In the past, we've come across projects that sought to bring back film for classic instant cameras, and some have been quite successful. This opens a wide range of possibilities in a world as naturally rich as photography, but now it's Polaroid itself that has decided to explore the value of nostalgia with a new product. The camera is called Snap, and it has the peculiarity of not using ink when printing its instant photos.
A Nostalgic Return to Instant Photography
Until a few years ago, photography demanded superior skill for the simple reason that it wasn't as disposable as it is now. Today, if a shot doesn't come out as we want, we just retake it until we're satisfied. Of course, professional work with current tools yields extraordinary results compared to the frantic point and shoot of smartphones and compact cameras, but we must admit that modern cameras do more than their older sisters. One possible exception were instant cameras, with Polaroid at the forefront. Nobody liked wasting a photograph, but the "instant" effect was valuable enough to compensate for any inconvenience. Polaroid officially ended instant film production in 2008, but the void never fully manifested. Both Fujifilm and the people at the Impossible Project continued making compatible films, and the new "post-bankruptcy" Polaroid did the same for its Pic-300 camera.
Zero Ink Technology
Polaroid's latest addition is the Snap, an instant camera based on the Zero Ink technology that the company already sells in products like the Z2300 camera and the ZIP Instant printer. The difference is that the Snap has a much more compact, minimalist, and undeniably attractive design. Zero Ink technology works with the help of a special film that contains magenta, cyan, and yellow crystals. The camera's built-in printer uses heat to activate those crystals, and in less than a minute, the physical copy of the photo (measuring 5.08 by 7.62 centimeters) is ready. The Snap has no digital controls, nor an LCD screen as a viewfinder. To be honest, that's not the message it seeks to convey. One of the Snap's goals is to revalue photography with a more traditional experience, though obviously without sacrificing too much.
Those who aren't interested in instant photography need not worry: the Polaroid Snap has a microSD slot and a micro USB connector for transfer and download like any other digital camera. The maximum resolution is ten megapixels, nothing extraordinary compared to other products, but definitely better than the lens on an average smartphone. The official price for the Snap is $99, and it will be available closer to the end of the year.
