because it isn't technical, like all the other cameras. Older Folks understand how to use it already.
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10-19-2009 @ 9:56PM
f16photo said...
What makes you think "younger" folks know anything about photography? Their instant digitals will go the way of the "instamatic"--right to a box in the closet. Age has nothing to do with it, knowledge does. Digital is just a means of capturing an image--it means nothing if you don't know photography. I've shot both and the digital camera fans spend more time on gadgets than they do on learning the medium. There is an artistry to Polaroid and it's strange color shifts, that digital cannot capture.
10-14-2009 @ 10:10AM
Donovan said...
I still have several Polaroid instant cameras, in like brand new condition. Hope Polaroid starts making the film packs again for my models. These cameras always worked very well, and took amazing photos. I always enjoyed having the ability to take, and have an (instant) picture.
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10-14-2009 @ 10:39AM
N. said...
GREAT.... I always loved my polaroid... IT's needed for so many special things...we used it at BIBLE SCHOOL to take pics of children & give them to them to take homje... on some kinds of projects.. Lots of those children only come to Bible School, so we don't see them again after the time we have it. I used mine for school events & other social things to give the person their picture "on the spot"... EASIER than carrying a copier around to make copies... SO, I'm glad it's coming back...
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10-14-2009 @ 11:35AM
Victor said...
I believe Polaroid had one of the best concepts in photo
history (I'm obviously a fan) BUT, through the years they
never seem to improve much on the picture quality and
I never seen one with the ability to take close-up shots.
I also hoped in the pass when they were in operation
that they would start making border-less pictures lets
face it pictures with a white frame these days are like
living in the stone age. Polaroid now has to compete
with digital camera information that can be downloaded
in a printer at home and the digital quality is great. But,
the key words for Polaroid is (at home) not instant and
on the go. If Polaroid really comes back and is serious
about dominating their instant photo industry they have
to do the following.
- Border-less digital quality pictures
- Make larger photos (4 x 6 in.)
- Incorporate close-up shot features
Thanks for letting me voice my opinion on an old friend-
Polaroid, hopefully they wake up and join the digital
age we live in....if they do I will be the first one on line
to buy it.
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10-14-2009 @ 2:20PM
colcam said...
Uh, Victor? Polaroid made 4x5 and 8x10 film-- but the camera needed to be that big, too. They sold well to the professional market, and I stocked up with film in the refrigerator for that reason. The quality of the Polaroid image is usually much higher than "digital quality" images, and if you have a top notch scanner and sample the images you'll find you can print very good to excellent images from their old pictures taken with $19.95 cameras.
10-14-2009 @ 11:57AM
Désiré said...
Nice Article SARAH :) ,
Hey is it possible to have another article that talks about any a more victories for actual customers who basically revived a product from being sent away.
Thank you.
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10-14-2009 @ 12:40PM
Mike said...
How about the employee buyback of Harley Davidson from a bowling ball manufacturer (AMF) who was killing the brand? Pretty much the same story except that I suspect Polaroid cameras won't enjoy the same success as HD has.
10-14-2009 @ 12:44PM
Mike said...
I sort of see the attraction to instant prints, but at the same time I don't. One thing I love about digital photography (apart from the ability to bracket my shots instantly and dispose of the crap without the expense of developing film) is I'm not saddled with crates of prints and negatives. I still have tons of old prints that I just can't throw away much as I'd love to. I had a Polaroid as a kid; it was sort of fun, but it took mediocre pictures and the film was really expensive. Plus, the camera body was huge and awkward to carry. I wouldn't have another one. Still, this is a heart-warming story and I'm glad to see Polaroid survive.
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10-14-2009 @ 1:32PM
Bill said...
Now if we can just do the same for kodachrome.
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10-14-2009 @ 2:24PM
colcam said...
I miss Kodachrome, too-- and I just finished my last rolls of Kodachrome25 and barely got them processed in time. The reaction of the first person who saw them was interesting. She took one look, scanned them at a true 6400dpi, took one look, and predicted this new product could change photography in way the digital world could not compete with. A box of slides from the mid fifties almost ruined her mind when she scanned them, too.
10-14-2009 @ 10:13PM
Tom said...
Anybody know where I can buy Polariod 600 film ? I am almost out. I bought a bunch of it in 2007 before they shut down but I need some more.
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