Polaroid PoGo Digital Camera – A Flash-back To The 70s?
The idea of instant print photos has always captured (pun not intended!) the imagination, and the fun, quick, easy and practical cameras have always been fairly popular. In fact Polaroid cameras have been around for about 30 years, ever increasing in quality and decreasing in size. Yet you may have noticed that they haven’t ventured into the digital photo age yet: but that is about to change.
And who better to see this into the modern age than Polaroid who, since 1937 have been on the forefront of camera and film technology. Released at the CES, the PoGo Instant Digital Camera is the first of its type: it combines a digital camera with a small printer that will enable people to print their works of photographic art wherever they are.
Some of you photographers out there may recognise the name PoGo, and that is because it is the same name as the Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer which was released in July last year (a small ultra-portable printer printing 3×2” colour images). In fact most of the technology is the same, and you would be forgiven for thinking that they have just sandwiched the printer into a camera case.
It uses Zink Zero Ink technology which involves using special Zink paper with embedded, heat activated dye crystals to produce a dry 3 x 2 inch photo in under a minute. For those who are happy with small photos this is great, allowing you to (relatively) quickly get you images off the camera, and share them easily. The ‘special’ paper comes in at £8.50 for 30 packs, which isn’t too bad considering the advanced technology that has gone into them and the price of good quality photographic paper nowadays.
“This is the digital version of our traditional instant camera, which consumers have loved since the 70s…with this product, Polaroid will bring the magic of instant photography to a whole new generation. It’s what consumers have told us they want – a fun, easy way to use a digital camera to print photos and share their memories instantly.” – Jon Pollock, vice president and general manager, Digital Imaging.
Obviously it will be a little bigger than most cameras (as it is housing a small printer), but the thickness of around an inch is by no means unbearable, and although 10oz is heavy, it is not unsurprising or something that will stop you buying this. What may stop you buying this is another question, and one that does have a few answers:
Firstly you will have to consider whether you have a need for it, and obviously that is something that you will have to decide for yourself. But the beauty of digital cameras is the portability, rapidity and quality of the photo experience, all of which are hindered by this camera. We do not know the specifications of the camera, but they will probably be fairly mediocre. The camera will also have a limited stock of paper, so only expect to be able to print of a few if you are on the move.
But that isn’t what the Polaroid PoGo camera is about: it is about fun, and for the price of £129 and the stylish look that it has, you can see why this may be very popular. It is clear to see that if you are after quality this is not for you, but unless you are pedantic or a specialist; you will not notice any difference between the quality of the photos. All in all it is a nice little product, and I’m sure many people will be looking forward to its’ release in March.
Source – Tracy & Matt’s Blog
Related Pages:
- PoGo Instant Photo Printer – In Your Pocket!
- Panasonic Digital Cameras (FS Series)
- Sony CyberShot Digital Camera Range Expands…Again!
- Lego Digital Camera – Combine Lego & Photography!
- New Samsung Digital Camaras Announced (CES 2010)
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Comments: 1
2:33 pm 16th January, 2009
Really nice camera and such good price for this camera/printer.
Comments: 174
1:51 am 18th January, 2009
I think this is a really interesting concept for a product, it’s essentially come full circle and is back where it started as a product – assuming Polaroid can sell these, this will be quite an accomplishment!