Polaroid created the first commercially successful instant camera, the Polaroid Land Camera.
Edwin H. Land demonstrated the first instant camera in 1947 and named it the Land Camera. The first commercial model, the Model 95, went on sale in 1948. It used specially designed film that produced a finished photograph shortly after the picture was taken, eliminating the need to send film to a laboratory.
The technology grew from Land's work on light polarization and the company he founded in 1937. Early instant photographs were monochrome, while color instant photography arrived later. The cameras became known for their distinctive square prints and the characteristic white border associated with many Polaroid photographs.
The brand name is often used casually for any instant photograph, but Polaroid refers specifically to the company and its technologies. The business later expanded into sunglasses, scientific instruments, and other optical products.