Polaroid instant cameras of old were big, blocky snappers with one-press simplicity and the ability to throw out square photos that developed in front of your eyes. The latest addition to the family follows the same design aesthetic, but the Go is a fraction of the size.
Where last year's Polaroid Now instant camera has dimensions of 3.7 x 4.4 x 5.98 in (94 x 112.2 x 150.2-mm), the Go measures 4.1 x 3.3 x 2.4 in (105 x 83.9 x 61.5 mm), and wears classic white colors with iconic branding. It's been designed to be a wearable companion, allowing for point-and-shoot satisfaction coupled with the immediacy of an instant print.
Like it's larger sibling, the new instant camera has a polycarbonate and ABS outer shell. It sports a polycarbonate resin lens with a 34-mm focal length (in 35-mm film terms), an aperture of f/12 and f/52 and has a shutter speed of 1/125 - 30 seconds. There's a selfie mirror for framing up solo shots, a self-timer for at-a-distance group opportunities, a dynamic flash, a double-exposure feature for more creativity options, and has a 750-mAh Li-ion battery that's reported good for 15 film packs.
The small size of the new Polaroid family member means that it can't accommodate full-sized square film packs, so the company has developed a new size to go with the new camera. The image size of the frame card that pops out is 1.85 x 1.81 in (47 x 46 mm), and users should see an image in full color after around 10 to 15 minutes.
"We spent years designing the Polaroid Go camera from the inside out," said the company's Ignacio Germade. "The camera's internal components are arranged like a three-dimensional Tetris, using a careful composition to achieve a simple and effortless exterior and deliver the smallest size instant analog camera possible. Bringing product design back in a serious way to Polaroid is a labor of love and the team is super proud of this new iconic form factor."
The Polaroid Go camera is up for pre-order from today for a suggested retail price of US$99.99, with general availability following next week. A double pack of 16 color film frames is priced at $19.99.
Product page: Polaroid Go
