Viewpoint Laboratories Reinvents Polaroid® Gel Camera Systems

Viewpoint Laboratories' has reinvented Polaroid Gel Camera systems with a line of newly designed gel documentation products for life science teaching and research labs that take advantage of recent advancements in camera technology. The Polaroid Z2300 line includes the "Polaroid Z2300 Instant Print Digital Gel Camera" in the classic hood form factor for UV, white light and blue light benchtop transilluminators, and the "Polaroid Z2300 Instant Print Digital Gel Camera Enclosure for Dark Reader®" designed specifically for the smallest of the popular Dark Reader blue light transilluminators from Clare Chemical Research, Inc.

"Polaroid cameras have a history of providing innovative features important to the life science researcher," said a spokesperson for Viewpoint Laboratories. "We are excited to bring to market these new products that leverage the technology innovation that continues under the Polaroid brand."

Products in the Polaroid Z2300 line

The products in the Polaroid Z2300 line include a high-resolution 5 megapixel CMOS sensor, saving to JPEG, USB 2.0 connectivity for transfering images to a computer for archiving and analysis, and instant printing on-board the camera itself onto adhesive-backed ZINK® Zero Ink® 2x3 inch premium photo paper.

"The combination of digital capture and instant printing right from the camera provides the best of both worlds," said the spokesperson. "The adhesive-backed prints are great for posting into lab notebooks. All our products include a starter pack of 10 sheets, and packs of 30 and 50 sheets are also available. Furthermore, the camera enables saving to JPEG and printing in both color and grayscale per the user's preference."

Wi-Fi/16 GB upgrade option

Viewpoint Laboratories also provides a Wi-Fi/16 GB upgrade option for their systems. "The Wi-Fi/16 GB upgrade is great because it not only expands the memory significantly, but it enables a Wi-Fi connection of up to three devices simultaneously," said the spokesperson. "Using a free third-party app, this enables image browsing and broadcast to as many as three mobile devices at the same time, which is perfect for lab groups as well as single users."

Polaroid Z2300 Instant Print Digital Gel Camera

The Polaroid Z2300 Instant Print Digital Gel Camera provides a field of view of 15.7 cm x 9.3 cm for mini- and midi-gels and can be used with optional bandpass emission filters available from Viewpoint Laboratories: a 590 nm filter for orange/red dyes such as ethidium bromide, GelRed™, etc., and a 535 nm filter for green dyes such as SYBR® Green, GelGreen™, etc. The Polaroid Z2300 Instant Print Digital Gel Camera can also be used with blue light transilluminators such as the larger Dark Reader models and others. "The system includes an internal pocket into which Clare Chemical Research's 52 mm diameter amber filter accessory can be installed, and can also be stacked on top of the amber screen included with the blue light transilluminators, depending on the user's preference," said the spokesperson for Viewpoint Laboratories.

Viewpoint Laboratories has also made available a variety of black plastic framing mats for the Polaroid Z2300 Instant Print Digital Gel Camera that block UV light around the edges of the hood from larger transilluminators. "We have a framing mat guide where the user can cross-reference the framing mat dimensions to their particular make and model of transilluminator, including transilluminators from UVP, Fotodyne, Spectronics, Maestrogen, VWR, Cole-Parmer, and others," said the spokesperson. "Although we have boiled down the options to cover most of the transilluminators out there, we also have the capability to manufacture custom mats. Our customer service team is standing by to discuss the unique needs of our users."

Polaroid Z2300 Instant Print Digital Gel Camera Enclosure for Dark Reader

Whereas the Polaroid Z2300 Instant Print Digital Gel Camera is designed to sit atop the transilluminator to block out ambient light, the Polaroid Z2300 Instant Print Digital Gel Camera Enclosure for Dark Reader was specifically designed to enclose the small DR22A blue light transilluminator from Clare Chemical Research inside a mini-darkroom, yet allow the transilluminator to be easily removed for band cutting, etc. "This design is a neat little package that includes an integrated shelf for the amber screen that's included with the transilluminator, along with a patent-pending hinge to reposition the camera for ergonomic image review" said the spokesperson. "The combination of the Polaroid Z2300 camera and the Dark Reader has demonstrated as low as a 25 pg detection limit using some of the commercially available nucleic acid gel stains, which is wonderful, not to mention consistent with previous studies undertaken with the Dark Reader."

Polaroid is a trademark of PLR IP Holdings, LLC. PLR IP Holdings, LLC does not manufacture this product or provide any Manufacturer’s Warranty or support. All product support is provided by Viewpoint Laboratories, LLC. The ZINK® Technology and ZINK® trademarks are owned by Zink Imaging, LLC. SYBR is a registered trademark of Life Technologies. Dark Reader is a registered trademark of Clare Chemical Research, Inc. GelGreen and GelRed are trademarks of Biotium, Inc.