Impossible-project-iphone-polaroid-224x168Instagram has always felt a little bit like cheating to me, and having come from a film background, I like seeing the real thing as opposed to a clearly inferior iPhone or Android photo with some old-timey effects (though I am extremely impressed by FilmConvert, which aims to do the exact same thing except a lot more accurately with motion content). Impossible Project, who managed to save Polaroid film and is producing it to this day (along with new cameras), is trying to take those iPhone photos and turn them into something real and tangible: a Polaroid instant photo.

They have been running a Kickstarter -- which actually ended yesterday. Either way, here is that video:


This is a video produced by Reuters and David Fazekas, and shot on a Sony FS700 and Canon C300:

A lot of you might be saying, well, that's completely useless now that we live in a digital world, but I've found that since I've moved to digital cameras, I'm not printing out photos all that much anymore. You also might say, why would you ever need to print out low dynamic range and slightly shaky photos? An old saying is "the best camera is the one you have with you", and with so many people owning cell phones, often the best camera is that tiny 4-8 megapixel one that comes with your phone. Aside from the interest in giving your pictures an analog look, there is a very real danger in this all-digital world for photos to be lost forever.

We already know that motion picture film is on the way out (and still photography film isn't too far behind), but analog could stick around a long time thanks to organizations like Impossible Project. We may not see high volumes, and it might cost a little more, but nothing is impossible.

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