Polaroid just announced the I-2, a high-end instant camera like they haven’t made since the venerable SX-70 or SLR 680. Lomography has done this with Instax instant cameras for a while, but basically your options for Polaroid film were to buy a 40-50 year old camera and hope for the best. Might by most excited for external flash syncing. One thing that’s weird, Polaroid says the lens is sharp, but seems to go out of its way to not say if its glass or plastic. I imagine if it was glass, they’d crow about it.

But this seems to be another example of companies realizing that the camera supply might be something there is economic incentive to address. For years, it was hard to invest the R&D into building a camera for a very limited market, given that the cheaper used cameras available are often more technically advanced and reliable. But we’re hearing that Pentax and MiNT are designing new 35mm film cameras. So clearly they see a tipping point as a market opportunity.

This also comes as we’re starting to see the supply chain crisis subside for actual film production. Kodak stock actually seems somewhat reflective of demand as of late, with some actual price cuts coming after years of not insignificant increases.

But Polaroid, a company sometimes chided for being too much of a brand and less of a “serious film company,” is actually making a high end camera. What a time to be shooting film!