Digital Cameras Kill Off Polaroid
digital photography
It may depend upon your age, but I certainly am old enough to remember how thrilling it was to huddle around a Polaroid snapshot whilst it was developing. You never really knew how it would turn out until the image had taken shape right there in front of your eyes. When the process was finished, you had a picture, often with slightly varied colours, which had no negative, and was, let’s be honest, a bit pricey.
Today, as a result of the dominance of digital cameras, Polaroid is just not instant enough. The cameras ceased production some time ago and the last films rolled out in January of 2009. It’s easy to see why if you consider the following statistics?
2000 Sales
Polaroid cameras 4.2 million
Digital cameras 4.5 million
2007 Sales
Polaroid cameras 240 thousand
Digital cameras 28.2 million
With sales figures like that it’s no wonder the Polaroid camera is being withdrawn.
However, the Polaroid had obtained an iconic status over time, so it’s hardly surprising to learn that groups of enthusiasts have set up campaigns to “save Polaroid”. There are hopes that some “white knight” will take over the production of the film and manufacture this under licence. In the meantime, in a slightly ironic twist, both films and cameras are changing hands on EBay at hugely inflated prices. It’s not out of the question that, if Polaroid themselves had been able to command these types of prices levels then they wouldn’t have needed to file for Chapter 11 just a few short years ago.
Looking forward, Polaroid have entered the digital age by producing a combined digital camera and printer which uses a heat activated dye to produce a printed image in around about a minute.
The camera, dubbed the “PoGo”, has a three inch LCD screen for checking your photos before printing. Considering that the special printer paper will cost around $13 for enough to produce 30 photos you’ll want to be sure that you’ve got a “keeper” before you hit the print button.Polaroid believe that it will appeal to law enforcement officers and customs staff who may require an immediate hard copy of identity photographs. Only time will tell.
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