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Sure, neither of the products are in these respective companies’ wheelhouses, but isn’t that a main driver of innovation? Canon’s imaging division will never survive the next decade by simply pumping out a sequence of mildly interesting compact cameras. Other companies should take note.īy buying out small photography startups, or simply extending branding offers in the same way that Polaroid did, major camera manufacturers can access innovative designs and ideas for relatively small investments of effort and capital. What if, for example, Canon had featured the official Canon meMini wearable camera next to their run-of-the-mill compact updates? Or if GoPro had introduced the GoPro Branded Pocket Drone? Both are existing products - albeit without any affiliations to Canon or GoPro - currently gathering funds from Kickstarter campaigns, similar to the position that the Socialmatic occupied not so long ago. Whether or not people will buy the odd square camera remains to be seen, but the mere fact that it exists has put Polaroid in far more headlines than their native products this season.
That could have been the story for the Socialmatic, but thanks to a Polaroid partnership, it’s looking nearly certain that their brainchild will see the light of day later this year. Some of these campaigns are successful, and send their products on to commercial success, but all too many die a premature death or suffer from lack of exposure. Recent examples include the Jigsaw Puzzle Pinhole Camera, the Lightstrap iPhone Ring Flash, the Bublcam, and the Pixelstick. Innovative and quirky proposals for photography products seeking crowd-funding through services like Kickstarter are a dime a dozen. However, the notion of signing such an agreement with a tiny company based only on a design, a strange one at that, is both unique and intriguing. Any Kodak camera you can find in stores nowadays is the result of a similar arrangement. Somewhere along the line, Polaroid took notice and, after reaching an agreement with Socialmatic last February, they agreed to extend their brand name to the product.īranding contracts aren’t unique in the photo industry. It was first introduced in May of 2012 as a design proposal by the Italian firm ADR Studios, which then sought to find a production partner when the concept received went viral. The Socialmatic is a unique concept: a networked camera with instant printing capabilities and a design inspired by the Instagram app icon.
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But after a series of announcements from Sony, Nikon, Canon, and Panasonic that could hardly be called innovative, the Socialmatic’s unique development is an interesting case study for comparison. That’s not really a surprise, Polaroid has been promoting the camera for more than a year now. In one notable bit of news, Polaroid featured specs and a release timeline for the Polaroid Socialmatic. The Consumer Electronics Show is just about over and, as far as the photo industry goes, it’s been a week of anticipated sequels and sensible updates rather than revolutionary changes. Is crowd-sourced innovation the shakeup that the photography industry needs?
From a design concept to a crowd-funding campaign to a product backed by a major brand, the Polaroid Socialmatic represents an alternative to traditional product development methods.
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