Why Did Edwin Land Invent the Polaroid Camera?
Edwin Land invented the Polaroid, or instant camera, after his young daughter asked why she couldn't see photographs immediately after they were taken. Land had already developed the polarizing light process and had many patents under his belt when we undertook the development of instant photography.
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Early Years
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Edwin Land founded the Polaroid company in the 1930s and spent a decade marketing polarizing lenses for cameras, eyeglasses and automotive use, before embarking on the development of instant photography. According to Land, his inspiration for the invention was his daughter asking him why she couldn't see the photos that her father took instantly.
The Land Camera
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Polaroid introduced the first instant camera, the Polaroid Land Camera Model 95, right before Christmas in 1948. The camera allowed users to take a photograph that would develop inside the camera and produce a 3-1/4 by 4-1/4 print within 60 seconds. The camera was a huge hit, making the company millions in the following year.
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Polaroid Means Instant Cameras
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The phrase "take a Polaroid" became synonymous with taking an instant photograph. Though the Polaroid company continues to produce other items, such as their polarized lenses and other photographic applications for medical and military use, they are best known for their portable and easy-to-use instant cameras. By the 1970s, Polaroid cameras were sold in more than 45 nations and the number of users was in the millions.
Popularity of Polaroid Cameras
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Throughout the next 50 years, from 1948 when the cameras debuted until the late 1990s, Polaroid instant cameras remained popular among amateur photographers. Polaroid developed new models every few years, keeping pace with developments in photography and film development, including the ability to produce color photographs, higher quality images and smaller, more compact cameras.
Digital Takeover
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During the 1990s, digital cameras gained popularity and began to displace the Polaroid instant film cameras in the market. Polaroid introduced their own digital camera in 1996, keeping up with the newest innovations and customer demand, just as it always had. By 2008, Polaroid stopped producing its instant film cameras and film packs, offering new digital instant cameras instead, that "snap and print," just as their old models did.
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References
- Photo Credit Ralph Cutler
