There’s a purpose so many people nonetheless attain for an instantaneous digicam even when our telephones can do all the pieces sooner, sharper and cleaner. Polaroid is about chaos, connection and that feeling when a messy second feels extra alive on one body of movie than in fifty digital frames. That’s why this new collaboration between Polaroid and Thrasher makes excellent sense.
Two icons of counterculture, one born from skateboarding’s grit, the opposite from images’s spontaneity, have teamed up for the Polaroid Now Era 3 Thrasher Version. And it’s not only a brand slapped on the physique: every digicam is hydro-dipped in Thrasher paintings, which means no two look alike. The digicam feels prefer it rolled straight out of a ’90s skatepark, sticker-bombed and sun-bleached.
The digicam itself is basic Polaroid Now territory, a easy, rechargeable instantaneous shooter designed for vibrant gentle. You’ve obtained a self-timer, double publicity for layering chaos into chaos and compatibility with Polaroid’s i-Kind movie. At $149,99 / £139.99 (Australian pricing to be confirmed) it’s not low cost, however then once more, instantaneous images by no means pretended to be sensible. That’s half the attraction.
What actually elevates this launch is the accompanying movie. Polaroid has enlisted Neckface, a legendary artist and longtime Thrasher collaborator, to design 11 distinctive frames for the Polaroid Coloration i-Kind Movie – Thrasher Version. They’re daring, unhinged, and humorous in that manner solely skateboard tradition appears to nail, with the frames themselves feeling like a part of the picture.
At $21,99 / £20.99 a pack, it’s costlier than common i-Kind movie, however you’re paying for one thing that doubles as just a little piece of design historical past.
I’ll admit, on paper, that is simply one other particular version digicam. However Polaroid has a historical past of artistic collaborations – and this one feels much less like a money seize, extra like a real assembly of cultures. If you happen to’ve ever flipped by way of previous Thrasher magazines and noticed a Polaroid taped to a wall or crammed into a diffusion, you’ll know this partnership has roots.
Tony Vitello, writer and proprietor of Thrasher, commented, “The skateboard group is experience-based and shares that by way of imagery. There are sprinkles of Polaroid all through Thrasher’s deep archives. These moments have guided generations and introduced us collectively, not solely capturing the chaos however capturing historical past”.
For me, that’s the enchantment: it’s not about whether or not that is the ‘greatest’ digicam. It’s about holding a small object that feels prefer it belongs to a scene and captures the second.
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Check out our guides to the greatest instantaneous cameras and the greatest digital instantaneous cameras available on the market in 2025. If you happen to’re stocking up on movie, you should definitely try instantaneous digicam movie sizes and ensure what kind of instantaneous movie you want.