With the invention of something really cool comes the fans that want to talk about that cool thing. Heck, we’re in that mix because we love iPhoneography! Instagram is no different.

Also in the mix are the people that want to profit from said phenomenon.  Around Instagram is a plethora of services ranging from web pages to view photos, printing photos, it goes on and on. But one man wants to make something a little… different.

Behold, the Instagram camera.

The man that wants to make this idea into a reality is Antonio De Rosa. He’s hoping to raise $50,000 to help him find a partner to make this project a reality. That’s right… the $50K isn’t to make the camera… it’s to find someone that will. Yeah…

Look, I'm printing!

Okay, let’s take a look at this camera. Let’s see what De Rosa has in store for us if this were to see the light of day.

I’ll have to commend him for the design. At first glance, it’s pretty slick, but that’s because Instagram has a pretty cool logo, which is what this camera is modeled after. Looking further, it looks as though the iPhone 4 and a metal CD case got together and had this as its offspring. Again, looks pretty slick. The intended street price for this camera is to be under $350… Hmmm…

Let’s take a look at the spec for this bad boy:

Socialmatic is the first Instagram photo camera, with a lot of amazing features:

– 16 GB mass storage;
– Wifi and Bluetooth;
– 4:3 touchscreen;
– 2 main lens, first for main capture, second for 3D filters, webcam applications and QR Code capturing;
– Optical zoom;
– Led Flash;
– Internal printer to make your Instagram photos real;
– Paper cartridge with Instagram Paper Sheets;
– Dedicated 4 colors ink tanks;
– InstaOs 1.0, which put together Facebook and Instagram App feature;
– Pairing with iPhone and Android App;

Wow… that’s a pretty tall order. Is it impossible? No, not at all. But look how small this this is:

There's a printer in this thing?

Where on earth are you going to fit the printer. A printer with INK cartridges. At least Polaroid had the bright idea not to use ink for their camera, and that thing is no small camera. How much paper can this possibly fit? Like 4 or 5?

Finally, let’s state the obvious.

Why the heck would anyone need this? If this camera’s intended purpose was to be linked to Instagram, then this camera is already made redundant by the iPhone.

“But this camera looks cool!”

Yeah, so does the iPhone. Rather than spend $350 for a camera, I’ll spend $20 for a skin that I can place over my iPhone to make it look all Instagrammy. As for the printing? I’ve lived without it this long. If I really want to print, I’ll just take my JPGs and just print them… or better yet, I’ll use Postagram.