Polaroid to announce an Android interchangeable lens camera at CES 2013: Digital Photography Review

Anyone who has been to CES knows that most of what is announced is never available. The whole point of the show is to announce stuff to the world and sell it to vendors. If the vendors don't buy then you won't likely be buying it either. There are, of course, exception but by and large that is how it works. I have no doubt that if there is sufficient interest that Polaroid will deliver. Who knows? If Polaroid can undercut the other mirrorless options by a good margin they may even become the goto mirrorless cam for those on a budget. Especially if they're the only cheapo on the shelf.

0 upvotes

It would be nice if polaroid introduced polaroid film - very nice.

And maybe a hybrid sx70 - very very nice.

0 upvotes

I'm not too excited about this.. With the plethora of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras out there, how does Polaroid think they are going to fit in.

0 upvotes

Polaroid seem to be good at announcing, but poor on delivering!

0 upvotes

I'll believe it when I see it, and trust it once it's been in the market a year.

0 upvotes

This idea, an Android or other open platform camera, is THE BIGGEST POTENTIAL of existing technology that is unexploited by existing cameras. It should be married with a universal software/electronic lens mounting capability supported the manufacturer. (Don't tell me it is impossible or illegal. It has all be done, but piecemeal.) That would be a takeover move by an Apple class competitor. The end of the camera business as we have known it. (Polaroid on the other hand has been a joke. No one even knows who owns the name.)

The existing camera companies are too timid and backward in their thinking to do it until they are faced with the need to chase another company's lead.

Sony, who has great electronics technology, seems to have done a typical Sony "toe in the water" job with loadable apps on the Nex 5R and 6, but those is the typical stupid proprietary stuff like "memory stick" and ADCMP, or whatever it was instead of mp3.

1 upvote

Yes i think a "partnership" with Nikon looks possible A 1" sensor would fit with a 10-30 lens.

Good for NIKON. They can shift more units without weakeng there own brand with a rather gadgety product

0 upvotes

From what I have seen online, it doesn't sound like this will be done in collaboration with Nikon, also if that was the case I imagine Polaroid would be spreading that word around..

0 upvotes

But it says CCD sensor. Sounds unlikely to me.

0 upvotes

Where does it say the lens is interchangeable?

0 upvotes

Is this Samsung OEM?

0 upvotes

Read the article, SAKAR. They made a number of Kodak's early cameras and are a good supplier.

0 upvotes

Tegra 4 coming soon :)

0 upvotes

For that sweet, sweet Vivitar quality with Android bolted on? O_o

(The camera is being made by Sakar, Vivitar's parent company.)

0 upvotes

Yeah but have you seen the Polaroid lineup they had out in 2012, i bought one of their 21x camera's and it works great. From what it seems like in the market, they are trying to keep it separate from Vivitar stuff...

0 upvotes

You think this could be a hoax from someone who is testing his photoshop skills?

0 upvotes

I've been flipping back and forward between an image of a Nikon 1 and the new Polaroid. Funny that the strap lugs and the focus assist lamp are all in the same place. Maybe Nikon has found a new outlet for their 'highly successful' Nikon 1 camera system by partnering with a 'highly successful' camera brand like Polaroid?

3 upvotes

Not sure if serious.

2 upvotes

The big question is:
is a 3"-4" screen large enough to have a photoshop clone app, to do all your post processing work directly on the camera, instead of on a computer?

Otherwise, I really don't see the pertinence of giving yourself all the hassles of an OS with apps, updates, spyware, OS bugs, crashes, etc. We just want to bloody take pictures already, and good ones at that!

1 upvote

Well you can still choose the 99% of digital cameras available that doesn't have an Android OS in it.

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I think that it needs 7'' 4k display or biger and a new Tegra 4 processor ot better and 16GB RAM or bigger and apps wich can utilize these features :)

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 3 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

Anyone remember this? http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/01/12/PolaroidAndroid

Who cares what Polaroid announces? Tell us when they do it. That company is all talk and no action of late.

7 upvotes

Great Point!! LOL>

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up until now no Android camera/phone provides RAW capabilities, let's see if Polaroid can be a game-changer..

0 upvotes

There's a good rule in journalism that says acronyms should never be used on first reference. Mind telling us what CES stands for?

1 upvote

International Consumer Electronics Show (CES)

http://www.cesweb.org/Home.aspx

0 upvotes

OS - operating system
CEO - chief executive officer

Happy now?

3 upvotes

CES... You're joking, right?

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

2 upvotes

They should have explained the acronym, but it's sort of understandable that they didn't, because CES such a huge trade show that everyone in consumer electronics (though not end users) instantly knows what it is. It's held in Las Vegas and it's absolutely massive.

I guess they casually used the acronym the same way they would IS, JPEG, EVF, or any of the other acronyms that are no longer explained.

1 upvote

Hi There Sam,

Is this your first time on a Tech blog ?

0 upvotes

ha ha ha. Dude...google.

0 upvotes

I dont trust Polaroid. But we will see.

1 upvote

I don't know how good the camera will be but the Android OS gives the potential for enormous flexibility and all sorts of interesting features.

I couldn't work out at first if it was a Nikon 1 relative or just happened to look like it but even the lens internals look the same, if you look at a head on picture of the Nikon lens the inside looks identical and you can see both lenses have a bayonet for a lens hood that look the same too so I think there's definitely a connection between the two cameras.

It could be a fun tool for experimenting with C mount (and some D mount) lenses that won't give full coverage on m43 as long as the camera has decent magnified live view and peaking for focusing. In theory the video quality could be hacked far beyond standard settings.

I will never complain about there being more interchangeable lens cameras on the market, if the fickle public start ditching needlessly small compacts for cameras like this it can only be a good thing for us all.

0 upvotes

Also while Polaroid is just a brand name now this is probably the best camera to have the name on in a long time which is also a good thing. This is probably the first camera for a while that comes close to being worthy of the name.

The poundland chain sell Polaroid branded photo paper which is obviously offcuts because some packs are good and some have obvious manufacturing flaws, it's a shame such a name finds it's way onto such poor quality product.

Comment edited 45 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Another sign that it's related to the Nikon 1 is that the kit lens shown in the promo piece is 10-30 mm. That suggests that at the very least it is the same size sensor as Nikon 1. If so, hopefully lenses and accessories will be interchangeable between this Polaroid and Nikon 1 series bodies, as is the case with Panasonic and Olympus M4/3 products.

0 upvotes

@Thomas22: that is like saying that every manufacturer on here that is offering a 18-55mm zoom lens for their aps-c cameras all use the same technology?

0 upvotes

@Timmbits - Yes, because there are so many 10-30mm lenses around for systems other than Nikon 1.

1 upvote

Android, yay.

This App requires access to the following:

Storage - modify/delete SD card contents
Network Communication – full internet access
System tools – Prevent camera from sleeping
System tools – Modify global system settings
System tools – Write Access Point name settings
System tools – automatically start at boot
Hardware controls – take pictures

Just what every photographer want's to see when they 'boot' their camera.

Or how about:

- An update is available, would you like to install now or take pictures?
- Google is down, can your subject wait?
- Your google account is locked, camera is shutting down.
- Your google credit is running low, top-up today and receive a 10% discount
- Location server indicates photos not permitted in this location, camera is shutting down.
- Using a slow 2GB class 4 card? Promotion today only 4GB class 6 only $5.
- When you're done taking pictures why not print on HP premium glossy, only $0.99 for 20 sheets while stocks last.

Android, yay.

7 upvotes

You must have a really crap android phone....

7 upvotes

More like: Android, yay.

Now I have a standard, well understood platform as a basis, instead of whatever Canon or Nikon or Fuji has developed. If I don't like the stock firmware, I can install my own version. I can add any feature I want and I can add features other users have created.

Android is a platform, which is open source, and divorced from Google. If you want to run Google's services (maps, etc), you have to play by their rules. If you don't - it's just like any other OS.

3 upvotes

You read my ming, Nakinsky!

Exactly WHY would I want an android OS in my camera?

People have experienced windows hell, and now they want it in a different flavor on their cameras? Total insanity!

3 upvotes

@fatdeeman

Yes, of course, hasn't everyone?

@Aetumum

The open source part is only the starting point. It then gets heavily modified by the manufacturer to play with all their proprietary stuff within the camera. You will only get to play with any of that if the manufacture decides to give you an API, otherwise you'll have to build it all yourself from scratch a'la Magic Lantern.

You may be excited by the techie possibilities, but it's commerce driving this adoption. Either the fact it's a free head start, or the ability to integrated value added services.

Either way, it all stems from the fact that Google bought it for $50,000,000 and then gave it away free. They did this not because they are Santa Clause, but because they know how to make lots of money from it in the longer game by knowing what you're doing and where and when you're doing it. It's not like they hide the fact, it's been stated many times, including when they bought Android Inc.

1 upvote

Android 2.x was wrestled onto tablets and did not fare well - Google then rushed a 3.0 release suited for tablets (but not phones), then made 4.x which fits both platforms. And now they wrestle that onto a camera... the circus starts anew.

0 upvotes

Android OS, nice.
Hacks are popular - they can unlock previously unavailable resources and add functionality: magic lantern (Canon), personal-view.com (Panasonic), etc.

Android is great not because you can use the existing apps, it's the possibility to develop new ones FOR THE CAMERA.

1 upvote

agree.. i had android 1.5 on a previous Samsung phone. The camer was rudimentary to say the least. Upgraded to 2.1 for phone functionality and Whoaaa.. suddenly I had multiple resolution, compensation, macro, BW and a whole list of stuff as options. Only because the camera was capable of doing them of course.. but the OS was restricting it before.

I probably wouldn't buy it. not least before seeing some results but I don't get the angst you sometimes get here. Peace :)

1 upvote

"capable"? LOL
that's like giving a camera digital zoom, because it doesn't have optical zoom, and then saying it can do optical zoom. rubbish!

1 upvote

It all depends on how good the API is. I would give Android cameras a year or two before I buy it.

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Soooo, not terribly excited. Polaroid isn't a real company anymore: they went bankrupt and the brand was snatched up by vultures.

The article says that the camera will be "made" by Sakar, but Sakar is just an importer and labeller or cheap Chinese junk electronics — they'll contract out to someone to actually design and make the thing.

1 upvote

I think its a step in the right direction to give priority to a big useable touchscreen, but I'm hoping they will grow in size even more ...

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An open, extensible OS on a camera is a gimmick, and a crappy one at that. Real photographers don't need it.

Video on a camera is a gimmick, and a crappy one at that. Real photographers don't need it.

LiveView on a camera is a gimmick, and a crappy one at that. Real photographers don't need it.

Built-in flash on a pro camera is a gimmick, and a crappy one at that. Real photographers don't need it.

Digital capture on a camera is a gimmick, and a crappy one at that. Real photographers don't need it.

Autofocus on a camera is a gimmick, and a crappy one at that. Real photographers don't need it.

Autoexposure is a gimmick, and a crappy one at that. Real photographers don't need it.

Color film is a gimmick, and a crappy one at that. Real photographers don't need it.

Roll film/compact cam is a gimmick, and a crappy one at that. Real photographers don't need it.

Factory-coated dry glass plates (vs. wet plates) are a gimmick, and a crappy one at that. Real photographers don't need it.

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 3 minutes after posting

29 upvotes

Lens release button isn't in same location as Nikon 1 so even if this camera shares some DNA with Nikon 1, it's likely the mount will be incompatible.

0 upvotes

Polaroid is still around??? I thought only the brand name remained being slapped left and right on all kinds of cheap stuff from China.

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It doesn't has to be a bad camera as long they manage to do an useable and fast interface. We'll see.

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BTW, there is NOTHING that I loathe more in a digital camera than chrome-looking plastic buttons. Panasonic does this too, and its hideous.

3 upvotes

Polaroid Game Plan:

*Take Nikon J1
*Insert higher MP sensor
*Rebadge Nikon 10-30 lens
*Swap in cheap touch screen
*Add sketchy cell phone OS
*Announce product as revolutionary
*Have Sakar build the product for cheap
*18 months later, announce Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

3 upvotes

Sketchy cell phone OS? It's the most popular one worldwide.

15 upvotes

you don't like it then?

:)

1 upvote

@alanbrown: no he's just angry. (see alias) lol ;-)

0 upvotes

@io_bg only if you limit yourself to smartphones. The millions of Nokias running variants of Symbian worldwide is staggering.

And an OS that works fine in phones does not necessarily work well in a dedicated camera.

0 upvotes

Nikon was the first to use the Android OS in a camera, so it would seem Polaroid not only licensed the Nikon 1 J1, but perhaps they are using a modified version of Android similar to Nikon's s800c.

3 upvotes

I recall Polaroid (or whoever behind the brand name) came up with the android camera idea before Nikon and Samsung, except that it hasn't materialised.

I wander why none of them, particularly Samsung, came up with an android cameraPHONE?

0 upvotes

Except this is using Android 4.0, while that particular Nikon camera is using Android 2.3 so it could be Polaroids own version of the OS.

0 upvotes

Polaroid. Android. Haemorrhoid.

10 upvotes

I smell an old ... guy... here.

0 upvotes

Your sense of smell is only exceeded by your sense of repartee...

0 upvotes

A camera with the ability to have user customizable interface. Download and install camera apps based on how you like to use your camera. Imagine a camera where you aren't limited to the camera makers idea of what the interface should look like. That's the future. If you pair this idea with solid hardware then it's going to be really big.

4 upvotes

OK, why have the camera be the android system? What if you just had some powerful port like Thunderbolt that could handle anything you can throw at it, and let an external android tablet with its own powerful cpu be the brains and display. You'd end up wth something like the Black Magic Cinema camera, but instead of that lcd screen fixed on the back, you have a thunderbolt port and you place the android tablet anywhere you want. Inside all of the hardware functions of the camera would be laid open to the control tablet. If you need more frames per second you buy the latest tablet that has the computational power to do that. So you let the camera people focus on the raw functionality of capturing an image with a sensor and you let the open source community build whatever camera functionality you want off of the tablet. You could even make the hardware side modular so that you could place a new sensor in, change the lens mount, etc.

0 upvotes

talk about instant,

i have this idea, its makes use of a dead idea but l think it could be a runaway success.

1. resurrect the EDOF. but use a bigger sensor like 1" or 4/3
2. make sure the EDOF can capture anything from 15 cm onward

0 upvotes

I hate Android

1 upvote

Androids have no feelings, so it can't hate you back. But it would if it could.

19 upvotes

I hate to use Android

0 upvotes

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4efbbcBeS1rwy2yto1_1280.jpg

3 upvotes

I'm sure there is an app for that :D

1 upvote

No one is forcing you to buy this camera, you know.

4 upvotes

I say only about Android. Not about this camera.

0 upvotes

Nikon J1 with android? Lens says 10-30mm and body is essentially a clone of the J1.

2 upvotes

Who's next! Who's next!
VIVITAR

1 upvote

I am pretty sure the same company owns both brands.

0 upvotes

ZENITH

3 upvotes

Pentax making a u4/3, that's what I'd like to see next.
It makes as much sense as Polaroid doing CX.

0 upvotes

Soligor!

3 upvotes

SMENA Digital

2 upvotes

Rollei - they can make their own version of the OS and call it Rolloid. :)

0 upvotes

Anybody here who doesn't understand what the benefits of an Android based camera firmware could bring needs to visit the following two web sites.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/index.php

This an entire community based around firmware enhancements for Android based cell phones.

http://www.magiclantern.fm/

This an entire community based around firmware enhancements for certain Canon cameras.

Now imagine those two sites merged and open source firmware development happening for ANY brand of Android based camera. I'm running Magic Lantern on my T3i and it's brilliant.

7 upvotes

That will be good as long as it doesn't have the restrictions to not load custom firmware like many android cell phones do.

0 upvotes

I think you've got your camera confused with your computer.
What does android and apps have to do with good photography and a good capable camera?

1 upvote

may be Ricoh/Pentax gave them Pentax Q mount license ?

0 upvotes

10-30mm suggests it's a 1" sensor. Could it be CX mount?

2 upvotes

Pola rest in peace.

1 upvote

Is there room in the marketplace for a Poloroid brand mirrorless camera? I don't think so.

1 upvote

I don't know who owns the brand now... but it is clear that the chinese, now that many companies have trained them to make cameras for them through technology transfer, now probably want to bite the hand that feeds them by introducing their own brands... what better way than to do it under an iconic name known for innovation (patents).

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

1 upvote

Sure it must be unloved Nikon 1. they sold to someone, rebranded and bingo! Another loser in the game...

0 upvotes

I wish Polariod could stay in the niche area and produce instant print cameras.

They have the Z230 in the past which is a 10MP camera that allows instant print without ink. It doesn't have any zoom and the IQ couldn't compete with others but it is such a fun camera to use imagine going to a party.

0 upvotes

"IM1836" doesn't sound like a very marketable name to me.

Polaroid film cameras were always about instant results. They're probably trying to build a camera around instant image manipulation and social network sharing via Android apps like what happens with cell phones.

1 upvote

Except it is not "they" anymore. "Polaroid" is just a brand now, not a company which built something.

0 upvotes

I'm Russian and I don't see any word about interchangeable lens. Image says that camera has 3x zoom lens.

1 upvote

Thank you for your translation. However, the silver button at about 4 O'Clock on the lens looks like a lens release button...

1 upvote

The email to IR seems reasonably clear on this:

"There will be an Android powered, interchangeable lens camera introduced by Polaroid at CES 2013," Scott Hardy, president and CEO of Polaroid told Imaging Resource in an emailed statement.

1 upvote

I've seen fake lens release buttons....look at the Canon SX40 HS

1 upvote

SETI: Я тоже не увидел в пресс-релизе ни слова про сменные объективы. Более того, наличие возможности менять объектив означало бы, что Полароид решил присоединиться к какой-то из существующих систем(например, м4/3), не думаю, что они стали бы создавать свою систему сменной оптики. А так очень даже логично получается: аппарат наподобие Sony RX100 с Андроидом )

1 upvote

There is release button near mount.

0 upvotes

I always figured Samsung would be the first to do that by merging their NX system and their Galaxy camera. From the lens spec it looks like a 1" sensor, wonder if they're licensing the Nikon 1 mount?

Of course this all assumes that this isn't just another clever fake.

1 upvote

They still might be, I think people are expecting an Android Samsung NX too, just nothing formally announced yet.

0 upvotes

That might be the only way to get NX to take hold on this side of the world. I hear it does well in Asia, though.

0 upvotes

If Porsche should build a tractor, people expect it to go fast,
If coca cola decides to grow vegetables, people expect them to have a coca flavor,
If Apple decides to build pencils, people expect them to be sleek and webenabled,
if Ray Ban decides to build hats, people expect them to be retro,
if Polaroid decides to build Android camera's, people expect them to p[op out instant pics,

so,

where to pop in that film cartridge?

2 upvotes

What about Lamborghini or Ferrari tractors [grin]?

But its nice to see the Polaroid name still around!

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 3 minutes after posting

2 upvotes

Porsche build loads of tractors a few decades back, and they were not fast, but very popular.

0 upvotes

Porsche built a total of ~150.000 tractors between '48 and '63. That's not "loads of tractors" neither is "very popular". Many of them were purpose-built for coffee plantations in Brazil and were exported there.
/offtopic

1 upvote

And Lamborghini started out as a tractor builder. Check this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lamborghini_22PS_1951.jpg

3 upvotes

The new instant pic is facebook. It makes sense to me. Most people use their smartphones as polariods in that they take the picture and everybody can instantly see it on their own phones and computers.

3 upvotes

Most of the tractor race entries at the Iowa State Fair are modified Deere, Case, or Holland models. More people die or get maimed at the wheels of tractors than race cars.

0 upvotes

What is this good for? Another junk for who? Why nobody listens what people actually want?

0 upvotes

I think almost all CSC cameras would benefit from running something like Android, as long as it's fast and they get full access to the camera H/W. That way there's no worrying about crap firmware and "missing" features like focus peaking etc. as they can all be implemented by 3rd party apps.

2 upvotes

Because successes come from building something people do not know they want. Remember the famous Henry Ford quote about how his customers would have wanted a faster horse...

0 upvotes

Looks like a piece of junk, IYAM.

2 upvotes

You mean "like Nikon J2, just with extendable OS and higher-res sensor", right?

0 upvotes

Just gotta say. This sounds pretty cool!

2 upvotes


What's new @ CES 2013 Jan 11, 2013	Sharp shows prototype 8K screen at CES Jan 11, 2013	Hands-on with smartphones from Sony, ZTE and Huawei at CES 2013 Jan 11, 2013	CES 2013: Hands-on with the Samsung NX300 Jan 9, 2013

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Polaroid to announce an Android interchangeable lens camera at CES 2013

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