polaroid

Polaroid Shows Off Instagram Logo Lookalike ‘Socialmatic’ Camera at Photokina

The long-awaited Polaroid 'Socialmatic' -- a square camera that looks like the Instagram app logo (which was, of course, inspired by a Polaroid camera in the first place) -- is one step closer to an official release. And now that Polaroid brought some prototypes with them to Photokina, the unwieldy digital instant camera is starting to look more and more like a potential flop.

Why Polaroid’s Cube Action Cam is Special

Shopping for an action camera is like shopping for adhesive bandages: you either buy Band-Aids ... or you pick up something  called "Aid Plus Bandages" because they're on sale. And when you bring them home, you just call them Band-Aids anyway.

Documentary Takes an Intimate Look at the Last Year of the Polaroid Instant Era

The latter years of the first decade of the 20th century were by no means glorious ones for The Polaroid Corporation. Filing for bankruptcy multiple times, the company ultimately decided to kill off its instant camera business in 2007, with the death of their instant film coming not long after in 2008. And while the demise of Polaroid’s instant film era is a sad one, it went out strong.

Thankfully, first-time filmmaker Grant Hamilton was there to capture the last year of Polaroid’s existence as we will almost always know it. Broken up into three acts, Time Zero: The Last Year of Polaroid Film tells the story of Polaroid’s last year through the eyes of the artists who shot the film, the dying days of instant film production and the idea and start of what was rightly deemed The Impossible Project.

Polaroids, Holgas & Medium Format: Matt Georges’ Different Approach to the Slopes

While most of the outdoor winter sports photography you see is as clean and crisp as the snow itself, photographer Matt Georges goes for a more moody feeling while out on the slopes. His work with the Polaroid, Holga, and medium format film creates a unique look at the life of the thrill seekers out there.

Although not a formally trained photographer, Matt has been in the photo world most of his adult life, photo-editing for ski magazines, and working his way up to senior in-house photographer. Read on to hear about his technique using these films, his background, and more.

New55 FILM Hopes to Kickstart The Re-Production of 4×5 Instant Sheets

Noticing the successful efforts of both Lomography and The Impossible Project, inventor Bob Crowley has been inspired to take his own dive into the niche market of the re-creation of discontinued analog films. He and his team at New55 FILM have created a Kickstarter in hopes of funding the start up of 4x5 instant film production.

Using a 20×24-inch Polaroid to Take Honest Portraits of Movie Stars

Created by Polaroid in 1976, the 20x24-inch instant camera is one of the most unusual and massive pieces of photographic history you can get your hands on (if you're lucky enough... or have the dough). Fortunately for those of you who want to see the cam in action, photographer Chuck Close managed to do just that in a series of images for Vanity Fair's 20th Hollywood issue.

Crowd Sourcing Innovation: The Polaroid Socialmatic Story

From a design concept to a crowd-funding campaign to a product backed by a major brand, the Polaroid Socialmatic represents an alternative to traditional product development methods. Is crowd-sourced innovation the shakeup that the photography industry needs?

Polaroid Ups Its Action Camera Game With Sporty New Models

Oh GoPro, the action cam crown must rest uneasy on thy sweaty brow. CES has been flush with announcements of new entrants in the wearable camera market, and now Polaroid joins the scrum with a handful of new models. (All manufactured by Polaroid licensee and troubled asset specialist C&A Marketing.)

Polaroid’s iM1836 Mirrorless ILC is No More Thanks to Nikon Lawsuit

The Polaroid iM1836 has had a rough go of it since it first burst onto the scene at last year's CES. Nobody seemed to think the camera was anything to write home about, and its similarity to Nikon's 1-Series cameras was undeniable.

So undeniable, in fact, that earlier this year, Nikon filed a lawsuit to try to get the iM1836 pulled from the shelves. Yesterday, they succeeded.

Nikon Sues Polaroid, Claims the iM1836 Infringes on the Design of the 1 Series

It's not uncommon for cameras to look similar in this day and age. Even the Sony A7 and A7r, which haven't even been released yet, are being described as "OM-D-like" by rumor sites. But at what point does "similarity" cross the line to "infringement."

Well, if you need an example, just take a look at Polaroid's iM1836, because Nikon is filing a lawsuit against the company and camera manufacturer Sakar International over just that.

Blast From The Past: Classic Commercial for the Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera

One month ago today, the Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera -- a camera that TIME's own Harry McCracken called "the greatest gadget of all time" -- celebrated its 41st birthday. When it came out it was absolutely revolutionary, and to get the word out, Polaroid put together a few ads to show off the instant shooter.

Hacking an Old Polaroid Big Shot So That It Syncs with Modern Day Flashes

A lot of people love the "vintage look" in photography these days.

Of course, it's one thing is to capture it with the plethora of software readily available -- or by applying "vintage filters" (like the ones on Instagram) to a digital image -- and it's another thing entirely to get old technology to work for us today and create photographs just like we would have done 30, 40 or even 100 years ago.

The Joys of Instant Photography

A few months ago, I was in Los Angeles and grabbed coffee with my friend Eric Steelberg. Eric's a talented cinematographer and mentioned a piece of gear he wanted me to check out. Expecting the latest digital gadget to appear out of his bag, I was surprised to see him pull out a large brick of a camera that I'd never seen before. It was a Polaroid 180 Land Camera from the 1970s.

Andy Warhol’s 1986 SX-70 Polaroid Land Camera Selling on eBay for $50,000

Iconic artist Andy Warhol is a legend in the arts community. The Andy Warhol Museum -- which contains a massive archive of his creations -- is actually the largest US museum dedicated to a single artist.

But one thing the museum doesn't have that you could -- assuming you have about $50K in spare change hidden under you couch cushions -- is Andy Warhol's personal SX-70 Polaroid Land Camera.

How to Make Polaroid Emulsion Lifts

Earlier this year I tried Polaroid emulsion lifts for the first time. An emulsion lift (or emulsion transfer) is when the emulsion layer is removed from a sheet of instant film and then transferred to a different surface.

I’ve always thought they would be hard to do and was surprised at how easy and fun it was, so I thought I’d put together a little step by step guide to making instant film lifts!

This LEGO OneStep Instant Camera Can Eject a Tiny Polaroid Picture

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada-based photographer Chris McVeigh is incredibly good at building camera replicas with LEGO pieces. Last month we featured his LEGO recreation of the Leico M9-P Hermes rangefinder camera.

Now McVeigh (who goes by the name "Powerpig" online), is back with a beautiful new camera creation. This time he has built a Polaroid OneStep SX-70 Rainbow instant camera.

34-Year-Old Actress Photographed Using Instant Film That Expired 34 Years Ago

Fine art and portrait photographer Edouard Janssens -- the man behind the 1 to 100 years project we featured some time ago -- recently decided that he wanted to begin using large-format instant film to shoot an art series of "eerie" portraits. In order to do this, he had to painstakingly acquired several pieces of expensive gear, and during this search he stumbled on one very special find: a box of 8x10 Polaroid instant film that had expired in October of 1978.

Socialmatic Camera to Arrive in the Real World with Polaroid Branding

A few months back we shared the news that, assuming Instagram's trademark lawyers didn't get ahold of it first, the Socialmatic camera would indeed be making an appearance IRL. And now, none other than Polaroid has stepped up to place its name on the Instagram icon turned physical camera.