Digital Marks The End Of Polaroid
Since the first real quality consumer and presumer digital cameras at an affordable price entered the photo market five years ago it was only natural that many would speculate that the death of photographic film was imminent.
However, while that might be true in the consumer and professional 35mm market it wasn’t necessarily the case for high-end or specialized markets. Now, however, even that is being changed and perhaps for obvious reasons.
In the 70s and 80s, the Polaroid camera was something to get quite excited about. Within a few minutes photographers could see the photos they had taken rather than wait days or even weeks for their prints to be ready at the local chemist or photo store. Already it is pretty apparent that the advent of digital was bound to change all that. What seems somewhat remarkable, it is only now that Polaroid are beginning to feel the pinch. The company has already announced that it will be closing some of its factories.
Regardless of the inferior quality of Polaroid Instant cameras and film when compared to modern day digital cameras, there is no doubt that the decision not only marks the end of an era, but also the end of a true landmark in photography. The New York Times obviously felt the same and published an article on this development a week and a half ago.
The company, which will concentrate on digital cameras and printers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2001 and was acquired by a private investment company in 2005. It started in 1937 making polarized lenses for scientific and military applications, and introduced its first instant camera in 1948.
The Lede remembers fondly how magical it was to watch the image gradually manifest itself from the chemical murk right there in your hand. But truth be told, the Lede’s own scuffed Polaroid SX-70 camera, which used to get regular use in all manner of situations, from producing a quick step-by-step primer on how to do the Ickey Shuffle to documenting a problem with a house he was buying that cropped up the day before the closing, hasn’t come out of its cabinet drawer in years.
Loyal users take heart, though Polaroid said it would happily license the technology to other manufacturers should they want to go on supplying the niche market with film after 2009.
Word is that polaroid instant film is likely to become scarce very quickly so if you’re in the need of some for specialist applications or just for nostalgia’s sake, you can order it from Amazon here.
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