Impossible Project I-1 camera prints instant photos and saves them digitally to your phone

Impossible Project wants to redesign the instant camera for the digital age and the result is the I-1.

After rescuing the original Polaroid factory and all its cameras, the Impossible Project company has unveiled what it’s created. The I-1 camera aims to blend the analogue and digital. But how?

The I-1 is primarily an instant camera, that looks like a Polaroid but is finished in a modern matte black. It now features an LED ring flash for diffused light plus a magnetic collapsible viewfinder. The LED ring also doubles as a way of determining how many shots are left on the film. While the camera will snap shots that print out on the Impossible Project film, it also saves them digitally to a connected phone.

The connected smartphone can be used to test out effects and adjust camera settings before you commit to pressing the shutter button. That means adjusting aperture and shutter speed or trying out double exposure, remote triggering and light painting can all be done digitally.

Once you snap a shot it’s printed out to keep and available on the phone to share digitally.

The I-1 camera costs £229, $299 and €299 and is available at various retailers or directly from Impossible Project.

READ: Impossible Project Instant Lab Universal review: Make Polaroid-style prints from your phone snaps