When I first bought my Polaroid P600 instant camera I remember being so happy. I had finally got what I had wanted for a long time. However, for some reason could not think of what to take photos of. I soon realised that that didn't matter though - whatever I decided to take photos of (my cat probably) wasn't the point. It was that I could hold that picture in my hands in
seconds. It was the most fun thing in the world. I loved taking my camera out when I met my friends, I loved being able to give the photos to friends and family as a little memento. It was cool.
However, the Polaroid instamatic didn't last. Film was expensive - around one pound a print - and there were faults in the design. It was clunky and heavy to transport, I could only take 10 photos at a time (unless I carried more film) and film could be accidentally exposed. Adding to this, digital cameras were also on the rise. This was a sad time for me as I knew what was coming. I held out as long as I could tracking down the last remnants of film in my area, but when my P600 began to break down I knew the game was over. I bought a digital camera and contentedly used that thereafter. I love digital too, there are so many benefits in it. You can take as many photos as you like and only print the best, you can easily store and share images and you can take a digital camera everywhere you go. Though there is still that part of me that craves being able to develop your picture seconds after you take it.
This is the reason I am
ecstatic about the recently released
Polaroid Z2300, a digital camera that allows you to print on-the-spot. The new design is slimline and takes a memory card, just like a normal point-and-shoot, but it also gives you the option to instantly print your best images onto credit-card sized paper.
I love the nice touch of the coloured stripe on the new Z2300, it's so reminiscent of the classic Polaroid designs.
The camera prints credit-card sized photographs which have a sticky back so can be used for scrap booking or craft projects. Although the size of the prints aren't the classic size, the fact that this camera exists is fantastic, and maybe in the future they will be able to introduce a camera that prints the classic-sized, square prints.
The idea is that you load your camera with paper
and a memory card. You can take as many photos as you like and can view these on the screen, and then you decide if you want to print or not. No film is wasted and the option to print instantly is always there. I'm so pleased that this camera exists as it recognises our feelings of nostalgia towards the physical print, but also that we might want to take hundreds of snaps on a night out too. I'm still secretly hoping they will develop a camera that will print the classic square prints, but until then, this will do just fine.
{Images:
Photojojo}
