Tag Archives: Instant camera

Barbie x Kodak collab gives instant photo printing a splash of pink

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Although it was never really gone, the Barbie franchise recently got a resurgence of popularity thanks to a fun yet odd live-action film. The toy has changed dramatically over the decades, but what has always stayed the same is its spirit of fun, whimsy, and connecting with loved ones. Oh, and the overabundance of the hot pink color. Just in time for the Barbielicious renaissance, Kodak and Mattel have joined hands to create a special limited edition instant camera and photo printer that embody those qualities, encouraging people of all ages and genders to shoot and share those special moments with big smiles and very pink accessories.

Designers: Kodak x Mattel

Instant cameras in the vein of the iconic Polaroid have very limited uses and printouts, but it’s that scarcity and rarity that have actually endeared these products to people, including the younger generation who may be hearing about the idea for the first time. There’s just something exciting about the thought of pressing a shutter button and instantly printing out a photo that you can share or treasure, knowing that that exact moment and that exact photo will never happen again. There’s a huge market for this retro camera design, and what can be more retro and more fun at the same time than Barbie?

The KODAK Printomatic Barbie Edition pours a splash of pink on the instant camera and scribbles the iconic toy line’s name all over the surface. The instant camera uses ZINK technology to print out those lively colors without the dangers of spilling ink in your bag or even your pocket. The 5MP sensor, while sounding like a bummer, lets you also have a retro-quality photo that you can save on a microSD card for future viewing or, better yet, reprinting.

Yes, it might feel like a bit of a cop-out, but you don’t have to sacrifice versatility just to get that nostalgic photography experience, at least not if you also grab the Barbie-themed KODAK STEP Slim Instant Photo Printer. Connected to a smartphone, you can easily print images on that same 2×3 inch instant photo paper format, from the photos you took using your smartphone, to photos you save from the Kodak Printomatic Barbie Edition camera as well. It’s the best of all worlds, allowing you to experience the instant joy of printing photos while still leaving the option to share that over and over again.

The Kodak x Mattel collab is a fun nod to the iconic Barbie brand and could give fans and collectors alike something to vie for when the products do launch. Unfortunately, availability details have yet to be disclosed, but the windows of opportunity to launch Barbie-themed products, like the HMD Barbie phone, are getting smaller.

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INSTAX WIDE 400 instant camera leaves more space for your friends

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Even with the growing power of smartphone cameras, the discrete camera market hasn’t yet folded as many once prophesied. Professional cameras like DSLRs are still unmatched in power and flexibility, while the retro and nostalgia craze has actually carved a niche for Polaroid-style instant cameras. The most popular format for the latter is small vertical cards that fans love sharing or sticking on walls and fridge doors, but those square-shaped photos (not including the wide white borders) don’t exactly have enough room for everyone or everything you might want to capture. For that, you’ll need a wider picture format, almost like the stereotypical 4×6, which is something that Fujifilm’s latest INSTAX design is offering, allowing you to snap and share those once-in-a-lifetime moments with more friends.

Designer: Fujifilm

There’s just something about these instant cameras that tickle people’s fancies, regardless of whether they lived through the age of Polaroids or not. Rather than being seen as a weakness, the lack of digital features and the limits of printed photos actually add to the charm of the experience. It makes each moment even more ephemeral and precious, which is why you’d want to include as many people or as much of the scene as you can.

The INSTAX WIDE 400 provides that breathing room with its wide photo format, almost twice the size of regular INSTAX photos. That also makes the camera twice as large, as it needs to fit the cartridge holding the ink-free sheets of photo frames. That said, the camera is also designed for comfort despite its size and heft, and its traditional design makes it easy to grasp and hold even with a single hand.

One of the biggest strengths of the INSTAX cameras is their extreme ease of use. Simply turn them on, which involves turning the central dial to the left, and you’re good to go. But since it was specifically designed for group photos, the INSTAX WIDE 400 has a unique feature that lets you turn a lever to set a timer for up to 10 seconds, giving you enough time to position yourself or prepare wacky poses. It doesn’t get simpler than that.

Admittedly, the INSTAX WIDE 400 is aimed at a very niche audience, but one that really digs this kind of experience enough to fork out around $150 for just the camera alone. That said, Fujifilm also knows it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, which is why it has a wide range of INSTAX products ranging from smaller instant cameras to portable photo printers that try to offer the best of both analog and digital worlds.

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Modular instant camera concept offers a new way to create and share memories

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The Polaroid brand has become synonymous with instant cameras that are experiencing a renaissance these days. But while the retro fever has people printing out square format photos again, the designs of these modern instant cameras left some things to be desired. Yes, they recreated the feeling of holding a large and chunky camera, but they might have done it too perfectly to meet the needs and tastes of today’s mobile photographers and creators. Smartphones offer more flexibility and features but at the expense of that authentic instant camera experience. This product concept tries to bring the best of both worlds together through a design that can adjust to your needs rather than the other way around.

Designers: Daphne Hernández, Paola García Higuera, Gonzalo Barba, Ricardo Zerón, Ximena Bravo Barreto, George Gonzalez, Cristian Tovar

The earliest modern instant cameras try to stay faithful to the Polaroid design by eschewing modern conveniences like LCD screens and photo editing prior to printing. On the opposite end of the spectrum, portable photo printers try to provide the same instant printing experience without requiring a separate camera from the one you already have in your pocket. But while smartphones offer a lot of powerful photo editing features, many people find the camera user experience a bit artificial or even forced because of the design of the phone and the connotations that come with it.

The Polaroid DUO concept solves this duality by ironically embracing it. It splits the instant camera into two distinct parts: the camera module and the printer. The camera is a small, lightweight square reminiscent of action cameras that you can attach or hang anywhere so that you’re ready to take photos or record videos anytime. The compact design, which includes a touch screen on the back to tweak the photos’ properties after the fact, offers a more engaging and fun way to take photos without being too conspicuous or flashy like a smartphone.

You can use the camera module on its own and print the photo later, or you can slot it into the larger printer module to make it behave exactly like a traditional instant camera. You don’t lose any of the functionality, however, since you can still access that touch screen. What you get, instead, is a unique character and the experience of holding a fun-looking chunky box up whenever you want to capture the moment and print out the memory right then and there.

Polaroid DUO is definitely an intriguing concept, one that makes you wonder why no one has implemented it yet. It combines the powerful functionality of smartphones with the elements of fun from instant cameras in a way that doesn’t sacrifice one for the other. There might be some implementation details that will need to be ironed out, but most of the technologies needed to make this design a reality are ripe for the picking.

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Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 99 creates color filter effects by shining LEDs on your photo film

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The way film cameras work is simple – light is focused onto a light-sensitive film, causing images to form based on the kind of light that passes through the aperture. Fujifilm’s latest Instax camera cleverly uses that process to its advantage to create funky effects on film. The Instax Mini 99 has a set of LEDs sitting right in front of the photo paper. Choose an effect and the camera clicks the image, but also shines those built-in LEDs during capture to ‘color’ the image with extra hues. A yellow LED, for instance, would give your photo a sepia tone, green LEDs give your photo a faded green effect, and randomized colored LEDs create a light-leak effect reminiscent of old vintage-style cameras. Sure, you can toggle the effects off and click a normal photo too, but honestly, what’s the fun in that??

Designer: Fujifilm

Ask a photography purist and they’re sure to have some wild thoughts about whether what the Instax Mini 99 does is ‘legit’ or not. Most hardcore photographers don’t believe in additive editing, or the idea of adding something extra to an already clicked photo. That means airbrushing skin, fixing highlights, or using extra elements in their editing process. For any photography purist, the most you can really do to a photograph is either subtract from it, or modulate existing elements like play with contrast, color-correct, etc. So the idea of shining LEDs onto an exposed film may see mixed reactions. However, what the Instax Mini 99 does is just genius. It doesn’t apply a digital filter onto your film (the way you would in your photo editing app) – instead, it changes what your camera sees by adding extra color information. What it does is entirely analog, and it recreates a kind of imperfection you’d associate with vintage cameras but does so deliberately.

The interface is simple. A set of knobs on the side of the camera let you choose between different modes. The knob on the top lets you choose any of the Instax Mini 99’s effects, while a knob below lets you adjust brightness with five levels to choose from. This allows you to fine-tune the intensity of the color effect or even use it for standard lighting adjustments. Feeling adventurous? Combine the color effects with different brightness levels or even the double exposure mode for truly unique and artistic results. For those who like a touch of drama, the vignette mode is a welcome addition. By sliding the manual vignette switch near the lens, you can darken the edges of your photos, drawing attention to the center of the image. This technique can be particularly effective for portraits and close-up shots.

Beyond the creative features, the Instax Mini 99 offers a solid foundation for instant photography. It packs a 60mm f/10 lens, an LCD panel for framing your shots, and a long-lasting NP-70S lithium battery. The camera also comes with a shoulder strap and a base grip that includes a tripod mount, making it convenient to carry and use on the go.

The Instax Mini 99 starts at $199.95 for preorder, with the camera officially becoming available starting April. You can even grab yourself a dedicated camera case for $20.

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