Polaroid: This Time It's Digital

MrSeb writes "Long before Facebook and Twitpic, photos were shared by simply handing someone a print. No camera made this easier than the once-ubiquitous Polaroid. Nothing represented instant gratification better in the film era than having a print develop before your eyes, ready to hand out in a minute. Unfortunately for Polaroid, the advent of digital photography sounded the death knell for its iconic instant print cameras. A brief reprieve in the form of inexpensive sticker-printing versions was ended by the cellphone camera revolution. Now, after a decade in remission, Polaroid has returned with a full-up digital camera that incorporates instant printing technology. The Polaroid Z340 is a 14MP digital with an integrated Zink-enabled (Zero Ink) printer. In a nostalgic touch, the new camera prints 3×4-inch images, the same size as the original Polaroid film cameras. Remarkably, all this fits in a one-pound, seven-ounce package, about the same weight as a mid-range DSLR."

Comments

Missing the point.

[Ethanol-fueled]

You're missing the point. With the total lack of privacy online and the risk of leakage of so-called "private" pictures, it's about time for a camera that can print real pictures on impulse.

A real-life example - many years ago, My girlfriend and I used a Polaroid to manufacture child pornography of ourselves and some of our friends (we were all 15 at the time). It was a crime most heinous, but high-school kids don't deserve to be charged and have their lives ruined because of it.

But Ethanol, why not just have them printed at a drugstore?

I was a film developer at a drugstore. All images are archived (yes, even at the "print your own" kiosks) and every picture on a roll of film is seen by the developer, because we have to manually correct for CMY, density, and a host of other factors for maximum customer satisfaction - which means that your trick of taking a few "normal" pics followed by a bunch of nudes and finally more "normal" pics doesn't keep your dirty secrets from us. Fortunately, I saw a lot of nudes but never saw anything questionable.

Re:What about a film polaroid

[icebike]

Not only are some trying it, but Polaroid is not alone.

The linked site contains a link to Zero Ink, which shows other products on the market.
Some of them, like the Tomy Xaio look a little more appealing than the Polaroid.
http://www.zink.com/TOMY-xiao

I suspect there is a market for this, but probably not in digitally savvy countries where
everyone has a smartphone and can email the picture and put it on facebook before the
Polaroid can even print out a single copy.

Presumably these devices retain a digital image, so that capability may be added
just in time for the whole idea to go bust again.