By Hanafi Kaka | Resident Techie
Here’s something crunchy you are yet to bite into in your giant kebab; polaroids are back. Or have they always been around but just seemed too…I don’t know…like something the dinosaurs chewed and spat out?
Either way, Fujifilm have this little thing they describe as having a “Cute body packed with useful features”. It probably does forty sit-ups every morning, because even its curves aren’t thaaat bad. It’s actually a polaroid camera. Instamini 25, they call it.
How this thing works, is it uses a film, but it’s actually digital (that matters, right?). You get it for 16,500/- with 10 free polaroid sheets, which will cost you 1,250/- when you buy them separately. And yes, you can take selfies with it. It has a tiny mirror just next to the lens that helps you make sure you don’t have greens caught in your teeth before you press the most important button on any camera.
But before you throw in a “nkt” or “msssschew,” because you’re digital now, and Instagram does everything for you, consider the beauty of history (I’m not bullshitting you, I promise). There’s something fancy about using a gadget that was the iPhone 6+ of its era. You could say it takes you back in time, when everything was just so much simpler. When you didn’t have to worry about filters and an online presence and all that yabadabadoo! And your phone didn’t try to always make you feel dumb, because a phone can do that. It gives you so much attitude sometimes, that you just want to return it back to its parents and ask for your dowry back.
This specific one I’m raving about varies in price depending on the model. There’s one going for 11,500/- at Sona Shop, Westgate, Ground Floor. You’ll meet a tall, dark fella there. He will say ‘nijae’ to you like he knows you from way-back-when you two used to sell Mugithi CD’s in the village. I forgot his name, but he’s a nice chap. He knows more about this polaroid camera than Fujifilm probably do. He loves it so much. The way he picked it from the shelf when I asked for a blue apple in photography tech, he carried it with both arms and placed it on the counter with a sad look on his face; like I was there to steal his precious baby from him.
That’s the thing about vintage techs, they feel like antiques you want everyone to know you have but you just won’t let them touch. You own a polaroid camera and you suddenly feel like a sage, like you have enough whisky flowing in your veins you couldn’t be bothered with things like Facebook tags and Trending Topics. Because you so epic you don’t even need a camera phone anymore.