Polaroid’s new instant camera has four creative shooting modes you can experiment with

Polaroid announced a new instant camera that lets photographers get more creative and experimental with their shots than just changing the aperture or shutter speed. In addition to a Brightness dial on the front for adjusting exposure, the new Polaroid Mod has a dial around the lens for switching between four “creative shooting modes” with unique analog effects that are all captured in-camera. The Polaroid Mod is launching globally starting today for $169.99 through Polaroid’s online store and will be available from other US retailers on October 6th.

Two of the modes combine multiple exposures into one image using a simple process that involves capturing two separate exposures, one after the other, when prompted by the camera. Double Exposure layers two images atop each other to blend subjects or scenes together while Split Shot divides images into two halves using a rotating accessory that blocks half the lens at a time. [Image: Motion Freeze mode (left) merges a slow shutter exposure with a sharp one captured by the camera’s flash while Double Exposure mode (right) layers two exposures atop each other. https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/polaroid2.jpg?

quality=90&strip=all] Light Painting uses a long exposure to capture light trails from a flashlight, sparkler, or other bright source while the camera is perched atop a stable tripod to keep other static elements in frame from becoming blurred. Motion Freeze is Polaroid’s name for the second curtain sync or rear curtain flash feature found in other cameras. A slower shutter speed is used to capture motion trails of a moving subject that’s combined with a sharp image of them captured by firing the Mod’s flash at the end of the exposure.

[Image: On the front of the Mod, you’ll find a dial for adjusting exposure and a second around the lens for switching between the four creative modes. https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/polaroid3.jpg? quality=90&strip=all] The Polaroid Mod works with Polaroid i-Type and 600 film stocks in color or black and white, and on a full charge of its 750mAh battery it can shoot up to 15 packs of film, which is up to 120 exposures.

It uses a fixed focus two-lens system with a 103mm standard lens and a 95mm portrait lens that can be swapped as needed depending on the subject.