There’s something eerily familiar about this old polaroid ad from the 60’s…
If you haven’t already heard, Polaroid Corporation is killing off all of it’s instant film production. It’s demise is likely to be complete as early as 2009. In fact, our local camera shop – West Photo – claims to be completely out of certain types already and the distributor will not take any new orders.
If you’re seriously worried, be sure to check out savepolaroid.com.
Most consumer-fans of polaroid film shouldn’t fret too much as the patent will certainly be licensed to other companies willing to manufacture it. In fact, Fuji already makes a color version of the pack film for certain cameras, and it’s been rumored that they will be taking on more, most likely going after the fringe market of the 600 series and Time-Zero equivalents.
Some of us in the professional market won’t be so lucky. Most large format instant film will probably disappear, along with our ability to proof and check focus when shooting large format film. Believe it or not, there are still clients who demand 4×5 transparencies for reproduction.
What can we expect from artists like Chuck Close, Lucas Samaras, and Mike Slack who have made the medium part of their trademark styles? Even if they are able to hoard the last remaning boxes, the stuff has a shelf life of less than a year. As aptly stated at savepolaroid.com “Best before: It’s too late”