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artesianalpondscum · 2 months

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EXHAUSTIVE POLAROID CAMERA GUIDE FOR POLAROID CAMERA NEWBIES AND THE POLAROID CURIOUS FROM SOMEONE WHO TRIALED AND ERRORED THEM SELF OUT OF NEARLY $600 TO GET A GOOD EXPIERENCE AND THINKS YOU SHOULDNT SO IM MAKING THIS OUT OF SHEER SPITE TO THE POLAROID COMMUNITY GATEKEEPERS WHO THINK YOU SHOULD

TLDR at end

ALL RIGHT FUCKING NERDS YOU WANNA BE ONE OF THOSE WEIRDOS THAT WALKS AROUND TAKING POLAROIDS IN THE 2024TH YEAR OF DIVINE ABANDONMENT BUT DONT KNOW WHERE TO START? LET ME HELP YOU NOT WASTE HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS IN TRIAL AND ERROR LIKE I HAVE AND GIVE AN ACTUAL HELPFUL GUIDE AND WHAT TO EXPECT!

First the film

Polaroid film come in a few kinds main two are I-Type and 600 Film (SX-70 & 8x10 are for cameras were not discussing in this thread as those are for geeks not nerds), both are essentally the same except 600 film has the battery in the casette that older Polaroid cameras need to function and the I-type is the same size and shape casette sans the battery for new cameras and this is the most important note regarding film you want crystal clear sharp images and bright blues and greens like a phone pic but on a instant film get an instax why?

Polaroid 2024 is not Polaroid 1984

modern polaroid started out as a company called "the impossible project" in 2008 who purchased all the equipment to make polaroid film when Polaroid was shutting its door BUT because whofuckingknows why Polaroid said "nuh-uh" to selling the actual formulation of the film which died with the company so the Impossible Project just had to home brew it with what was available. as a end result Modern Polaroid film is thicker so a cartridge holds 8 shots now instead of 10, and is as sensitive and tempermental as a serial killer ferret, that is to say not at all and very. you can shoot a wall of blue in a blue museum with a blue filter over the lens and the film will still have a warm hue to it, and while direct light during the developing stage of Polaroid back in the day overdeveloped it jnto hell nowadays it can not be overdeveloped so easily in direct light as an extra 3 seconds in the winter sun or 10 seconds under a lamp can help it come out nicer but im jumping ahead.

Fujifilm Instax,

however has had their film in production since 1998 and is very capable of producing clear quality shots with very accurate color and a price per exposure half that of polaroids and cost for entry is far cheaper than Polaroid overall so pickup an instax mini/square (or wide if you're weird) camera while its smaller itll be that "phone pic but on film" clarity youre looking for

see the difference below and how Polaroid on the left cant do a pure white where the blues become purple because of the everpresent warm cast in polaroid whereas Instax on the right can do a pure white so the color is better with in my opinion a slight blue cast

NOW FOR THE REST OF US MASSOCHISTS WHO WANT TO GO POLAROID?

this is very important

Dont Buy one of the new ones off the shelf they are garbage look for slect retro to 2017 models!

what kind of retro camera to buy? do I need to summon Glasya-Labolas out of the Ars Goetia* going into thrift stores to find one? maybe, to that second question but let me show you the basic differences with the way-too many cameras I own first and show you with what to look for on ebay and in thrift shops. I paid no more than $45 for any one of these cameras and most were under $30 and to me that is a comfortable price that i would say is a good starting range

* please dont actually summon Glasya-Labolas just ask Lucifer its easier

BEHOLD MY COLLECTION

now these are 6 different cameras right? WRONG 2 of these are functionally identical, one is functionaly identical but tries poorly not to be one in theory works well so what youre looking at here is really 4 different types of camera of which 2 are actually worth purchasing.

Polaroids function by a series of plastic lenses* concentrating the picture to a mirror when the shutter opens and that mirror reflects onto the film which functionally classifies Polaroid as a Box Camera. what you need to focus on is one simple feature and that is the Focusing

*not all polaroids have a plastic lens there Is a series called the SX-70 and a 8x10 model that has glass lenses it's a reflex camera and other features for really sharp pics but thats for geeks not nerds we are nerds here

retro/vintage polaroids all (except exactly one unit) have a auto light meter that auto adjusts the esposure time to get the best brightness and worked reliably well on old film but on new film youre going to want to make use of the exposure compensation bar under the lens and bump it up at least half way (it even says to adjust the compensation by 1/3 up on the film box so this is a thing known by the company)

now FOCUSING is a whole mixed bag and focusing on old polaroids works in one of 4 ways (except the SX-70 and 8x10 cameras)

images to follow descriptions

1- FIXED FOCUS

the every day run of the mill Polaroid (and instax to greater extent) camera it has the sharpest clarity at 4 feet okayish up to 12 feet and 4 to 12 feet ONLY, this is 95% of what you will find in Polaroids as this was the most common way they were made and offers decent pics in the "tea steeped for one minute too short with almost enough tea leafs" type of decent, like sure maybe some people like it that way and alot of people who dont drink tea wouldnt be able to tell you the difference except that its weak and is "fine enough" but why would you if you have choices

how to identify - again its the vast majority of the 600 cameras youll see, if the face looks like some variation of these faces then its a fixed length

2- little plasitc filter shit "Close up lens"

this little fucking thing is the biggest lie ever made on any product, take the fixed focus camera that functions decently enough then add a psuedo magnfying glass wannabe filter you slide out in front of the lens that is supposed to give you a 2 to 4 feet of focus length, it doesnt, it adds a weird halo around the edges and over concentrates light onto the film bleaching out what little cool tone colors you have while adding a warped bluring to what little detail you can make out. these are somewhat common for all of the newer ones (post 1997 to closure in 2008 except the spectra and "one" which dont buy either as its not supported and lacks stuff again getting ahead of myself) as Polaroid just ended up throwing them on by default for the sake of a feature

how to identify - it has a little slider on it that shows two different focal lengths to the left of the lens

to see what i mean about destroying your photos with this camera style, that ring around the edge is the edge of the lens cover that covers your lens and in that focus area it overmagnified the available light and burnt the film

3- Sonar Autofocus

Sonar Autofocusing uses a Sound wave that humans cant hear that in nanoseconds chirps out and then guages how quick it takes for that sound to reach back to the camera and then selects one of 5 zones of focused lenses closet being shapest at 3 feet but can still pull some ok detail at 2, based on that, these can produce really sharp pics so long as

a- you're not in a room with horrifyingly loud muic

b- a room competing to be an anechoic chamber

c- not trying to shoot through a window*

these are kina iffy to find but not impossible

how to identify - it has a big-ol gold disc on the face of it cant miss it

*some models let you bypass the AF to focus on the default 4 to 12 feet focus length while allowing for the flash bypass trigger † to be used for shooting through windows or in situations where the sonar might not work for your photo

† not all models

4- IR autofocus

uses an IR beam in the flash to send a "wink" to a reciever under the viewfinder to choose one of 2 focusd lenses (think the "close up lens" but automatic and inside in the camera) the af cant be turned off nor can you bypass the flash on all models as the mechanism needs the flash bar to focus, it still cant shoot through windows since it needs flash and has three less focus ranges, and like all IR based AF on any camera it can misread very easily

somewhat hardish to find since these were made starting in 1997 and Polaroid went down hill quickly after the advent of affordable digital cameras (The last model ever made Polaroid one has an IR sensor and so do some spectras but as stated previously dont bother with them)

After digital cameras and the digital revolution in the late 90s/ early 2000s people no longer needed a polaroid camera to send pics for insurance claims or to take nudes without having to worry about a developing studio seeing them, Oh yeah outside of professional settings polaroids were mostly used to share nudes as before them you could ask your local film studio who had the biggest dick in town and get a factual answer, if you diddnt know that well now you do, so post 97 models id stay away from even though some of them are cool and futiger aero designed like the Polaroid One 600, which is the last model ever made by Polaroid before closing and selling all there stuff (except the film formulation) to The Impossible Project but due to all the cost cutting that was being done its not worth it looking for one for anything other than a collectable because its missing the most important factor needed for impossible film the exposure compensation meter despite having an improved IR AF over the 97 model

below pic left to right is a mid 90s polaroid and the last model Polaroid 600 One

What was that I said about something called the "spectra" earlier?

yes the spectra would have been the polaroid to get however the impossible project gave up on it due to spectras uniqueness and the issues that came along with it. see the spectra 1200 film was a touch wider than the regular 600 film and its rollers were very very much made for the old polaroid film that impossible's film no matter how they pinched and squeezed and forced angles and coated what have you they simply brokedown and jammed irreversibly alot so fun to collect but its truely a RIP but for me ill still pick one up one day as a show piece

GREAT SO WHAT DO YOU BUY OUT OF THESE IF I WANT TO HAVE A POLAROID EXPIERENCE ILL LOVE OR ENJOYABLY TOLERATE

answer

the ones with the Sonar auto focus

ideally modles (readable on face above where the pictures come out) Sun 660 AF, Supercolor 670 AF or, Impluse AF

Best will be the Sun 660 AFs or supercolor 670 AFs overall as they have the option to shut off the flash (by pulling the trigger behind the shutter button) and have the sonar focus overrided with a button on the lid (hold it as your taking your photo)

HOWEVER while the Impulse AF might not allow you to turn off the flash or sonar foucs it its one of the few vintage models that have a built in 10 second timer that you can still get film for, and a signifgantly better view finder

all in a slightly sleeker ever so distinctive late 80s early 90s consumer electronics vibe that no retro revival has ever been able to replicate so if that is worth the compromise get one of those (or both its nice to have options but you do not need a 660 and a 670 thats redundant) definately a solid option as well

WHY IS ONE SUN ONE SUPER COLOR SOME ARE LIGHTMIXERS SOME SAY SE WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

marketing terms no functional difference otherwise.

so how big a difference does the Sonar AF make well quite a serious difference

WAIT IM AN ASPIRING GEEK NOW WHATS THE SX-70 PLEASE I NEED TO KNOW!

ugh okay

The SX-70 (this also applies to the 600 film equivalant 680) with sonar AF is arguably the best of the vintage polaroids but any SX-70s is great, glass lenses with manual focus control or on later models sonar focus, you look out the same lens thats taking the pic so you dont have to compensate at all when framing your pic like on a regular Polaroids and worst of all its the camera of choice for the "UUh Acktually" enthusiasts that gatekeep a good expierance with Polaroids away from people who just want to have a decent time without making it their personality so you know what that means!!! yep these are are so gloated and prized about these are the only style vintage polaroids that arent limited edition that frequently go well above the price of the brand new Polaroids no matter how shit the condition sometimes even tripple due to scalping thus these are expensive as all hell, awkward to hold and a pain in the ass to get meanwhile these things need to be modded to accept some modern films specialty flash packs with extra batteries and a bunch of other random little things that make it annoying to use that ill bother to learn about if i see one for under $50 and feel like buying it that day.

SWEET I GOT MY SONAR AUTOFOCUS 660/670/IMPULSE POLAROID HOW DO I GET A GOOD SHOT WITH IT

like i said at the start of this modern Polaroid film is tempermental and despite how much they tell you its light sensitive its not sensitve enough! when i said way back that there is a light meter in them, there is and there is an accompanying slide bar that makes it expose the film longer or shorter in addition to the automatic light meter

when you take a photo using the default exposure "slider in the middle" you will get a underexposed film as an end result see below

this was taken on my Sun 660 AF SE and while i got super sharp detail that made my eyes cry when i first saw it because up to this time ive only dealt with fix focused cameras. it was WAY dark so i moved the exposure compensation up a few times to

There and and the end result was

DETAIL, COLOR, EVERHING YOU COULD WANT IN A MODERN DAY POLAROID PIC and better yet entirely repeatable.

(note other pics i trialed and errored had just as good results with the adjuster sitting at the base of the arrow but not as wow as this)

IF ITS COLD/ HOT OUTSIDE DOES THAT AFFECT THE FILM

yes too cold film or too hot film will make the phots come out a pale blue if its cold or a pale magenta if its hot (which is very meta) while some people take advantage of this to make monocromatic film in an artsy way you might not want to so keep that in mind you need to keep the film in a comfortable temprature zone of

55 – 82° Freedom units

13 – 28° Complementary Healthcare units

getting a bag that has a insulated space for a cold pack can help in the heat but if its cold out you can do the same as above but with a hot pack OR when you take the photo as soon as the fiolm is finshed being ejected out take it out and put it right into your pocket or in your coat under your arm to warm it up during the development stage. really old Polaroid cameras used to come with a "cold clip" for this exact use

CAN I USE ONE FILM CASETTE FOR MORE THAN ONE CAMERA ONCE ITS BEEN PUT IN A CAMERA THIS SHITS KINDA EXPENSIVE

absolutely... not without damaging the top two sheets of film (thus 1/4 or .25% of the casette a total loss), just accept that once the film is installed its committed to that camera dont worry for the intrusive thougts I have examples of what happens the pic on the right was the exposure at the top of the casette and the left was the one after it. i swapped the casette in a fairly dark car at night and what you see on the left is a sonar auto focus camera trying to take a pic of some street lights through a window on damaged film.

ARE THERE ANY THINGS I MUST CONSIDER THAT I WOULDNT THINK ABOUT OVERTLY OTHERWISE

Yes just like being a fan of Taylor Swift there is a underlying level of ecological damage that you might be doing but is realistically negligable when compared to the environmental damage unregulated and underegulated industries produce and when compared to general overconsumption waste things like fast fashion and water bottle trends produce (and is 100% lead free).

Polaroid 600 and SX film Cassettes that Polaroid film is stored in are made of 3 main pieces, the plastic shell, metal spring piece (both parts of which can be recycled) and a lithium ion battery that is used to operate the camera, now there is a way to recycle them that involves breaking out the plastic front and seperating out the metal piece to put into the recycle and taking the battery to recycle at a place that recycles lith-ion batteries, however if you do not have such facilities available to you unfortunately it kinda becomes a chuck it in the trash thing. but keep in mind your maybe half a dozen or so film cartridges or cartridge batteries that wind up in the trash over a year or so arent going to add in any meaningful or impactful way to the the cause of global climate change or detonate thermonuclear bombs of battery acid onto baby seaturtles or anything like that even when millions of people are doing it too. so its entirely up to you to your own concious and/or ability to recycle them

HOWEVER if you want a battery free casette option so you can recycle more easily you can get one of the 2017 Polaroid OneStep 2 or One Step 2+ Cameras that use a built in rechargeable battery and you can get the I-Type film that does not have a battery in the casette keep in mind these cameras are discontinued and as a result of being one of the only good post-polaroid closure instant cameras under the Polaroid name they are being scalped online as far as prices go

I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS INFOGUIDE HELPFUL AND THANK YOU FOR READING

THE TLDR

new polaroid film wil alway be warm hued and unexposed and as for polaroid cameras available in stores new ones suck, most of the retro are meh ,to expensive for no reason. Buy a polaroid sun 660 af or supercolor 670 af but if you dont want to be able to shoot without flash or shoot through glass by turning off the auto focus and would like a 10 second timer instead get a the Impulse AF and slam up the exposure to very nearly all the way up to where the adjuster is on the arrow's middle or lower half if you want a model that has a rechargeable battery instead of a battery in the film casette to reduce e-waste and make it easier to recycle get a 2017 Polaroid Originals One Step2 or One Step2 + to use the battery free I-type film

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