Instant Film
Perhaps the most off-putting part of taking pictures with a film camera is that you still have to wait before you finally get to see them. And if it doesn’t get more frustrating enough, you take a picture that you think is going to be really great but you know that you cant see it right in a jiffy because you still have to wait for some time to actually view your shots. Moreover, what could be worse than to have almost an entire roll of film that you must use up just to get the image that you want? It may be probably true that almost anyone who has ever used a film camera has already experienced taking picture after picture, to the point of wasting a roll of film in order to have it finally developed just so they could get the image they desire.
These may just be a few things that can make film photography a bummer. With the introduction of digital cameras, things have but significantly changed. Now, with a digital camera, you no longer have to wait for a little more while just to view the pictures you have taken, as you can now see them on the camera screen. What’s more, you no longer have to worry about printing these photos just to keep them as you can just conveniently store them in digital storage memory. But even with the ease and convenience that a digital camera can give you, there is still but another way where you can still experience these anyway, and that is with an instant film. An instant film allows you to view the pictures you have taken instantly as well as get a hard copy of the photo like other film cameras. With an instant film, taking pictures for whatever occasion there is can be more exciting and in an instant, as the name suggests.
An instant film is a type of photographic film created for an instant camera, in which the camera automatically processes the photo after it was taken and the image appears after a few minutes. An instant film comes in different sizes, with 3 ¼ x 4 ¼ size as the most popular for consumer snapshots. It also has a wide range of film speeds than other negative films with current formats having an ASA film speed of 80 to 3000. An instant film is often used for documenting evidence in law enforcement, personal identification photos, scientific applications and health care or in other instances where it is necessary to validate photographs immediately. Many artists also use instant film to create effects that they may find difficult to accomplish with traditional photography.
An instant film is similar to a regular film, but with a few added features. The developing process of an instant camera combines colors in the same manner as with a slide film, only that the developing chemicals are already contained in the instant film.
The instant film may be a little far out and behind, technology wise, as it was introduced many years ago. The first instant color film in history was by invented Edwin Land in the year 1947 for Polaroid Corporation. The company saw that people liked to have their photos right away as well as the excitement of seeing these photos develop right before their very eyes. So, in 1949, Polaroid, considered as the leader in instant cameras introduced the Polaroid instant film into the market. The development of the Polaroid instant film broke tremendous ground, gaining instant popularity and selling over a billion rolls of instant film.
Even with the boom of digital cameras at present, instant films remain a popular type of film in the market today. This may go to show that although today’s photography is now highly digital, instant films will still be here to stay.