Polaroid Cameras

Polaroid Cameras

Since the revival of the Polaroid brand by the Impossible Project in 2017, the range is now replete with several fantastic film cameras. 

The Polaroid OneStep+ is arguably the flagship, the most sophisticated Polaroid instant camera, which can connect to your smartphone via the Polaroid Originals app. This allows you to activate the camera remotely, and experiment with exciting shooting modes like Double Exposure. 

The Polaroid Now is a smaller camera than the OneStep+, adding in a few features like autofocus. It’s all about keeping things simple and fun, and is a point and shoot camera that absolutely anybody can use!

The Polaroid Go is a pocketable version that you can take everywhere. It doesn’t take I-Type film but requires its own type (more on this below), and is so tiny it can be kept on a keychain! There’s a self-timer for group portraiture, and the powerful 750mAh lithium-ion battery is long-lasting.

Polaroid film

Polaroid instant film comes in several different types. The newer I-Type film and the older 600 film will both work with the main line cameras such as the OneStep+ and the Now, while only Polaroid 600 film will work with a vintage Polaroid camera you might have found in the loft! Both I-Type film and 600 film are also available in black and white, as well as colour.

The Polaroid Go takes its own dedicated film, which you can buy in packs of 16 shots. Also available is SX-70 film, which fits older Polaroid SX-70 cameras. 

Alternative instant cameras

There are other great instant film cameras worth considering! The Fujifilm Instax range of instant cameras is well worth looking at, particularly as a more affordable alternative as the film packs tend to be cheaper. 

If you’re looking for a simple point-and-shoot like the Polaroid Now, then the Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 is an excellent choice. This classically cool, retro style camera is easy to load with Instax Mini film and makes for fantastic instant photography, with useful modes like Double Exposure, and Party Mode, which brightens things up with fill flash for dark rooms.

Alternatively, there’s the Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 Film Camera, which captures its images on wide-format Instax film, which has dimensions of 86x108mm. For a much larger image with more depth and latitude, it’s a great choice, and the camera is sophisticated enough to take full advantage of the larger format.

It’s also worth looking at the square-format Fujifilm Instax cameras, for a more classically Instagram look. The Fujifilm Instax Square SQ1 is a stylish camera that’s easy to use, creating gorgeous square-format prints, and has a dedicated selfie mode that’s activated with a twist of the lens. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Polaroid cameras better than digital cameras?

There’s no better or worse when it comes to film and digital photos! Certainly digital cameras have advantages in terms of convenience, power and image quality. However, for many people, the lo-fi charm of instant photography is simply impossible to replicate, and a digital file is just not the same.

Can you still buy Polaroid 600 film?

Yes – Polaroid still manufactures Polaroid 600 film that will work in new and old cameras. It’s available in colour and in black and white.

How do Polaroid cameras work?

We could write a whole blog explaining this, but in brief – the film packs contain plastic slides coated in chemicals that react to light. The camera rollers prise out one at a time and place it behind the lens, whereupon the shutter will expose it to light for a split second. When the rollers release the photo, they also press down on it to release a chemical called a reagant across the image, stopping the film from fully developing and fixing the image in place.

Should I shake Polaroid pictures?

Despite what Outkast may have led you to believe, shaking an instant picture during development won’t actually help it develop any faster! In fact, it may actually cause the film to separate and blobs to develop on the image, so it’s advisable just to leave it alone, away from light, for a good ten minutes.

Who makes Polaroid cameras?

It was a film photography collective that bought the brand back in 2017, known back then as the Impossible Project. They rebranded to Polaroid Originals, but since then have dropped the extra word and are now simply known as Polaroid!

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