The new Polaroid I-2 harks back to the original camera’s essential role in the creative industries. Billed as the company’s first analogue instant camera with built-in manual controls, it’s designed for swift gratification and maximum flexibility.
Under chairman Oskar Smolokowski, Polaroid was transformed from a technological has-been to a playful tool. Smolokowski, who parlayed what began as the Impossible Project, a movement to source and manufacture film for the cult cameras that began life in 1937 but were discontinued in 2008, tapped into the emerging analogue consciousness.
Along the way, we had the compact Polaroid Go, the Polaroid Now+, Polaroid Lab and the original 2016 Polaroid I-1 that re-booted the company and gave it control of the famous name.
The new Polaroid I-2 goes one step further, with built-in manual controls for the first time, paired with a new, far sharper lens, a wide aperture and with a thread mount compatible with 49mm filters. ‘To develop the I-2, we expanded our engineering team and spent more than four years designing and finessing every element,’ Smolokowski says. ‘It is the most capable camera we've ever made and a true milestone in our journey.’
There’s also autofocus, a large viewfinder with an external OLED display, and styling that is unmistakeably Polaroid, but far better finished, with a solidity missing from the mass-produced grey plastic Polaroids of the 1970s and 1980s. There’s even Bluetooth connectivity, a shoulder holster and a premium case. The company hopes that the flexibility and digital connectivity of the I-2 will lure in a new generation of instant photographers, putting this classic camera at the heart of creativity once again.
Polaroid I-2, £599.99, Polaroid.com
-
The Emory, RSHP’s first luxury hotel in London, is a rising starNew London hotel The Emory presents the perfect showcase of RSHP’s signature functionalist style and hospitality group Maybourne’s elevated luxury
-
‘Born in Oasi Zegna: The Book’ looks back to the house’s Alpine rootsPublished by Rizzoli, ‘Born in Oasi Zegna’ looks towards the Oasi Zegna natural territory in the Italian Alps, where ZEGNA opened its first wool mill in 1910 and has since fostered a thriving natural ecosystem of more than 500,000 trees
-
The New York art exhibitions to see nowFrom MoMA to the smaller spaces, here are the best New York art exhibitions to catch before in May 2024.
-
Five compact DAB radios that combine broadcast content with visual brioThe latest DAB radios – countertop and bedside broadcast companions – for those who like their devices to be standalone and visually simple
-
New Nothing Ear and Ear (a) earbuds: audio innovation with a retro nodNothing’s new Ear and Ear (a) earbuds, drawing inspiration from vintage portable hi-fi and packed with updates, help the company maintain its status as an audio innovator
-
Dial into the Boring Phone and more smartphone alternativesFrom the deliberately dull new Boring Phone to Honor’s latest hook-up with Porsche, a host of new devices that do the phone thing slightly differently
-
Cutting-edge sound machines celebrate the independent spiritSynths, effects, and even toys – these sound machines offer up new adventures in music creation, and showcase the idiosyncratic world of low-volume tech production
-
Wearable tech that’ll help you hack, track and snack your way to successThe latest in discreet wearable tech, from biowearables to smart glasses, is designed to help you be your best self
-
Remote working wonders: what every home office needsRemote working calls for clever and efficient kit that won't impinge on domestic bliss at day’s end – from a desk that stows your monitor out of sight to a discreet cloud alternative
-
New Leica SL3 meets the desires and demands of photographers and filmmakersThe Leica SL3, the latest in the brand’s range of mirrorless full-frame system cameras, is powerful, pocketable and undeniably professional
-
Nothing Phone (2a) and Punkt MC02: our hands-on reviewTwo new smartphones – Nothing Phone (2a) and Punkt MC02 –offer different approaches to conventional device design, while emphasising simplicity, privacy and the power of good design
