polaroid

How to Make a Digital Polaroid Camera for Cheap Thermal Instant Photos

In this article, I'm going to tell you the story of my latest camera creation: a digital Polaroid camera that combines a receipt printer with a Raspberry Pi. To build it I took an old Polaroid Minute Maker camera, stripped out its guts, and replaced the innards with a digital camera, an E Ink display, a receipt printer, and an SNES controller to operate the camera.

Polaroid Founder Edwin Land Foresaw the Smartphone Camera in 1970

Polaroid founder Edwin Land was a visionary tech titan of his time, and as is common with pioneering entrepreneurs, Land had unusual foresight into where technology was headed. Here's a neat video from 1970 in which Land accurately predicts the coming age of smartphone cameras in everyone's pocket.

Failed Experiment: Shooting Wet Plate with a Mamiya 645 and Polaroid Film Back

Photographer Markus Hofstätter is known for pushing the art of wet plate photography in new and exciting ways, but... of course... it doesn't always work out. That's what happened in this video, where Hofstätter tries (and fails) to shoot wet plate photography with autofocus by putting a plate inside a Mamiya 645 AF AFD Polaroid Film Back.

Behind the Scenes: Shooting 8×10 Polaroids of Strangers

Film photographer and YouTuber Willem Verbeeck recently set out on a fun project that will appeal to portrait photographers, film lovers, Polaroid fans, and large format shooters alike. He teamed up with a camera store to shoot 8x10 polaroid portraits of strangers in Brooklyn.

This Guy Hacked an Old Polaroid to Print Instant Photos on Thermal Paper

Electrical engineering student Sam Zeloof recently created something really cool. Using his ample do-it-yourself skills and engineering knowledge, he retrofitted an old Polaroid camera with a Raspberri Pi and thermal printer, turning it into an instant digital camera that prints photos on receipt paper.

Polaroid Unveils Pocket-Sized Dye Sub Printer for Your Smartphone Snaps

Polaroid has officially unveiled its first product since the company reclaimed its original name and released the Polaroid Now back in March. Meet the Polaroid Hi-Print: a pocket-sized, bluetooth-enabled photo printed that uses dye sublimation to create 2x3-inch "stickable" prints from your smartphone snaps.

The Story of Edwin Land, and the Rise and Fall of Polaroid

Photographer Todd Dominey recently inherited a piece of photo history from his parents: an original Polaroid SX-70. This camera sent Dominey down the rabbit hole of instant photography history, as he discovered the story behind this world-shaking camera, and the man who invented it, Edwin Land.

How Polaroid Pioneered the Instant Photography Revolution

Photography has never been faster to made and share than in our modern "insta" era, but over half a century ago, it was American scientist Edwin Land and his company Polaroid that helped the industry take a giant step forward in speed and ease. PBS NewsHour just aired this 5-minute segment that looks at Polaroid's history and influence.

How Kodak Ruined Christmas: Creepy Ads, Lawsuits, and Dead Film Formats

In an entertaining holiday-themed video that's part educational and part "bah humbug," YouTuber Azriel Knight explains how Kodak managed to ruin Christmas for two decades of photographers. It's a fascinating story of schmaltzy ads, dead film formats, and a huge patent lawsuit that cost them almost $1 billion.

This Classic Polaroid SX 70 Ad is a Blast from Photography’s Past

If you're a fan of instant photography, Polaroid, or you just like the history of photography, you'll love this Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera ad that resurfaced online over the weekend. The 11-minute ad gives an in-depth look at every aspect of this iconic, folding instant film camera that is still beloved today.

Watch New Yorkers Get Surprised with Polaroid Street Photos of Themselves

Brooklyn-based photographer Josh Katz made this 11-minute video of a social experiment he did on the streets of New York City to "turn street photography on its head." Instead of shooting photos of strangers and walking away with the images, Katz shot Polaroids of people, handed them the picture to keep, and then tried to strike up conversations as the prints developed.

Polaroid Originals Announces the End of Spectra Instant Film

Polaroid Originals—the artist formerly known as The Impossible Project—made a sad announcement on its blog yesterday. After determining that the wide-format Polaroid Spectra cameras out in the wild "are now coming to the end of their useful lives," the company has decided to discontinue production of Spectra instant film.

The Polaroid Lab Transfers Your Digital Photos Onto Analog Instant Film

Polaroid Originals has released its latest product, and it's an instant printer... with a twist. Rather than just printing digital files, this so-called "miniature table top darkroom" actually turns digital files into analog prints by projecting your phone screen onto a piece of instant film.

How I Made a Digital Polaroid SX-70

I wanted to see if it was possible to turn a dead SX-70 camera into a functioning digital camera without significantly modifying it’s outward appearance. I had no idea if this was reasonably doable but I set out to give it a try.

openSX70: Teaching the Old Polaroid SX-70 New Tricks

Polaroid began to market the SX-70 camera in Florida in late 1972, about 46 years ago. The camera was a technology and design icon from day one, the brainchild of Dr. Edwin Land.

Polaroid Originals OneStep+ Adds Bluetooth and an Extra Lens

About a year after announcing the OneStep 2 Polaroid instant camera, Polaroid Originals (the company formerly known as The Impossible Project) has announced the new OneStep+. This latest i-Type camera is an improvement on the OneStep 2, adding Bluetooth and several other feature upgrades.

This Modified Polaroid Camera Prints Photos on Thermal Paper

Polaroid cameras are fun to use, but shooting high numbers of instant photos can get very expensive very quickly. Tim Alex Jacobs, known as mitxela online, recently solved this problem by modifying a standard Polaroid camera into an instant camera that prints photos on thermal paper (the kind used for receipts).

Fujifilm: Polaroid Demanding Millions Per Year for White Border on Instax

Fujifilm has filed a legal complaint in the US, accusing Polaroid of turning against the company and demanding millions of dollars in royalty payments per year for the use of its white borders on its new Instax Square instant film. Polaroid is allegedly threatening Fujifilm with a trademark lawsuit if it doesn't comply.