Petters has in the past bought up failed companies with well-known names for the value of those names. On April 27, 2005, Petters Group Worldwide announced its acquisition of PHC. Since the bankruptcy Polaroid branded LCD and Plasma televisions and portable DVD players have appeared on the market. Polaroid's bankruptcy was widely believed to be the result of the failure of its senior management to see the effect of digital cameras on its film business, a fate that also befell its primary rival, Kodak. Significant criticism surrounded this takeover because the process left executives of the company with large bonuses, while stockholders, as well as current and retired employees, were left with nothing. The company filed for federal bankruptcy protection in October 11, 2001, and most of the business was thereafter carried on by the Holding Company (PHC), managed by Bank One.

Polaroid shots were often used to test studio lighting setups before use of other types of film or camera, before the instant playback of digital cameras became available. Professional applications of the Polaroid instant film and cameras were as screen-shot cameras for scientific instruments, passport / identity photos, or large format cameras of other manufacturers equipped with Polaroid sheet film holders or pack film backs. Despite its history of innovation, the company entered the digital photography market very late in the game, and as a result has neither a significant market share nor significant innovation in this area.

Quality can range from extremely good, as in the Pathfinder or SX -70 cameras, to extremely poor, as in the Joycam. Most Polaroid cameras have fully automatic exposure systems, with an electronic eye to determine correct exposure. Through its history, Polaroid has been known as a company that builds quirky cameras cheaply that work quite well.

All of these films can be expensive, usually costing about $1 per shot, or print. Instant cameras have been produced to use three main categories of film: rollfilm, packfilm, and integral film. The company's original dominant market was in polarized sunglasses, an outgrowth of Land's self-guided research in polarization after leaving Harvard University at the age of 17 (he later returned to Harvard to continue his research).Īfter Polaroid defeated Kodak in a patent battle, Kodak left the instant camera business on January 9, 1986.Įarly instant camera were often referred to and titled as 'Land Cameras,' named after the inventor of the dry instant film process, Dr. It is most famous for its instant film cameras, which reached the market in 1948, and continued to be the company's flagship product line. The Polaroid Corporation was founded in 1937 by Edwin H.

Polaroid tv old