Kodak Smile Classic Camera - out and about
A while back I agreed to take a look at the new ‘Kodak’ instant camera. I don’t often accept review samples but this gave me a much needed excuse to get out of the house for a change.
The camera is pretty much what you'd expect, but it did give me a few nice days out.
Comments (33)
I hope that these evolve with popularity and the competition builds in some durability so that tweens and teens can snap and share with friends. We lost much of the hard copy prints with digital cameras.
About the cost, a dollar a photo, this is comparable to the Polaroid film packs back in the day. So at least that aspect is representative of the original version.
It’s pretty much the same as the Fujifilm stuff now too. ZINK used to have a price advantage over that though with the smaller older prints.
I’m (hopefully) going to become a father next year, so I’m constantly looking for entertainment/activity ideas to file away - setting them loose at family gatherings with a camera like this is a cracking idea, cheers! Just got to sell the missus on Techmoan as a middle name now.
Yes kids with cameras are one of those things where everyone wins. People are friendly to them so the children often get better pictures than an adult and the child enjoys the attention, it helps them with mingling if they are shy and might also foster an interest in a hobby.
Your missus is correct: This camera replicates the Polaroid 600-type image very well.
Nice one as always, Mat. I was wondering, how durable are the photos? If they scrape against something when they first come out of the camera, will they scratch/scrape/smear? How about after they have sat for a couple of hours?
They’re fixed as soon as they emerge. I just popped them in my pocket after taking them. They have a peel off backing so you could stick them to things if you wanted. I’ve just tried scratching one for you with my nail, but it didn’t work as they’re glossy so it just slides across.
I really enjoy your reviews of quirky present-day products like this, thank you! (Of course, all the retro tech stuff is also great.)
I always want to do a mix - ideally there would be a lot more new stuff, few companies make anything interesting or unusual any more.
You say the Kodak camera's picture are washed out, but are you sure that's not just because you're used to the HDR processing of your phone camera? That makes everything more colorful. It appears to me that the printer does a good job of reproducing the photographs (from either your phone or the built-in camera). But it's only logical that a simple camera like that doesn't have HDR (or if it does, it's switched off in the app).
Yes one goes too far in one direction and the other goes too far the other way. Somewhere in the middle would be best.
The reason why it takes so long between the press of the button and printing, is because it has to do what we call a RIP in the professional printing world. It’s short for Raster Image Processor and still needed in 2019 for the analog mechanics of actually printing something, regardless of it being ink, laser or other means of reproducing a digital image on an analog medium. The processor in this camera isn’t the fastest in the world, obviously, so it takes some calculation to convert a 16 megapixel image. You’ve all experienced it when sending any sizeable documents or pictures to your printers. Banging, swearing and being irritated that it doesn’t respond. That’s the computer and the printer handling the process of converting those data into something a printer can handle. Best regards The Graphical Engineer 😘
Really interesting video. To my mind, Kodak is looking to emulate the Polaroid SX70 "vibe" with this camera. No problem there, but pastiches are difficult to pull off. As you say the slow photo delivery and analogue v digital quality will be an issue. But... it is a new product and it's not wholly digital, although it can act as a printer for a digital item. Physical film produced by a camera with a lens and which gives a straightaway print is something I love. If this is a sign for the future development of film cameras then its all to the good!
So, the difference in instant cameras between 1970 and today is, in 1970 you printed the picture, waited a minute, peeled off the backing and waved it about until it dried. Now, you wait a minute for it to come out of the camera. The end result is about the same, only you don't have to throw away the nasty part with the chemical residue.
Different technology in the 1970s...at least back then you could take several instant pics in a row and set them aside to develop instead of waiting a minute between shots for it to print out. Almost seems like "instant photography" has taken a step backwards!
Does anyone know what the lifespan is of photos printed on this sort of technology?
I have an early small bluetooth Polaroid Zinc printer. Just found a print from 10 years ago and looks just as bad now as the day printed but no worse. It's prints are very low resolution and suffered banding and other issues but at least have not faded. However they have been stored in a drawer away from sunlight, so not sure if it would be different if in frame or similar. I only really used it to give friends a fun picture of a day out before parting at the end of the day. Fun nothing more.
The FujiFilm Instax are the modern Polaroid for the millennials. Their line of instant cameras are kind of rubbish (as in the cameras are rubbish) but I recently got an Instax bluetooth printer that makes instant prints of photos that you take on your cellphone. I got it as a gift for my daughter and she raves about it. I think the instant photo printer is the sweet spot for this type of device. Also, the Instax printer is quite a bit smaller than this Kodak model.
FujiFilm always served me well. i still have some packs of peel apart film in the fridge...
Interesting video, Mat. (Can I call you M@ ? :-) Like Gregory above, I remember the Kodak instant cameras from the 1970s. I had an EK100. I thought it was way better than the Polaroid equivalent of the time, but when Polaroid sued Kodak, I was offered money by Kodak to return it to be scrapped. As there would be no further films for it, I accepted, sent it to Kodak and received a cheque. Sad.
I think you did the right thing though - a camera with no film isn’t too much use. Also M@ works well, I’ve used it occasionally, but it’s mostly just caused confusion. Maybe its day will come.
Oh I forgot: Your cap should get an extra like, just for the heck of it.
I really liked that outdoorsy video. Lapel mic sounds great, perfect light. Looks very professional. I could imagine this more often for an appropriate topic/item. Camera: Sadly it takes this long time to get the photo out, which I think is killing an important fun factor that made those instant cams popular in the first place.
I thought the outdoor stuff worked well, I hope to do more of it now I’ve got the kit worked out.
For someone who grew up and lives still in Rochester NY, the birthplace and home of what is left of Kodak, this camera's existence is deeply ironic. Kodak developed its own instant camera line in the 1970s and was sued by Polaroid over it. Between the settlement with Polaroid, the settlement with the individuals who had cameras that they could no longer use because Kodak was forbidden to manufacture the film any longer, and the loss of Polaroids business in making some parts of their Polaroid film, it ended up costing the company well in excess of a billion dollars. And now these little cameras and apparently a couple of others under the Kodak line exist. Strange days...
Lifelong Rochesterian here as well...I drive past Kodak Office (their HQ building) every day going to/from work. My father (like every other member of my family) was a Kodak employee and I remember him bringing home experimental formulations for their Kodak Handle camera film (ie: their instant camera line). The company gave him the film to test and he sent my brother and I outside to take pictures of whatever we wanted.
With a delay of a full minute, it's hardly 'instant' is it? Nice pictures there in front of your house though. 😉 Also don't mind reviews of "freebies" like this. I'm sure you're offered (sent?) more stuff like that, and I'd love to see the resulting reviews if you find the time.
I turn down a lot of stuff, but it’s mostly no-brand rubbish. I’ll have to talk more about this in the next Patreon update.
Add to all of that, that the shutter button is in an awkward place. It would work better if they moved it up to the front.
I was thinking it looked exactly like the ‘vintage’ filter in Snapseed before you (or the missus) did. Not something I’d ever buy but I enjoyed the video!
Sort of a shoot off of the Polaroid camera. Except I like that at least you get a digital copy and print from phone option. It definitely will have a niche market. Nice to see you out and about.
I love the retro look of the photos but it is more of a gimmick than a serious camera