A Designer’s Look at the Stunning Polaroid Landscape Camera - Arthurious

uring my recent trip, I picked up this wonderful sturdy box with “Polaroid 440” on it and when I opened it, I discovered an instant camera and one of the beautiful examples of design engineering of the 1960s-1970s.

When folder, the camera presents a minimal sturdy case with nylon shoulder strap

The Land Camera was manufactured by Polaroid between 1948 and 1983. It is named after their inventor, Edwin Land, who developed a process for self-developing photography. After Edwin Land’s retirement from Polaroid, the name ‘Land’ was dropped from the camera name.

Pull cover to open the camera, and you’ll see the camera with lens on one side and a clip with brochure and accessories on the other

Pages from the included manual

Polaroid designed the camera interface by marking the steps it takes to take a photo physically on the knobs and buttons — this button is STEP 2 of the process — pushing the shutter

A tiny guide explains the optimal shutter speed you need to pick to take a perfect picture indoors and outdoors

A timer placed in the back of he camera

The backside of the camera to load the film

To operate the camera you’ll need 2 batteries type 532 and either 108 type film (for color photographs) or 107 (for black and whites)

A video explaining how the camera operates

Polaroid 440 Camera
$68 at thecuriousdesk.com

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