The Camera Bag: The Impossible Instant Lab turns iPhone photographs into Polaroids

 

 

The Impossible Project has made a name for itself by keeping the ailing world of instant cameras stocked in film that would otherwise have ceased to exist. But the organization's newest offering isn't on the film front, but rather a very interesting piece of hardware. Dubbed the Impossible Instant Lab, it's essentially an instant camera designed for taking photos of your iPhone's screen.

The Impossible Instant Lab started life as a Kickstarter project, and successfully raised more than half a million dollars to construct this curious device. What it does is slot your iPhone into a special mount, and it then photographs whatever's onscreen, printing it out on instant film. It's essentially essentially a printer, taking your images and developing them into a hard copy photograph.

At the same time, the Impossible Project is announcing an iOS app to aid with the printing. The Impossible Lab is also the first project to use a new hardware base from Impossible Project called the "Impossible FPU" (Film Processing Unit). Unlike traditional Polaroid and instant bodies, it has its own rechargeable battery, rather than relying on one inside each film pack. Hopefully, that should mean cheaper film down the road.

Unfortunately, the Instant Lab won't be cheap. It's expected to land in August for $299, and then the price of the film on top of that. But who can put a dollar value on turning your Instagram shots into actual Polaroids?

(via PopPhoto)