Polaroid Originals - Polaroid is BACK

I’ve been a fan of instant photography for years. When I was a kid I enjoyed using several Polaroid cameras. Fast forward and about 5 years ago I got back into the genre when Impossible Project kicked off their line of instant films.

Although I regularly shot Impossible Project film it was VERY expensive and honestly the quality was just OK and not consistent. Sure, some people thought the lomo look was nice, but I prefer a bit more richness and saturation on the color and more contrast on the B&W. Therefore, I moved over to the Instax line.

With Impossible Project’s acquisition of the Polaroid brand and rebranding Impossible Project as Polaroid Originals came a big POSITIVE change.

The key isn’t simply the rebranding, but the quality and price. The IP film typically cost $23-24/pack before tax. I bought a pack of Polaroid Originals 600 Color for $18.99. Still pricey, but being less than $20/pack is reasonable in my book. Also, from my first experience the quality is better.

I shot my first pack last week in my studio during a model portfolio shoot.  I used a pack of Impossible Project 600 Color side-by-side with a pack of Polaroid Originals.  I used the same camera, a Polaroid OneStep CloseUp and similar lighting.  All photos were taken with the ambient lights in my studio & the camera flash. It’s fairly bright in the studio. The light dark slider was set to the middle on all shot.

Here is my opinion of the side by side quality.

• Skin tones are more natural. Still a bit on the red/pink side but much better than the IP chemistry (note, this could be influenced by the lights in the studio),
• Image is sharper. It appears almost as if I sharpened the Polaroid Originals in post editing, but not the IP shot,
• Colors pop and have more contrast. I noticed this in the reds, yellows & blues,
• Blacks are richer,
• Shadows are cleaner,
• Development time is faster (although to get full quality it still takes a few hours, but within 20+ minutes I had a useable image),

Here are side by side photos:

Impossible Project Color 600

Polaroid Originals Color 600

The quality & developing speed is still not up to Instax quality / speed standards, but I see Instax and Polaroid as 2 different experiences. I honestly don’t use them for the same purpose.

I’m back in.

Flea Market Finds - Some You Win, Some You Lose

Yesterday, I went to a flea market with the plan to look for film cameras!  I've done this a few times, and the results are always hit & miss.  Yesterday was no different.  As always, if you go into your flea market adventure looking for film cameras you need to always:

• Don't expect the seller knows anything about the camera you might find
• Expect that some of the equipment won't work
• Don't always expect to find out you have a dude until after you get home and give it a good looking over,
• Don't overpay
• Don't be afraid to walk away

I always use the mental measure, "how much would this cost me if I bought it on eBay?".  If I can get it cheaper online, I'll ALWAYS pass, unless the example sitting in-front of me at the flea market is in great shape.

This is what I found from 2 sellers yesterday including the price paid.  

• Leica AF-C1 - $10
• Polaroid OneStep - $1
• Minolta XG-A - $15
• Miranda Sensoret - $1
• Olympus XA2 - $1

I gave them all a quick going over before I flopped down my $$$.  The Miranda & Olympus were in a bit of rough shape, but I took a flier since they were only $1 each.  The Leica didn't fire at the booth, but I figured that was a battery thing.  The Polaroid looked clean (I have lots of experience buying these), and the Minolta looked clean but the film advance was stuck.

After getting home and giving them a good going over, the Polaroid & Leica appear to be good to go. The Leica fired up easily with a new battery, and the Polaroid worked with a test cartridge.  The Olympus appears to be a goner even if I give it a good cleaning.  But again, only $1.  The Miranda's shutter seems to be stuck, but I'm going to self CLA it to see if I can get it moving.  The Minolta's film advance lever if frozen, so I'm going to try to fix it myself.  If I fail on the Minolta, no major dramas because the lens is in good shape and I can use it on other cameras.

So for $28 I got 2 cameras I can use.  I particularly like the Leica and would have easily paid $25 for it alone.  I might be able to salvage the Miranda, but I'm not going to put tons of effort into it.

Bottomline, I got to hang out with the Mrs and go on this film camera treasure hunt.  A fun couple of hours.

Expired Polaroid 600 Film Funness

This past Friday, a photography friend of mine gave me a 4 pack of Polaroid 600 Instant Film. Without hesitation I say, "why yes, I'll take this off your hands".   I checked the back and it was dated 2004.  Hmmm, might not be very good.  I've used 10+ year old Polaroid film before with little if no success.  Either the chemistry is dried up, leaked or the pack batteries are dead.  Oh well, really what do I have to loose.

I brought it home and loaded a pack in one of my Polaroid cameras.  I picked one that I knew worked well.  I used one of my Polaroid OneStep Closeup.  I've used this camera a few times before with Impossible Project film and it works great.  I wanted to eliminate the poor camera element.

I opened my first pack to see if any of the chemistry had leaked or there was anything that looked wonky.  So far, so good.

OK, here we go.  I wanted to just shoot some snapshots around the house.  I took a selfie, some flowers, and yard and my cat.  At first I was concerned because the chemistry didn't seem to spread very evenly, but the batteries were strong and most of the shots spread the chemistry to cover between 90-95% of the film.  That was better than I expected.

It worked groovy.  Yes the chemistry has broken down so there are extreme color shifts, the images don't have enough contrast, and they are washed out.  You know what?  Who cares, it is fun and cool.  Thats what I like, very experimental and weird effect.  Not much different than trying a Lomography camera.

Bottomline, you need to be careful buying original Polaroid expired film online.  The chances are high that the film won't work.  But if you get the film for little or no money, or they give it to you...then do it!!

Me Crazy, Nope Not Me - I'm Economical

Do you love the artsy Polaroids?  These are statement pieces, right?  Do they talk to you? Should I draft an artist statement? Nope, I was just playing around.  OK, here's the story.  

I went to my local Goodwill Outlet to look for film cameras like I do once a month or so.  Score, I found a Polaroid OneStep Express.  It looked clean, no cracks, good to go.  A good investment for 50 cents.  I opened the film cartridge door to see if the rollers were clean, and it had film in it.  I closed the door and a photo didn't pop out which told me the battery in the cartridge was dead...hmmm,

I figure why not.  When I got home I grabbed an empty Polaroid 600 film cartridge and went into a dark bathroom.  I extracted all 10 undeveloped photos from the old cartridge by feel in the dark & reloaded them into the fresh cartridge.

I loaded the re-loaded cartridge in a fresh camera and one of the photos popped out!  It worked.  I then went around my yard taking photos.  The results are above.  As expected...seriously, I expected this, all of the film emulsion packs were dried like a desert so the film didn't develop.  Even though the film ejected no emulsions spread across the photo to initiate the development.  This was an actual Polaroid pack of film, so its at least ... maybe 10 years old?  No way it will be any good unless it was cold stored.

Moral of the story boys and girls?  If you plan on buying real Polaroid film online, it probably not going to be good unless you KNOW it's been stored properly & from a reputable source.  Even then the cartridge battery may be dead.   If you have a Polaroid (not talking about Instax here) then do yourself a favor, buy film from the Impossible Project.  It's quirky, but it will be good.

It's an Instant 'Thang - Polariod One Step Flash

I dig instant photography, as you might expect if you've read any of this blog.  I like the immediate feedback and the ability to hold the finished product in your hand.  I primarily use them in my studio for behind the scenes shots during model or fashion shoots.

Recently I pulled out of my stash this Polaroid One Step Flash.  Pretty simple.  Like most 600 styled Polaroids it's simply point and shoot.  The only option is the light / dark slider which I always tend to keep in the middle.  I loaded this with a pack of Impossible Project Color 600 film, and used it during a shoot with model Kat Scott.

A few of the images taken against a black backdrop

One thing I do because I generally have 2-3 Polaroids loaded at the same time with different films, I write what I have in the camera just in-case I forget.  I know, very OCD-like.

Alas, my last shot of the pack got jammed in the camera, but magically popped out after I gave the camera a reasonable smack.  Uh, this doesn't look like my model

OK, does this have any practical value, nope, but it's fun.

Cameras I Found - Polaroid OneStep Plus

As normal I stopped at the Goodwill Outlet near my office on the way home yesterday.  Look what I found, a Polaroid OneStep Plus Land Camera.  One with the cool rainbow logo. This camera uses Polaroid SX-70 film, which isn't to be confused with Polaroid 600 film.  It was mine for only about 50 cents.  Sweet. 

I have purchased about 30 Polaroid cameras over the past couple of years, and all about 3 have worked.  The only thing that worried me about this camera was a crack on the top where the flashbar plugs in and the shutter release button appeared to be recessed too far.

Surprisingly, there was an empty SX-70 film cartridge in the camera.  Not sure how old it was, but I wanted to see if the battery was still good.  I wanted to test if the camera worked.  I took out the film and reinserted it, and the gears whirled.  I also put some black electricians tape over the crack.  Therefore, until I test the camera with some live film it appears to be working.

Next step, buy some Impossible Project film and give it a try.

Polaroid OneStep CloseUp

Instant photography is so cool.  Compliments of Fujifilm, The Impossible Project & of course hipsters, instant photography is making a big comeback.  The only problem is that it's kind of expensive.  Not only relative to digital, but just expensive.  

That aside, I have quite a few Polaroid cameras or all types that I've picked up all over.  Recently I broke out a Polaroid OneStep closeup.  I had planned to use it for behind the scenes shots during a recent studio model shoot, but ended up using an Instax.  So, I had gone ahead an loaded it up with a pack of The Impossible Project B&W 600.  I purchased it at Roberts Camera for $25 for 8 shots...yikes.

The OneStep is a very simple Polaroid, just like all are.  The feature with this camera is a slider for normal distance (4ft to infinity) and closer (2-4 feet).  When you slide the slider a plastic "macro" lens slides over the lens.  The only other function is the light / dark slider under the lens.  That's about it.  Load it with some film, point & shoot.  The built in flash will flash if needed.  There is no way to turn the flash off if it fires. 

This is a fun camera and with the Impossible Project film you can grab one from your grandparent's closet or at a flea market and you're good to go.  Enjoy REAL instant photography.

Here's a photo of Tammy the cat sitting outside on our deck.  Shot about 5 feet away with the light / dark slider in the middle.  The flash fired.