Impossible Project has taken over Polaroid Co renamed Polaroid Originals

Polaroid Co. has rebranded as Polaroid Originals, after taking over by Impossible Project Co. in May 2017. Management has decided to merge both companies under the new name Polaroid Originals. This probably is the best thing happen to Polaroid company since their bankruptcy in 2008 or so. Even from long before that.  Because till this happened all they were doing is trying to ride then legendary brand name without adding any value to it. Sadly but obviously it was not working.

Polaroid Originals Onestep 2 Camera

Now Polaroid Originals trying to bring back the old glory by re-introducing those old-time popular instant camera models like Polaroid OneStep. This Polaroid 600 series camera has been one of their most popular models. It was cheap and reliable. Now you can buy this camera again for less than $150 under the name Polaroid Originals Onestep 2 instant photo camera.

Polaroid Originals Color 600 Film - Checl Price > Here

All these 600 series cameras use Polaroid 600 film. It used to be a quite a hassle finding instant film for those old cameras after Polaroid stopped making the instant film and closed down the company. Fortunately, Impossible Project bought the machines and started making Film packs for 3 popular Polaroid camera series, Polaroid 600, Polaroid SX-70 and Polaroid Spectra. These film packs have 8 prints and work just like old film packs.

Now you can get improved instant film packs under Polaroid Originals. These contain the same number of prints but cheaper in price. These Polaroid Originals 600 film packs come in both color version and Black & White version. Also, there are different frame styles available. The company has managed to bring down the price a lot which is a very good new for Polaroid camera users and fans.

Now you have a chance of buying cheap Polaroid cameras as well as Instant film for a cheap price. This is a very good thing because will increase the competition and other companies like Fujifilm will try to improve their own instant cameras. Their Fuji Instax series cameras are the best in the instant photo camera market right now. Also, there are several other companies which have released instant cameras. Lomography has released their own instant cam and Kodak has released one too.

Polaroid Snap Instant Camera

Polaroid Originals hasn't stopped selling their digital instant cameras either. Most of these models can't be called as cheap Polaroid cameras but new Polaroid Snap instant camera can be bought for less than $130 from online stores. It also has a newer version with a touchscreen LCD. This model use Polaroid 2x3ʺ Premium ZINK Zero Photo Paper which is similar to FujiFilm Instax Mini photo paper.

Kodak EK4 Instant Camera

Kodak EK4 Instant Camera

Kodak EK4 Instant Camera and Kodak EK4 Instant Camera are not known names these days but these old cams has a colorful history and a sad ending. After seen how successfully Polaroid cameras, Kodak had decided to try tapping into instant camera market. But those days in early 70s no body else was trying to complete with Polaroid. 

In 1976 they released this Kodak EK4 Instant Camera and after a little while there was another model related with much improved features. It's called Kodak EK6. These cameras had become a overnight hit among consumers. Kodak was able to take over 30% market share from Polaroid just in few months. Polaroid was not pleased with this at all.

Kodak was far more better company than Polaroid when it comes to cameras. So this new instant cameras were so much better than what Polaroid had to offer in same period of time. Polaroid realized this would become a massive disaster for their future. Also Kodak had made one very costly mistake.

Polaroid has sued Kodak over patent-infringement and after a decade long legal battle Kodak had to pay about 900 million usd has damages. Financially this didn't help much Polaroid either. Also it was technically blow for Instant camera market since only competitor was driven out of business.

Kodak instant cameras were much more batter than their completion those days. Polaroid was managed poorly and they didn't make any significant improvements to their Polaroid cameras. Once digital cameras hit the market only few who had any interest in buy these instant camera. Polaroid it self had to file bankruptcy in 2001.

Today there are plenty of better quality instant cams in market. Fujifilm Instax cameras have been around for decades and they are keep improving photo quality. Polaroid has moved to make Instant digital cameras. There are plenty of cheap Polaroid camera models out there in market today.

If you want a cheap instant camera for less than $100 then check Instax Mini 8, Instax Mini 9, Polaroid Snap  and Instax Wide 300 cameras. There is a really cute Instax Model for girls which is called Instax Mini Hello Kitty.

Polaroid 300 Camera

Polaroid 300 Camera is basically something outdated by a decade. It's strange many people have no idea this is just a re-branded version of Fujifilm Instax Mini 7s camera. Yes. They have printed name on it and put it in a box with Polaorid name. But still it's an Instax Mini 7s.

So yeah Polaroid 300 Film are just re-branded  Fujifilm Instax Mini film. Polaroid never made these Polaroid 300 cameras or Type 300 film in their own factories. Just they bought those from Fujifilm and sold in North America and Western Europe. 

Fujifilm has started selling Instax Mini 7s from 2004. But as their agreement with Polaroid they could not tap into European market or North America. But by then Fujifilm Instant cameras had already become better quality cameras than Polaroids analog instant cameras like Polaroid 600 series, Polaroid SX-70 etc. So they bought Mini 7s cams and sold it in their market. Fujifilm has no problem about it since their cameras are getting sold and they are getting profits too. 

By 2009 Polaroid had closed their all analog instant camera and instant film factories so Polaroid 300 was the only camera they had in market. In west they Instax series was not popular since they were not allowed in market so Type 300 become a hit. Everyone thought Polaroid had hit the jackpot again.

Anyway soon Polaroid ditch the reselling Mini 7s and started focusing on their instant digital cameras. Also Instax series cameras like Instax Mini 25, Instax 50 started reaching European market. 

Good thing is unlike Polaroid 600 Film, Polaroid SX-70 film which had become extinct and relaunched by Impossible Project , Polaroid 300 camera users have never had problem finding film packs since you can use  Instax Mini film instead of Type 300 film.

Also there is no point of buying these old Polaroid 300 film since those are over 10 years old and expired. You can get Instax Mini film packs for cheaper from any online store or local camera stores.

Some people has asked if they can use Polaroid Zink Media photo paper for their  Polaroid 300 cameras but I don't think it's possible. There's no doubt Polaroid is using Instax film technology but photo paper is packed in different type of cartridges so you won't able to insert.

Anyway if you are a owner of Polaroid 300 instant camera then maybe it's time for you to buy newer model. Maybe a Polaroid instant digital camera like Polaroid Snap, Polaroid Z340 etc or a Newer Fujifilm Instax cam such as Instax Mini 70, Instax 300, Instax Mini 90 etc. Photo quality of these new cameras are 10x better than older models. So it maybe a worth to checking what new Polaroid cameras or other instant cameras in market today.

Should I buy an old Polaroid Camera ?

A friend of mine recently asked this question, Should I buy an old Polaroid Camera ? My short and flat answer was NO. Well but he couldn't resist all those ultra cheap vintage Polaroid cameras available for sale in ebay. One of those older models which doesn't have film anymore. Now he is asking about which alternative film packs he should use. Unfortunately, Even though a Polaroid Land Camera Model 95 is beautiful camera, you can not film for this one. There is one option which is modify it to take 6x10cm images of 120 film. These it's hard to find places which do this and a it costs lot more money.

If you really badly want to use an old Polaroid instant camera, then buy only either Polaroid 600, Polaroid SX-70 or Polaroid Spectra models. Because only those have new film packs available at Impossible Project Co. Rest of those old cams are only good as collectors items which can be kept in display. Even these film packs cost you around $24 for 8 photo prints. But they are doing their best to improve the film quality. Recently Impossible Project released  their 2nd generation black and white film packs. These new packs have improvements  over those old packs.

Unless you are a collector then best option is go for a new Polaroid or Fujifilm Instax instant film camera. Main reason is film for these cameras are in production and lot cheaper. New Mini film cost only around 50 cent per photo print. also quality is better and you don't have to keep these packs in fridge. 

There are new cheap Polaroid cameras like the latest one, Polaroid Snap. This model cost you only around $100, the cheapest Polaroid cam in market today. But there are also some great Fujifilm Instax Instant cameras out there in market too. Their latest Mini cam , Instax Mini 70 is one of the best they have come up so far.

Also don't forget about the Fujifilm Instax Mini Hello Kitty camera. This Amazing camera is available now for around $80 at online stores. Even thought it uses mini film, the camera is quite big and it comes in pink color only. So I think only girls who love pink and Hello Kitty fans buying it. Original price of the camera was around $250.

Not just these but there are plenty of other models such as Polaroid z340, Fujifilm Instax 300, Fujifilm Instax mini 90, Instax Mini 8 cameras out there too. There are so many choices and all these models are pretty good.

Above video is showing one of those Old Polaroid Model 95 land cameras and the original film packs for it.

Polaroid Snap Instant Camera

If you are a Polaroid camera fan then you might already know about the Polaroid Snap Instant Camera. It's their latest product and a camera which made to challenge the Fujifilm domination of cheap instant camera market. Yep, This is the first ever real cheap Polaroid camera from them.

It costs only $100 in market currently. Basically the only Polaroid camera which comes under $150. It comes in several cute colors too (White, Black, Red, Blue). Also This Snap camera is an instant digital camera so unlike the Instax series you can save images into a Macro SD card (upto 32GB). 

Polaroid Snap comes with a 10-Megapixel Sensor, which is not something great when you compare with latest digital cameras but main focus on this camera is instant printing capability. So you are not going to get photos as sharp as a DSRL camera or one of those good point and shoot cameras. But still photo prints will  be lot better than Old models like Polaroid 600 or Polaroid SX-70.

Sensor is not the only reason for good photo quality. New Polaroid Premium photo paper is really good, maybe even better than old PoGo photo paper. You can do full color 2x3" photo prints in under 1 minute with this instant photo camera. The cost per print would be only around 50 cents use. That's a great price even if you compare with Impossible Project film packs which used of old models like Type 600.

Fujifilm has released their latest Instax mini camera end of last year. Instax Mini 70 is really good instant film camera which lacks only digital features. Photo quality might little bit better than the Snap in my opinion. Also Instax Mini film are pretty much same price as new Polaroid Zink Photo paper. You have to pay around $20 more since this model cost you around $130 right now. Better check Amazon for more accurate current prices.

I think Polaroid has realized finally they are not at top of the instant camera market anymore. They mind have those new instant digital cameras but that's not majority need. They are looking for good quality camera for a decent price. I think it's really good finally they have started focusing on making cheap Polaroid cameras again. That's what Fuji has been doing all these years and capturing the market. Little bit of competition would be great for everyone I think, not use for we buyers but also for these two companies.

The Impossible Project Film for Polaroid 600 Instant Cameras

in 2008 Febrary when Polaroid stopped instant film and camera production it was The Impossible Project who saved die hard Polaroid camera fans. Dr. Florian Kaps, André Bosman and Marwan Saba, the founders of The Impossible Project bought machinery from Polaroid and by 2010, the company began producing several types of instant film.

Now The Impossible Project is the only place where they still make film for Polaroid 600 cameras and Polaroid SX-70 Cameras. This is the only alternative for Polaroid 600 instant film. They have 6 types of instant film for Polaroid 600 cameras.

• PX 680 Color Shade Cool Film
• PX 600 Silver Shade Cool Film
• PX 680 Color Shade Cool Holden Edition
• PX 600 Silver Shade UV+ Film
• PX 600 Silver Shade UV+ Black Frame
• PX 600 Silver Shade UV+ Magazin

The Impossible Project Film pack has exposures per cassette.  ISO is 600 and development time is 3 minutes.  High shipping cost is the only down site of Impossible project photos. That's only if you buy from their official web site and again when there is no other choice. If you live in USA or Canada then you can buy The Impossible Project type 600 instant film from Amazon.com with free shipping. This saves you around 50 USD ! But in some countries they have local agent who might offer you better price and it will cost less since there will be no shipping costs.

Polaroid PoGo Instant Camera

This Polaroid PoGo instant camera also known as Polaroid Z230E or Polaroid CZA-05300 camera. It's an important mile stone in Polaroid camera industry because this is the first digital instant camera released for market. It used to be around $150 when it first released but now it cost around $400. I don't why is that but it might has something to do with it's bluetooth feature. It's the only instant camera which could transfer files wireless into another device before they released Polaroid Socialmatic Camera.

As a camera there aren't much to impress about it. It's a small digital camera with 5 Mega Pixel sensor and 4x digital zoom. Also it has a 3 inch LCD screen on back and SD card slot to external memory. It's powered by a Rechargeable lithium-ion battery. So basically it's a small digital camera combined with Polaroid instant mobile printer. Pretty good combination these days but now this camera is totally out dated when you compare with new Instax and Polaroid cameras.

Anyway if you are searching for information about this camera and want to buy it then you should think again. With a $400 price tag it's not one of those cheap Polaroid cameras. Also it's pretty old model which released around 2008 or 2009. Also now there are too many cheaper instant photo cameras out there.

If you want a digital instant camera then you can go for Polaroid Z340, Polaroid Z2300 which is pretty same to this camera but cheaper or for new Polaroid Socialmatic Camera. Z3200 can be bought for less than $200 from Amazon or other online stores. Other two cameras are expensive but still cheaper than this PoGo camera.

Even Fujifilm has come really good quality instant film cameras for low prices. These cameras are not digital instant cams but when it comes to the price of camera and film it's cheap. Also Instax film is really good just like new Polaroid Zink Media Film.

So now you new what is this PoGo camera and why it's not worth the expensive price tag. Unless you are a collector who wants it for your camera collection better avoid and go for other cheaper but latest models.

It uses new Polaroid mini film which is Zink Media 2x3 photo paper. There are two types of film packs. Old PoGo photo packs which are identical to Fujifilm Instax Mini film and new Zink Media  2x3 premium border less photo paper. You can use both these types without a trouble. But I have no idea if Instax Mini film can be used for PoGo or Z2300 cameras.