Polaroid is a brand that is known for producing instant cameras and film. Photographs taken with Polaroid cameras are instant, meaning that once the image has been taken, the print is ejected from the camera and is then ready to be viewed a few minutes later. Polaroid cameras were very popular in the 1970s and 1980s.
Polaroid Corporation was an American company that manufactured cameras, instant film, supplies and other photographic products. The company was founded in 1937 by Edwin Land and was one of the leaders in instant photography. In 2008, Polaroid Corporation went bankrupt and was acquired by PLR IP Holdings. Today, the Polaroid brand is used by several different companies for a variety of products, including instant cameras, printers, toys, etc.
Polaroid instant photo formats are:
- SX-70: this is Polaroid's earliest instant photo format, which was introduced in 1972. This format is used by the SX-70 camera model, which is Polaroid's first digital camera. Photos in this format are 3.5×4.25 inches in size.
- 600: This instant photo format was introduced in 1981 and is used by digital and analogue cameras. Photos in this format are 4×3 inches in size.
- i-Type: This instant photo format was introduced in 2017 and is used by Instax digital cameras. Photos in this format are 3.4×2.13 inches in size.
- Spectra: This instant photo format was introduced in 1986 and is used by Spectra digital cameras. Photos in this format are 3.5×3.5 inches in size.
In addition, there are several other instant photo formats that are no longer produced such as Mio, Captiva, JoyCam, etc.