When most of us hear ‘instant cameras’, we tend to associate them with Polaroids. And why should we not? After all it was in 1947, that the first instant camera was developed by Edwin Land, founder of the Polaroid Corporation. It was christened as the Land Camera. From then on instant cameras became an instant hit, with Polaroid leading the race.

Technology: Instant cameras come with self-developing film. Initially, it started off with a self-developing film roll, and later, it was replaced by pack films. All the chemicals required to develop and print the photo are contained within the film itself. When you click a snap or when the photo is drawn out of the camera through rollers, the pod containing the chemicals breaks open to print the images. Typically, during development the picture should not be shaken.

Use: Instant cameras are very useful for those people who require seeing the captured images immediately. For instance fashion photographers regularly use it to review photo shoots. It has been used by dermatologists, archeologists, and architects alike. Some photographers have also exhibited instant photographs at art galleries.

Latest Innovation: The arrival of digital cameras rose as a stiff competition to instant cameras. In fact, earlier Polaroid Corporation had announced that they no longer produce instant films beyond 2008. But to overcome this obstacle, Polaroid has come up with a recent innovation. Their recent addition to the family of instant cameras is the Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera. In Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on January 8th, 2009, Polaroid announced the launch of the Polaroid PoGo. This is the first digital camera and instant printer combination available. To print out the pictures, it uses ZINK Paper and Zero InkPrinting Technology from ZINK Imaging. With this superior technology there is no need for messy ribbons and cartridges. Instead this has been replaced by the ZINK paper with embedded and heat-activated dye crystals. So your photos can be printed within a minute and they are dry, smudge resistant and water resistant. It is even possible to print photos taken by another camera, just by inserting its SD memory card. The Polaroid PoGo is slated to begin sales in March.

So, if like me you also love the old-world charm of Polaroid prints, then we can together look forward to the Polaroid PoGo.

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