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+--- Thread: Anybody use a Polaroid camera for fun? (/showthread.php?tid=54534)
Anybody use a Polaroid camera for fun? - deckeda - 05-08-2008
I seriously doubt I could really afford film packs these days to muck around with, but still. I think I've always wanted an SX70 series or SL 680/690.
Re: Anybody use a Polaroid camera for fun? - BigGuynRusty - 05-08-2008
[quote deckeda]I seriously doubt I could really afford film packs these days to muck around with, but still. I think I've always wanted an SX70 series or SL 680/690. What kind of fun?
An "Artsy" buddy of mine does really cool distorted photos with hers, she manipulates the photo before the chemicals set.
BGnR
Re: Anybody use a Polaroid camera for fun? - deckeda - 05-08-2008
I don't know exactly what I mean by "fun." Something less serious than "it must always be in focus/have proper exposure" and all the technical things we've come to expect from "proper" photos but not quite the full-on arty thing either.
Rusty, it sounds like your friend still has some of the Time Zero film, which could be manipulated on the emulsion side to distort the image before it sets.
Re: Anybody use a Polaroid camera for fun? - ztirffritz - 05-08-2008
We threw a 'Punk Party' a few months ago and passed a Polaroid around at the party. All the photos were thrown on a table for others to view. It was fun. The photos were pretty cool too.
http://tuesnitemusic.org/Site/Punk%20Polaroids.html
**edited because I can't tell the difference between through and threw...ahhh old age here I come.
Re: Anybody use a Polaroid camera for fun? - Don Kiyoti - 05-08-2008
I used to! I have a pretty hefty Polaroid collection and used all of them. I have one of the huge original roll film cameras, the Model 95 along with a bunch of accessories for it: light meter, add on lenses, and flash. The flash uses the same flash bulbs as the big press cameras did. Here's a photo of my girlfriend and me right after we moved to Tucson, taken with that camera:
I also have several SX-70s which are true SLRs; a couple of the original stainless steel & leather models and an SX-70 Sonar. That one has a surprisingly good autofocus system that bounces a sound wave off of your target and uses it to calculate the focus. The main drawback is that you can't focus through a window! Here's an SX-70 shot that, while poor technically by today's standards, has a lot of appeal for me and reminds me what a nut my cat was at least as well as a shot from my K10D would:
Polaroid has recently discontinued the Time-Zero film packs for the original SX-70s. It's now going for $$$ on Ebay. I believe they are still making instant film for some other cameras. The film had gotten pretty expensive; it was like $15 for ten exposures. The b/w roll film for the Model 95 was discontinued in 1992; I have a bunch in my fridge but I doubt I could get any useable images.
Re: Anybody use a Polaroid camera for fun? - deckeda - 05-08-2008
That B&W shot is a hoot. Did your g/f think you were bizarre for wanting to do that?
Hey --- I read that 600 film can be used in the SX-70 with a simple mod; Polaroid even "endorses" doing so and had directions on their site somewhere. But then exposure would be an issue ...
Re: Anybody use a Polaroid camera for fun? - Don Kiyoti - 05-08-2008
[quote deckeda]That B&W shot is a hoot. Did your g/f think you were bizarre for wanting to do that?
Nah, she was a great sport! It came out of a joke I'd been making to my friends that Tucson had no actual buildings and we'd be living in a hollowed out space under a cactus. I made a Christmas card out of it based on an old magazine ad, "Your Own Home by Christmas." That photo was taken on Thanksgiving if I remember correctly.
Re: Anybody use a Polaroid camera for fun? - Racer X - 05-08-2008
[quote deckeda]I seriously doubt I could really afford film packs these days to muck around with, but still. I think I've always wanted an SX70 series or SL 680/690.
It's my understanding that Polaroid pulled the plug on instant film production. If you have any interest, DO IT NOW! That film really does have a shelf life.
Re: Anybody use a Polaroid camera for fun? - deckeda - 05-08-2008
Yeah: http://www.polaroid.com/ifilm/en/index.html
Some is still available: http://shopus.polaroid.com/shop/public/search/dsp_quick_search_results.cfm?category_code_id=626&establish_cookie=true