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Polaroid announces an Android-based mirrorless camera, the iM1836

Polaroid announces an Android-based mirrorless camera, the iM1836

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Polaroid iM1836
Polaroid iM1836

While Samsung and Nikon wade slowly into the waters of Android cameras, Polaroid's jumping in with both feet. The new iM1836 wasn't exactly a secret, but the company's now made the 18.1-megapixel camera official. Its 3.5-inch display is smaller than the 4.8-inch screen on the Galaxy Camera, but Polaroid has one significant advantage: the iM1836 has interchangeable lenses, making this easily the most versatile Android-powered camera we've seen yet. There's even an optional adapter for Micro Four Thirds lenses, which would open up a world of uses to this shooter. The camera comes with a 10-30mm lens, and looks quite a bit like Nikon's 1 J1. It's also only $399, which is a pretty remarkable price for an interchangeable lens camera, period.

The iM1836 is a big step up from last year's Android-powered Polaroid offering, the SC1630, which was a low-end point-and-shoot with Android jammed in. But, as always, our primary concern is with the interface — Samsung did a nice job of creating a fast, fluid camera experience on the Galaxy Camera, but Nikon and Polaroid's previous offerings didn't work as well. We'll be hunting Polaroid down this week to see how its latest option fares.