Polaroid has devolved from one of the most commanding photography companies in the world to a label that gets slapped on third party accessories in an attempt to sell at least something.
Proving this further is the release of a brand new portable Polaroid Panorama Eyeball Head, designed to simplify the process of taking panoramic stills and video through the use of a remote.
The device itself doesn’t look too bad from the product photos; it’s the remote that truly gives away the cheapness of the product though, with its off-center icons and non-matching design.
As can be assumed by the not-even-slightly-original name, the device allows you to attach a camera to the tripod mount on the device and pan the device around at a designated speed using the remote. It’s powered by batteries, charged up via USB, which does make it a bit interesting, but don’t expect to mount a full-sized DSLR to the device anytime soon—it’s meant to be used with compact cameras, action cameras and smartphones.
Polaroid is asking $50 for one of these. So, using a little bit of Google, I managed to find out just how much these things are selling for. With the help of Alibaba, I found a manufacturer in Zhuhai who is creating an identical product, minus the white-labeling. Depending on how large the order is, prices can range from $5 to $30 a piece, making this a quick and easy margin through nothing more than slapping on the Polaroid logo.
Considering the color scheme of Polaroid’s device and the design of the remote, I can’t help but assume this is the exact supplier Polaroid is using.
It’s sad to see a company stumble so far into irrelevancy. Thankfully, there’s endeavors like Impossible Project to fill the void and keep the authentic Polaroid experience alive and well.
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