Did Polaroid just make the most creative instant camera yet?

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Quick Summary

The Polaroid Mod is a new fully analogue instant camera with four creative shooting modes built into a dial around the lens.

It can create split shots, double exposures, light paintings and motion-freeze images, with prices starting at £149.99.

I love an instant camera , but the Polaroid Mod looks like it could make taking snaps even more fun. You don't need to rely on an app or learn a load of photography settings, as it puts four creative modes directly on the camera.

There's Split Shot, Double Exposure, Light Painting and Motion Freeze, all selected by turning the dial around the lens . The result is a camera that encourages you to experiment rather than simply point, shoot and wait for the picture to develop.

Four ways to mess around

Split Shot uses an included accessory to cover half the lens, letting you take two exposures and combine them into one Polaroid. Double Exposure does something similar without the accessory, layering two separate shots onto a single frame.

Light Painting uses a long exposure to capture moving light as trails, while Motion Freeze combines a longer exposure with the flash firing at the end. That can leave moving lights blurred while keeping your subject sharp.

You don't need to understand the photography jargon behind any of this. The Mod handles the complicated bits, although you'll still get better results once you figure out what each mode likes.

There's a Brightness dial for adjusting exposure, too, while the camera has a two-lens autofocus system covering close-up and distance shooting. It works with Polaroid i-Type and 600 film, in both colour and black and white.

It's all about the happy accidents

The Mod is fully analogue, so there are no screens showing you exactly what you've just taken. You press the shutter, wait for the photo to develop and find out what you've got.

That makes the creative modes fun. You can try a double exposure or light painting without knowing exactly how it'll turn out, which is arguably half the fun of shooting instant film.

The Polaroid Mod is available now from Polaroid for £149.99 / $169.99, with other retailers getting it later. It's 520g, charges over USB-C and can shoot up to 120 exposures from a full battery.

And yes, you'll probably waste a few shots while figuring it out. But that's kind of the point. In a world where phones can make almost any photo look perfect, I quite like the idea of a camera that gets things wrong sometimes.