Digital Cameras Mean Polaroid is No Longer Instant Enough

It may depend upon your age, but I surely am ancient enough to remember how gripping it was to huddle around a Polaroid shot whilst it was rising. You never really knew how it would turn out until the image had taken shape right there in front of your eyes. When the administer was complete, you were left with a picture, often with slightly varied colours, which had no negative, and was, let's face it, a bit on the pricey side.

Today, thanks to the rise of digital cameras, Polaroid is no longer second enough. The cameras stopped production some time ago and the last films rolled out in January of 2009. It's simple to see why if you deliberate the following statistics?

2000 Sales

Polaroid cameras 4.2 million
Digital cameras 4.5 million

2007 Sales

Polaroid cameras 240 thousand
Digital cameras 28.2 million

With sales figures like that it's no wonder the Polaroid camera is being withdrawn.

Though, the Polaroid had achieved an iconic status over the years, so it's no surprise to learn that groups of enthusiasts have set up campaigns to "save Polaroid". There are hopes that someone else will take over the production of the film and make this under licence. In the meantime, in a slightly ironic twist, both films and cameras are changing hands on eBay at hugely inflated prices. Quite possibly if Polaroid themselves had been able to mandate these types of prices levels they wouldn't have had to file for Chapter 11 a few years ago.

Looking forward, Polaroid have entered the digital age by producing a combined digital camera and laser Laser printer which uses a heat activated dye to produce a printed image in around about a minute. The camera, called the PoGo, has a 3" LCD screen for read-through your photos prior to printing.

Taking into account that the special laser Laser printer paper will cost around $13 for enough to produce 30 photos you'll want to be sure that you've got a "keeper" before you hit the print button. Polaroid reckon that it will appeal to law enforcement officers and customs staff who may have a need for an second hard copy of self photographs. Time will tell.

Author: Hamish Hayward
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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