In which I tell you all I know about the Polaroid SX-70!
I have two SX-70s. One is a lovely silver and leather top-shelf SLR, and the other is a black plastic Model 3 (the non-SLR model). I’m lucky in that I got them both really cheap, and they both function beautifully and close completely. They’re really cool, compact, portable cameras.
SX-70s were made to take a particular kind of film (Polaroid SX-70 integral print) that is, of course, totally discontinued now, but the cameras can be altered to shoot 600 instant film (which has also been discontinued, since as of early last year Polaroid no longer manufactures any film at all). The 600 film you can still find is long expired, so buyer beware. If it’s been stored properly it will shoot just fine. If it’s been stored badly it might give you interesting, moody images, or it might not work at all.
SX-70s were manufactured between 1972 and the mid-eighties, I believe.
The SX-70 integral print films were slower-speed, so if you shoot 600 through an SX-70 (the pack will fit if you slide it into the SX-70 with a bit of cardboard beneath it) without first modifying the camera, all your shots will be overexposed. To fix this, either place a filter over the film pack itself, or filter the lens and light sensor. You can buy both types of ND filters for this on eBay, and there are tutorials all over the web.
The Impossible Project is now selling new film for these cameras, but from what I can tell they’re a long way from reproducing reliable film that shoots good pictures. Their film is tinted blue or brown, or it fades to black in a few days, so it’s being marketed as “artistic” film until they can re-engineer the famous color instant film everybody really wants*: “Impossible is working day and night on a successor for the popular Polaroid 600 color film for Polaroid 600 cameras. Until we are ready to present such a color film material, we are offering a first experimental and artistic material for Polaroid SX-70 cameras – the PX 70 Color Shade PUSH!”
Expired 600 Polaroid color film can still be purchased on eBay. Sometimes you can find old 600 series film at small shops, but the days of getting it cheap are over. Even the smallest old pharmacy is selling the expired stuff at three or four dollars per shot.
So, in a nutshell, the film options for this camera are all expensive, and they’re all iffy.
In spite of all that, these cameras take fantastic pictures; I would shoot them all the time if I could get film at a more reasonable price. Until then, I can shoot my old Polaroid Land 103, since Fuji makes peel-apart film that will fit in it.
Specs
Film: SX-70 Land Films (3 1/8″ x 3 1/8″)
Battery: None in the camera; the battery is in the film cartridge (so you can’t test the shutter without a film pack)
Links
Land List – an enthusiast’s repository of basic reference information regarding Polaroid Land Cameras and related products. This site is the vintage Polaroid Bible.
polanoid.net – building the biggest Polaroid-picture collection on the planet, to celebrate the magic of instant photography.
http://bonjourpola.com – Goodbye, Polaroid.
—
* Impossible has hired ex-Polaroid engineers and everything, and still can’t duplicate the famous shake-it-like-a-Polaroid-picture films. I find that utterly fascinating. Polaroid probably couldn’t duplicate the film either, now they’ve stopped. Isn’t science and technology utterly interesting?
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
I spent a good hour on polanoid the other night, clicking through the photos of the day. Wow! I only got up to 300. I’ll have to go back to see the rest. Thanks!
My pleasure! -m
I have nothing whatsover to say about cameras, so feel free to move my comment to a more appropriate spot if you wish.
It’s just that i noticed the no-knead bread in your linkroll and i wanted to tell you that you should totally go forth and bake that bread! (Well, maybe after you get better, which you had better do soon.)
All the bread products i bake now are variations on this recipe. Don’t worry about the instant yeast. I use regular yeast or sourdough starter and it works just fine. Lotsa good info. here: http://www.breadtopia.com/.
Could be a good thing to do while convalescing!
Need to find dutch oven! -m
I bake mine in an old cast iron pot permanently borrowed from my mother and/or a biggish ceramic roaster thing with a pyrex lid, which i had before the onset of this baking fetish. And I’ve heard of people using pyrex bowls and even flower pots, so it is possible to make do quite happily. However, i recommend you hold out for the perfect baking implement because all that yummy fresh-baked goodness will *not* help anyone lose weight!