[caption id="attachment_2743" align="alignright" width="300" caption="image credit: photorumors.com"][/caption]

So is this TMZ, Radar, or a Photography Blog?  Well, yesterday the worlds of pop-culture and photography made an awkward collision when Polaroid and Lady Gaga introduced the new "Polaroid Grey Line" products.  The line includes the GL10, a printer, GL20, a bizarre pair of sunglasses, and the GL30, a faux-"instant film" digital camera.  How exciting!   Last year Polaroid announced Lady Gaga was being hired as a "creative director" for Polaoird.  Many in the industry were skeptical and figured it would probably be an Asthon Kutcher type stunt.  "Got it!"

However, both Polaroid and Gaga are claiming that it wasn't about hiring her as the face of Polaroid, but in her words, "they let me design this s***" (video is after the break). Well, let me be blunt about this, I really wasn't impressed by any of the Grey products.  It's also rumored that the scarf worn by "Bobby" is actually the GL-40, the 4th new intro in the Grey Line.  The scarf isn't actually an imaging product, but neither are the GL10, 20, or 30.  Ouch, maybe that's a little too harsh.  Anyway, here are my impressions on each of the new Grey Line imaging devices.

Preface:  If you've read my blog before, you'll know I'm a very positive writer.  I try to see the best in everything and ultimately encourage people to make better photographs!  That's all I care about, but I was so appalled by the poor quality of these Polaroid products that I felt compelled to "tell it how it is"  Anyway, all you Lady Gaga fans out there, feel free to bash, berate, and verbally assault me in the comments.

CAUTION: Contents of this video may lower your IQ.  Unique Photo will not handle returns on film OR the time you just spent watching this video.

The GL10 Photo Printer

Batting lead-off for the new Polaroid Grey Line is the GL10 printer.  At face value, this seems like a very good idea!  In the digital age, people are constantly taking pictures on mobile/multimedia devices, but rarely take the time to print them.  In fact, most people who buy a printer will use it a few times and then let it sit around, starving for ink after the sample inks run out.  Ok, so a printer that's small and compact, can be used wireless via bluetooth, and doesn't actually use ink.  Sounds pretty incredible right?  Again, at face value it does, but somehow Polaroid managed to blow a great opportunity to become a household name again.  The rechargeable battery only lets you print 40 photographs before needing a recharge.  The ZINK paper system is better for the environment because it doesn't use ink, but it's worse for your photographs!  The print quality is so bad you'll find yourself going through several sheets of paper before you get an acceptable result.  Throw in the fact that ZINK paper is very expensive and you have a recipe for disaster.  Gaga and Bobby also felt compelled to brag that the printer would work with any Bluetooth device aside from an iPhone or iPod Touch... Wow.  The most used camera on flickr is none other than the *drum roll please* Apple iPhone!!  Polaroid says it isn't their fault, but it's not exactly a good idea to introduce a product boasting that it will be incompatible for just about 30 or so million people.

My advice: Avoid this $150 paperweight like the plague. I know some people out there will buy it and hey if it works for you, more power to you.  However, I would wait for a company like Canon, who already makes an excellent line of SELPHY dye-sublimation printers, to come out with something much, much more useful.  I could also see EPSON or Fuji venturing down this path and for those like myself in the cult of Apple, it won't be long before Apple is introducing more imaging products like this, but again... better!

The GL20 Photo Sunglasses

Sigh.  Apparently these glasses were designed by the fine Lady herself.  This type of gimmick is old and these kind of glasses have been used for years on certain kinds of websites that we shall not mention here!  The new spin is that lenses have small LCD screens on the front so everyone can see the pictures and/or videos you just took.  Out of all of the products, I guess this one is the most marketable, but there isn't a price point yet.  The glasses can connect to devices via bluetooth or USB.  At best I expect image quality to be about the same as your typical cell phone, which isn't saying a lot.  At worst, it will be like a webcam.  Hey, it has bluetooth built in, so that means you can take a horrible low resolution picture and send it via bluetooth to the boat anchor GL10 that Lady Gaga "always carries around in her purse".  According to Polaroid, "Never before has the world seen fashion, photography and technology come together in one, singular product."  Hmm, I guess they never saw the Leica M7 Hermes edition (see below).

My advice: However much these glasses cost is going to be too much.  Unless you really want to use them as sunglasses.  The GL20 isn't going to be a good photo or video camera so it's probably best at being a pair of expensive sunglasses.  This is the type of thing your 12 year old daughter is going to want next Christmas.  She'll use them three times and then you'll find them snapped in half, laying around the house somewhere years later when she's gone off to college.

The GL30 Instant Digital Camera

This is the ultimate slap in the face to people who have dedicated years of their lives to using Polaroid Instant Film products.  I have to say, the design of the camera isn't bad at all; it really does look like a modernized Polaroid Instant camera.  Bravo to Gaga on the design here.  I could actually see people using this camera if it wasn't a digital camera. Apparently Lady Gaga and Polaroid think it's amazing because "you can see the pictures and pick which wants you want to print".  Uhhh... Welcome to 20 years ago when digital cameras first started to pop-up.  Wasn't that the point of digital photography? The "magic" that Polaroid claims to carry over into the digital age is totally lost in this.  I haven't found any tech specs on the camera, but I imagine you get average point and shoot quality and a small printer built in.  With this as an option, I don't see why anyone would bother with the GL10.  Oh, and it seems to me that this is a Pogo Printer/Camera put in a more sleek housing.

My advice:  The Fujifilm Instax 210 or Mini instant film camera will always be infinitely more fun, useful, and believe it or not, cost effective.  The Zink paper technology is a nice environmentally friendly product, but the problem is the results aren't worthy of the price.  Get yourself an Instax camera and forget about this garbage.

Summary

[caption id="attachment_2756" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons"][/caption]

I was excited when I heard Polaroid was going to be introducing the Instant cameras at CES.  For a minute I was naive enough to think that maybe Polaroid had scrapped together a production facility for 600 film and was possibly working with the Impossible Project (is that an oxymoron or what?) to bring back 600 film.  In 2011, the fusion of retro products in modern designs is going to be huge.  Although 600 film will never be sold on such a wide scale again, it's trendy enough with today's younger people that it could have sold well.  This depressing event really does mark the end of Polaroid as an innovative imaging company.  To me, they blew their last chance.  This reminds me of GM taking the Cutlass, a legendary symbol of the Muscle Car era in the 70's, and neutering it into a Front Wheel Drive Sedan in the 90's.  I don't think I've been this negative in a blog post and I probably won't again unless something compels me to.  If I had to say something positive about the Grey Line Products, it would be that Polaroid is at least acknowledging the future of digital imaging.  For a long time, digital photography has tried to mimic traditional photography.  For professionals, this is a good thing, but in terms of consumer products, cameras in general are pretty far behind in terms of innovation.  This year we saw some of the groundwork laid out by mirrorless camera makers such as Sony, Panasonic, and Olympus, but there is still a long way to go.  Polaroid gets credit for trying, but in 20 years, we won't be talking about any of the Grey Line products as revolutionary or a staple in every family's house.

-MZ