Vintage Polaroid Cameras
The Polaroid Corporation was founded in 1937 by Edwin H. Land. It is most famous for its instant film cameras, which reached the market in 1948, and continue to be the company's flagship product line. Polaroid defeated Kodak in a patent battle, and Kodak left the instant camera business on January 9, 1986.
Early instant cameras were often referred to and titled as "Land Cameras," named after the inventor of the instant process, Dr. Land. Through its history, Polaroid has been known as a company that builds quirky cameras cheaply that work quite well. Most Polaroid cameras have fully automatic exposure systems, with an electric eye to determine correct exposure. Quality can range from extremely good, as in the Pathfinder or SX-70 cameras, to extremely poor, as in the JoyCam. Despite its history of innovation, the company entered the digital photography market very late in the game, and as a result has neither a significant market share nor significant innovation in this area.
Folding Cameras - Series 1 (Mid 60's - Mid 70's) Bellows-type models which fold down into a solid body, with a flip-up cover to fold over the lens assembly. All these models feature rangefinder style focus mechanisms. The shutter must be manually cocked after every release of the shutter before another photograph can be taken.
Early instant cameras were often referred to and titled as "Land Cameras," named after the inventor of the instant process, Dr. Land. Through its history, Polaroid has been known as a company that builds quirky cameras cheaply that work quite well. Most Polaroid cameras have fully automatic exposure systems, with an electric eye to determine correct exposure. Quality can range from extremely good, as in the Pathfinder or SX-70 cameras, to extremely poor, as in the JoyCam. Despite its history of innovation, the company entered the digital photography market very late in the game, and as a result has neither a significant market share nor significant innovation in this area.
Folding Cameras - Series 1 (Mid 60's - Mid 70's) Bellows-type models which fold down into a solid body, with a flip-up cover to fold over the lens assembly. All these models feature rangefinder style focus mechanisms. The shutter must be manually cocked after every release of the shutter before another photograph can be taken.
