For the first time ever, iFixit officially partnered with Polaroid last year to support do-it-yourself repairs for the I-2 instant film camera. Today, we’re thrilled to announce that was only the beginning—we’re expanding our partnership to offer repair guides, tools, and (coming soon!) replacement parts for four additional Polaroid models: Now, Now+, Go, and Flip!
The Polaroid brand is synonymous with analog instant film cameras, which have returned to the zeitgeist in a big way. Unlike smartphones, instant film cameras may be maintained and cherished by appreciative owners for decades. We’re happy to see Polaroid’s commitment to continuing that trend, both by making more repairable hardware and by supporting the repair ecosystem that keeps it going. Thanks to our expanded global partnership, you can get repair resources for these four additional Polaroid cameras in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and other European countries where iFixit is available.
So what does it mean for an instant camera to be repairable? While they might not be as technologically daunting as a smartphone or a laptop, some instant camera components can still fail over time—like the battery, or the film door. A camera’s repairability depends on being able to access and replace these parts with ease.
The Polaroid I-2, despite having an easy-to-remove film door, had its battery deeply embedded near the lens—requiring a lot of careful disassembly for access. The Polaroid Now+, however, has a much more accessible battery, requiring the removal of a few shell pieces and little else. Polaroid’s efforts have transformed what was formerly a 2-3 hour job into something you can complete in as little as 20 minutes—a tremendous win for repair.
“One thing that really inspires me about Polaroid and our community is seeing 50+ year old cameras still being lovingly used and cared for today. So our goal as we continue to design new cameras in the modern day is to keep that legacy going by creating products that can continue to capture memories for years and years to come.”
– Graham Merrifield, Senior Technical Product Manager, Polaroid
And what about parts? A camera might be easy to disassemble, but without readily-available replacement parts, any repair attempts could be for naught. That’s why we’ll soon be offering more OEM camera parts directly from Polaroid, so fixers can have a seamless experience following iFixit guides with exactly the right parts and tools they need to succeed.
We want every fixer to have a fantastic repair experience—whether they’re a first-timer or a hardened soldier in the wrench-trench. Our continued relationship with Polaroid ensures that we’re expanding our parts and information catalog to more device categories so people can fix every thing in their lives.
Flip, zoom, and rotate as you will—check out this scan from our Lumafield Neptune CT scanner of one of the Polaroid cameras we’ve been playing with around iFixit HQ.
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