New Polaroid camera prints real pictures

Polaroid proper is no more, but its brand name and identity are still around in different reanimated forms. Recently, the company that owns those assets released a new rendition of the old Polaroid’s classic instant camera.

It’s called the Snap and it’s a 10MP camera equipped with an instant printer that spits out 2-inch-by-three-inch colour pictures using Zero Ink printing tech. Actually, the Snap should feel familiar; other Polaroid camera-and-printer hybrids have hit the market over the past few years.

Snap comes with a dramatic price cut, down from about $180 to $99, though it doesn’t do video like some of its peers. Users will be able toggle through three image modes: Black and white, colour and something called ‘vintage’, which will add an oldschool faux-border.



The Snap doesn’t connect to the internet — an onboard 32GB Micro SD card saved the images and you can either use a card reader or a cord to upload them to the web later. There may be widespread nostalgia for this lost era of instant photography, but will consumers choose a camera that’s separate from the internet, without an instant share function? Perhaps purists will. But Polaroid cameras were populist hits, not niche products. Instagram is the reigning populist photo hit today and operating it requires internet. Can Polaroid reclaim that same popularity with these re-imaginings of its original blockbusters? We’ll have to wait and see.