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An instant camera with a modern take on retro photography
At a time when digital memories are a swipe away, instant film photography can feel tedious. But Impossible Project's I-1 camera makes the old school format feel new again. For its first instant camera, the German company that has been producing instant film for the past eight years repackaged the nostalgia of physical photographs in a contemporary box. The matte black exterior lends modernity to the camera that evokes memories of a Polaroid camera.
Impossible Project debuts its take on the Polaroid camera
The Impossible Project is releasing a new, old-timey instant camera on May 10th for people who want to be able to print their photos on the spot. It's called the I-1, and it works like Polaroid cameras of old, but with a modern twist. The I-1 connects to an iOS app via Bluetooth, giving you the power to trigger it remotely, as well as to adjust its shutter speed, aperture and flash. Plus, you can charge its battery via USB instead of replacing it when it runs out.
Polaroid sues GoPro for copying a design patent
C&A Marketing Inc., the company that produces the Polaroid Cube, has filed a lawsuit against GoPro for releasing the Hero4 Session camera. On what grounds? Well, the two cameras look almost identical. Both are shaped like a cube with rounded edges, and even though the Session is able to shoot better quality video and is slightly larger than the 1.4-cubic-inch Cube, C&A is insisting that GoPro has infringed on the design patent that it received in May this year, preventing any other camera from copying the Cube's unique look. GoPro had filed a patent related to its square camera's design in March, but that specifically covered the camera's housing.
Polaroid's latest instamatic doesn't use ink to print photos
Cubes, unwieldy squares, bulky cameras of yore. Regardless of form factor, when the Polaroid name is on a camera it means you're getting instant photos. With the company's latest shooter, the Snap, you're getting what looks like a pocketable device that uses proprietary tech to print photos using zero ink. Instead, the ZINK (get it?) paper you load in the 10MP pictograph box uses heat to activate color crystals and reproduce your 2-inch by 3-inch masterpiece. And of course, since this is camera made in 2015 there's a selfie timer and filter presets (color, black and white, vintage) in addition to a Micro SD card slot. Interested? All it takes is $99 to sate your curiosity sometime later this year.
Polaroid's tiny Cube camera now packs WiFi
The Polaroid Cube, released last year, is nowhere near matching the quality of a GoPro. Still, this pocketable camera can be a good accessory for those times you can't, or won't, use a smartphone to take pictures. Today, Polaroid is announcing Cube+, the successor to its tiny, square-shaped camera, featuring an 8-megapixel sensor, compared to the 6 megapixels found on the original model. Most notably, however, is the addition of WiFi support, which lets users control the camera from an iOS or Android device -- you can use the companion app as a viewfinder, or to edit and share photos. It will be available in August for $150 in a variety of colors, including hot pink and a green that glows in the dark.
Impossible's Instant Lab printer now works with almost any smartphone
As the saying goes, the best camera is the one that's with you. For most of us that's a smartphone, so the traditions of printing and sharing physical photos have slowly fallen by the wayside. To bridge the growing analog-digital divide, Polaroid experts The Impossible Project (TIP) crowdfunded an instant photo printing kit back in 2012. The idea was simple: you took your smartphone, opened a photo and placed it face down at the top of the machine. The light from the display would then shine through the Instant Lab's underlying lens and down the tower to expose the Polaroid film, creating a new print.
Prynt's smartphone instant selfie printer lands on Kickstarter for pre-orders
Is 2015 the year that we start rolling back the progress of the last 20 years? In addition to dressing like extras from The Facts of Life, we've started buying Vinyl again and people are even discovering the "joys" of instant photography. In fact, it's not just Polaroid that's getting back in on the act, either, since French startup Prynt is hoping to sell you a smartphone case with a built-in photo printer.
Kodak and Polaroid square off again, this time with smartphones
Kodak and Polaroid are both still fighting for relevance in a world that's mostly left them behind, and this year they've got a new kind of weapon in their arsenals: the smartphone. Both of these companies have basically lent the power of their brands -- the history, the force of nostalgia -- to third-party players who make devices on their behalf. It's a little too early to make a call on which company's definitively doing it better, but we took a look to see how they stack up at this point.
IRL: The Polaroid Cube is a tiny camera that leaves you wanting more
Gone are the days when you had to carry a hefty camera to capture life's best moments. For the most part, we have smartphone makers to thank for that, aided by steady improvements to imaging sensors. At the same time, though, a number of other manufacturers have made it their mission to build ever-smaller cameras -- all to make snapping photos and taking videos a much easier feat than it was before. Polaroid, a company known for all-things-imagery, did exactly this with the Cube, an itty-bitty camera that measures just 35mm (1.4 inches) square and weighs in at 45 grams (1.6 ounces). Naturally, when you think of cameras that come in small packages, GoPro's Hero line instantly comes mind, but the Polaroid Cube isn't meant to compete with those. Instead, this $99 shooter is aimed at casual users. If it's high production value you're after, then, you'll need to look elsewhere.
Engadget Daily: LittleBits unveils BitLab, hands-on with the Socialmatic camera and more!
Today at Photokina 2014, we go hands-on with the oddly shaped Polaroid Socialmatic, and well, a lot of seriously expensive Leica shooters. But that's not all -- read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
Polaroid's real-life Instagram logo camera can also print your photos
When we first saw Polaroid's Socialmatic camera, the obvious conclusion to make was that the company had simply decided to turn the Instagram logo into a device. Of course, given that the social network's logo was based on Polaroid's device designs, it's a surreal case of pop culture eating itself. Polaroid's jumping on the bandwagon of connected cameras - devices that straddle the line between point-and-shoot snapper and smartphone, but there's one small tweak that'll see this hardware stand out against the Lumix CM1 and Lumia 1020: this one's also got an old-school photo printer tucked inside.
Polaroid's cute Cube camera lets you record video just about anywhere
You can stick action cameras in many places, but they're still not that portable; you probably won't (or can't) shove one in your pocket in case you want to document an adventure. You can certainly try that with Polaroid's new Cube camera, though. While its building block-like design is a little bit cutesy, it also lets you record 1080p wide-angle videos seemingly anywhere -- a built-in magnet lets the Cube cling to any metal surface, and even the mounting kits are tiny enough to come along on many trips. The cam depends on microSD cards for storage and only lasts for 90 minutes of video on a charge, but that still means that it can handle a quick mountain bike expedition or a few laps around the racetrack. Just be patient if you like the notion of cuboid movie capture. Photojojo is taking pre-orders for the $100 Cube today, but it won't ship until late September.
'Lomo Instant' takes your standard Polaroid to the next level
Back in the good old days, you could take a photo of Fido with your Polaroid, and after a few shakes be ready to tape it to your dorm room wall. Now Lomo is looking to bring that same old-school experience into the next decade with the Instant – a self-developing film camera with a vintage feel. It has support for several different lenses, color filters and can even create images with multiple exposures of your furry friend. The company already has a pretty sizable line of toy and DIY cameras that push the envelope (like this one made out of a paint can). The Instant follows in that tradition, building off an old favorite, the Fuji Instax. The camera uses its easy-to-find credit card-sized film, but has five aperture settings, including f/8, the largest available on any instant camera. It also has three different shooting modes for tons of flexibility.
CES 2014: HDTV & home theater roundup
Every year, CES is filled wall to wall with flat-screen televisions and the things that plug into them. 2014's show brought its own variations to that theme. Curved TVs, OLED TVs, Ultra HD TVs or some combination popped up wherever we looked, and unlike last year, many of them will go on sale soon. Big manufacturers like Samsung, LG and Sony dominated news for high-end sets, but others like Vizio are promising an unprecedented slew of features at value prices.
Polaroid is already planning to cut the price of its $1,000 4K TV
Like the high school kid who doesn't get invited to go out partying with the in-crowd, Polaroid decided that the best way that it could turn some jaded heads was with a dramatic reinvention. The company pulled up outside CES with a whole new range of cameras, tablets and a 4K TV, the latter of which was one of a small few that broke the $1,000 barrier. When we went to examine the 50-inch UHD panel, an executive remarked that this un-smart TV would likely get a price cut before it hits store shelves in order to undercut rivals from Vizio and Kogan. Of course, there's no word on just how much cheaper this unit will be, but we figure it'll be hashed out with the accountants in due course.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: Polaroid CEO Scott Hardy
The one-time king of instant photography has been looking to branch out in recent years, and this CES is no doubt a prime example. Last week, the company announced two new budget TV sets and a low-cost tablet. We'll be joined by Polaroid's CEO Scott Hardy to discuss the way forward for the one-time imaging giant. January 8, 2014 12:00:00 PM EST Follow all the latest CES 2014 news at our event hub, and check out our full stage schedule here.
Hands-on with Polaroid's budget Q8 tablet
Polaroid's not just about cameras. In fact, the company typically debuts a new tablet or two at CES. This year's no different: tonight we got a look at its latest cheapo, the Q Series slate. The Q7 goes for $129, but we got our hands on the 8-inch version, which will set you back $149. As far as specs go, the only outright positives here are the quad-core processor under the hood and the fact that the Q8's running Android 4.4 KitKat. Navigating home screens and apps on the screen was snappy and lag-free, even though the unnamed CPU is likely on the low end of available quad-core chips. Speaking of the screen: pixel density is appallingly low here, which is to be expected with such a budget-priced tablet, but nonetheless underwhelming -- especially when the Nexus 7 exists. The Q8 is done up in a soft-touch finish, which looks and feels anything but premium. Especially with the white model, we can imagine you'll pick up smudges quite quickly. Rounding out the spec list are 8GB of internal memory are on board, along with 1 gig of RAM, and both front and rear cameras. That's about it -- it's been a tradition to hit Polaroid slates at CES, so take a look at the photos below for our hands-on treatment. Billy Steele contributed to this report.
Polaroid's C3 is an action camera in tiny cube form (hands-on)
We were hoping to get our hands on Polaroid's Socialmatic camera, but unfortunately the company only had the shell of a prototype on hand. Luckily, though, we found something even more interesting when we stopped by the booth: the C3 action sports video camera. It's a tiny cube of a thing -- a 35mm square, to be exact -- but its wide-angle lens captures 120 degrees of action, and the form factor lends itself well to going on the road. (It's also perfect for stacking -- but just for fun.) It's called an "action sports" camera, but we don't really see it holding up when you're snowboarding or biking. It is, however, waterproof for up to 2 meters. We also don't know how practical this guy is, given that WiFi isn't on board and you'll need to transfer photos and video via micro-SD. Its compact size, in other words, is the selling point. Like the Socialmatic, the C3 is still in the prototype phase, though the models on hand seemed closer to final production, with the sensor built in. It has a soft-touch finish and feels very light. We like how the classic Polaroid rainbow carries over to this product, with versions in red, blue and black. There's a button on top, which you'll press to record video or snap a photo. The C3 's 5-megapixel cam shoots in 1,280 x 720 or 640 x 480 resolution -- we obviously can't speak to image quality quite yet, but we're intrigued to see how this gadget works when it debuts in the summer. It will cost $99, and a Polaroid rep told us there will be straps to make the C3 wearable, along with other accessories. Check out our hands-on below. Billy Steele contributed to this report.
Polaroid's new bridge cameras pack WiFi sharing, as much as 50x optical zoom
In addition to the quirkier parts of its CES camera lineup, Polaroid's trotting out a line of bridge shooters with a healthy helping of optical zoom capabilities. Each device in the fleet features a 3-inch display and image sharing over WiFi. At the top of the range sits a model with 50x zoom (iE5036W), 18 megapixels, 1080p video-capture chops and a $299 price tag, with a nearly identical 40x zoom variant (iE4038W) perched just behind it. Interestingly, the version toting just 35x optics (Ixx353W) scores an upgrade to a 20-megapixel sensor. A cam with a 30x lens (iE3035W) helps bring up the rear, along with a 15x zoom flavor that drops its video resolution to 720p and its price to $149. If you intend to recruit one of these gadgets for your photographic endeavors, look for them to arrive in stores sometime this spring.
Polaroid's Socialmatic camera to fuse retro style, instant prints and Android this fall
Last we heard of Polaroid's Socialmatic camera, which promises to bring back instant prints with a modern flair, it was bound for store shelves in the first quarter of 2014. Here at CES, the firm's announced that the hardware is cruising for a fall release now that it's finalized the necessary legal agreements to make it a reality. For those in need of a refresher, the device runs Android to make sharing images a snap and packs a 14-megapixel cam on its front, a 2-megapixel rear-facing sensor, 4GB of storage with expansion via microSD, a 4.5-inch touchscreen and built-in WiFi. Zink's ink-free paper will do the heavy lifting when it comes to printing photos, so any vintage film can stay stowed in your closet. Polaroid's Socialmatic shooter is out in the wilds of the CES floor, so stay tuned for a hands-on.
