While most companies are at CES 2019 trying to sell people on the future of technology, Kodak showed up for the show with a whole lot of nostalgia. The camera company that was once synonymous with memorable moments is hoping people will put down their smartphones and capture the perfect picture with its Smile-branded line of instant cameras and printers.
The headliner of Kodak’s new offerings is the Smile Classic Instant Print Camera. If you think digital photography is a bit too instant and traditional photography takes to long, here’s your middle-ground. The camera features a pop-up viewfinder, a 10-second timer so you can hop into the frame, and an automatic flash. It also has a MicroSD card so you can save your favorite shots digitally.
Of course, the Smile Classic is primarily about the physical photo. It can print out 3.5-inch by 4.25-inch photos that you snap from the camera. You can also print out pictures you’ve taken on your phone by connecting with the camera via Bluetooth through the Kodak Instant Print Companion App.
If you’re looking for something a little smaller, there’s the 10-megapixel Smile Instant Print Digital Camera. It mirrors much of the Smile Classic, using Zink Zero Ink Printing Technology to spit out photos instantly. With this version of the camera, the photos are just 2-inch by 3-inch and come with adhesive backs so you can easily display them — same as the company’s Printomatic camera from 2017. It features an LCD viewfinder so you can point and shoot, a 10-second timer and flash. It also has a MicroSD card slot so you can save images and a preview feature that lets you quickly view and edit photos, adding effects and filters before printing.
If lugging around a camera doesn’t sound that appealing to you, then you can check out Kodak’s Smile Instant Printer. It breaks off the printing feature from the camera and instead connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth. Snap a photo with your phone, polish it up within Kodak’s app and send it off to the printer. It’ll print out on two-inch by three-inch photo paper with a sticky back.
