Google Translate's instant camera feature will now make translating a foreign street sign as easy as aiming your phone -- even if your native language isn't English. The company today unveiled a set of new updates to its translation tool, including t...
The M24.004 (that’s probably a codename) comes with an incredibly sleek design that’s thanks to a few key features. It lays its components out in a way so that they’re space-optimized. The lens is placed the way it is so that the battery can sit behind it, forming the cylindrical volume in the camera, while the printing paper and the basic PCB, the flatter components, fit in the rest of the flat frame. The absence of a screen cuts the thickness (by also reducing the load on the battery), and a hollow space at the opposite side of the camera lens actually serves two purposes. Wire management, and a very rudimentary viewfinder that you’re probably not going to use because the camera is so slim it doesn’t really block your face if you hold it near your eye while lining up the shot.
When you’re done, just take the print out, and slip the camera back into your laptop bag because it’ll easily slide in, thanks to its incredibly slick and slim profile! And I can’t get enough of that beautiful grungy distressed metal finish. Looks absolutely badass!
It isn’t quite like Leica to foray into instant-cameras. It doesn’t coincide with their philosophy of producing only the finest, most premium cameras ever, backed by superior lensmaking and finesse, all bound together in a beautifully minimal packaging. An instant camera doesn’t fall within those parameters. They’re meant for instant gratification, for capturing images that are often filtered/distorted for flair, and aren’t high-resolution, given that they’re developed on a tiny canvas and subsequently forgotten about.
It is, however, a designer’s job to explore uncharted territories, often imagining scenarios that don’t exist, or aren’t even thought about. So here’s Daniel Huang’s self-made Leica Instant M, a minimalist camera featuring a viewfinder display of 1:1 ratio to film, designed to mount Leica’s M Lenses… or as he calls it, a premium instant photo camera. Huang believes Leica’s first and only instant model, the Sofort failed to capture the Leica spirit. It based itself on Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 90 and even used Instax film. “Traditionally, Leica lens and cameras are highly treasured collectibles. Their manual lenses produce a recognizable “Leica look” –Notilux lens continue to increase its resell value. Leica camera bodies are prized for its build quality, although they don’t have the highest specs. Their entry-level TL camera bodies, each hand polished for 40 minutes, became a minimalist icon. On the contrary, Leica Sofort’s plastic body and fixed lens feels like an unjustifiably expensive rebadge.”, Huang says.
Huang’s Leica Instant M takes advantage of a hybrid digital and analog system to reduce its flange focal length, effectively allows the camera to mount full-frame lens for the first time. The camera would sport an interchangeable lens system, allowing you to mount and use any of Leica’s lenses on it, something that’s innately Leica-esque in quality.
The camera comes in a simple box-shaped design that definitely exudes a quality of seriousness, unlike the playful nature of the Instax Mini 90. You’ve got the M-Mount on the front that sits atop Leica’s sensor (the hybrid arrangement), and a 1:1 ratio viewfinder on the back that lets you compose your shots and gives you a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) sort of deal. The Instant M is stripped of digital adjustments and post-processing, and analog controls like aperture and focus are done via the manual lens. The viewfinder is slightly inset, giving you a curved surface to dig your fingers into for better grip, and the shutter button on the front lets you click the picture you see in your viewfinder, before the film slowly ejects off the top of the camera.
The Instant M isn’t an official Leica camera, but is, on the other hand, a brilliant interpretation of what Leica’s instant cameras (if they ever decided to re-enter the market) should look like. Clean aesthetics, a design that feels pure and precious, and integrates into it the ability to use all of Leica’s M-mount lenses… the Instant M is the Leica instant-camera that should have been but never was!
Today, digital cameras rule, but many people still enjoy the look and tactile feel of Polaroids. Lomography’s Lomo’Instant Automat Camera aims to revive instant photography for modern users. Think of it as a smart instant camera.
It uses reasonably priced Fujifilm Instax Mini film, combined with contemporary tech to make the experience more pleasant than it’s ever been. It can automatically adjust shutter speed, aperture, and flash output all on its own, using input from an integrated sensor to determine the perfect parameters for a shot.
Basically, it takes care of all the technical details for you, so all you have to do is aim and shoot. It’s simple and also rewarding as the film comes out. For those who want to play with their images, there are long exposure and unlimited multiple exposure modes, as well as an array of available color gel filters, and telephoto, fisheye, and wide-angle lens options.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for the Lomography Lomo’Instant Automat. It’s already completely blown through its fundraising goal. If you want one for yourself, pledges to reserve a unit starts at $112(USD).
The emergence of digital photography caused instant cameras to become a long-forgotten dream, but Lomo’Instant wants to bring that back, and what more, at an accessible price.
New York-based Lomography developed a camera that takes instant photography to the extreme. Unlike Polaroid cameras, which at some point became a synonym to instant photos (and that no thanks to the “Shake it like a Polaroid picture” lyric from Outkast’s Hey Ya!, something that the American camera manufacturer actually advised against, while at the same time using the song to revitalize its products), Lomo’Instant is equipped with more lenses, more shooting modes and various types of exposures.
This one-of-a-kind instant camera comes with an advanced lens system that includes a built-in wide angle lens with the closest focusing distance set at 40cm. Photographers who want to shoot more artistic photos can easily attach the Fisheye or the Portrait lenses that come with the camera.
The three shooting modes promoted by the developers of this camera refer to the use of flash, which can be automatically triggered or can be manually set to fire up or not. As far as the exposure is concerned, photographers can opt for unlimited multiple exposures (that are meant to give birth to interesting experimental shots) or for infinite long exposures, for low-light conditions.
Color gels represent yet another way of transforming the pictures taken with Lomo’Instant. Not at last, you should probably know that this instant camera uses Fujifilm Instax Mini Film, the most widely available instant film in the world.
Lomography’s camera also features a tripod mount and cable release thread, but I think that preparing for too long to shoot a picture takes away from the instant factor. After all, you want to surprise spontaneous reactions with this sort of camera. On the other hand, for infinite long exposures, you might want to use a tripod, unless you want the pictures to be shaky.
Lomo’Instant is currently featured on Kickstarter, where Lomography has raised almost 7 times the initial goal of $100K. Considering that there are 23 more days to go in this campaign, I expect that number to go even higher. Since all the Early Bird spots are gone, you’ll have to back the project with at least $79 if you want to own Lomo’Instant. In that case, you should receive yours around November 2014.
Polaroid is going to mark this holiday season with red color. The 75 years old camera brand is bringing back the Pic-300 Instant Analog Camera with red color. Now users will enjoy instant imaging and...
Life's hard when you're an analog enthusiast in the early 21st century. Thankfully, however, you're not alone in this world -- there are fellow travelers like the folks behind The Impossible Project, folks who bought a Polaroid factory to continue production on the company's famed instant film. As we noted roughly a week ago, the company's also launched a Kickstarter to create an iPhone-friendly gadget to go along with it. It's since handily met its goal and is still chugging along at around $440,000 (from a proposed $250,000), with a full 19 days to go. The company also made an appearance on the show floor here at Photokina to show off what its been working on.
The Impossible Instant Lab is still in the prototype stages, as with a number of devices we've seen here today -- though it's fully operational. We got a demo of the thing from one of the folks at Impossible -- just load the film into the rollers on the bottom, extend the old timey accordion top, choose the proper settings in the company's iPhone app and place it in the holder.
Are you one of the many that were saddened by the demise of Polaroid’s classic instant cameras? Well they’ve just released information about their new digital instant camera, that includes a printer so that you can print out all of your snapshots wherever you are. The device is pretty compact, so it might be an interesting solution.
The Polaroid Z2300 instant digital camera was unveiled at the 2012 CEA show. It has a 10 MP sensor and a built-in zero ink pinter, which can produce 2″ × 3″ prints in under a minute, with full bleed or the classic Polaroid border. It can also print on sticker-backed paper. The camera stores the photos on an SD card so you can use it like a regular digital camera too. There’s also editing software that allows you to review and crop photos on the 3″ LCD screen.
The camera is available for pre-order at Polaroid for $160 (USD), and it will ship starting around August 15, 2012.
Polaroid has combined the instant nature of its cameras from the 80s with the digital camera generation in a new camera called the Z2300. The camera doesn't use film cartridges like the old school...
Google Translate's instant camera feature will now make translating a foreign street sign as easy as aiming your phone -- even if your native language isn't English. The company today unveiled a set of new updates to its translation tool, including t...
