SINCE WRITING THIS ARTICLE, I HAVE CO WRITTEN A BOOK ON THIS VERY TOPIC: You can find more info about Instant Love: How to Make Magic and Memories with Polaroids here.
Last week I shared my Polaroid camera/film round up with you and talked about auto 600 cameras and Polaroid SLR type cameras. I promised a run down of Spectra and Pack film cameras also, so here it is!
{Spectra}
Polaroid Spectra cameras are a close second to the SX70 in my book. I have the Polaroid Spectra System which is a fantastic camera. Spectra film is a different shape to the typical 600 but it’s also part of the integral film family. It’s more rectangular in shape and therefore produces a wider view in your shots.
I also own the more modern Spectra 1200FF which takes OK photos but the colours aren’t great and they looked washed out a lot of the time.
I really love the creamy colours you can achieve with a Spectra camera. Of course, it’s an automatic focus camera also, so you can decide if that’s what you are after. They are easy to use, don’t take much work at all and you can get new film fromThe Impossible Project made especially for these cameras.Spectra/1200/Image film is the original Polaroid film but it’s pretty scarce and can be expensive. I definitely recommend getting a Polaroid Spectra System or Polaroid Spectra Pro/Minolta Instant Pro.
Film: Impossible Project PZ film or Polaroid Spectra/Image/1200 (if you can still find it).
{Pack Film}
Pack film cameras are old and can be tricky to use when first playing around. I would suggest that you try these out after using integral films first.
The great thing about these cameras is that film is still being made by Fuji (Fuji FP-100C, Fuji FP- 100B, and Fuji FP-3000B- not to be confused with Fuji Instax film which is made for their Instax integral film cameras) and readily available. These cameras are a little different in that once you take the photo, you need to do a little work with timing and precision of when the film is pulled from the camera. You basically have to yank the film out yourself rather than it spitting the film out like in regular Polaroid cameras.
Once that is done correctly and the appropriate time has been taken for the photo to develop, you will need to peel off the backing layer of the photo. Your Polaroid will have developed and you don’t watch the photo appear before your eyes like with other cameras. This process of waiting, timing and peeling back can be tricky. Depending on the film too, it takes some playing around to get the timing right for the exposure you want. All film packs will have a suggested development time on the box.
There are chemicals involved and you have to be careful to not get it on your skin. You will have a lot of junk to get rid of after you take the picture, so make sure you have a little plastic bag or something to store your rubbish in, if you are out and about. Some people don’t throw the “negative” out, but keep it to scan.
Using these cameras is a lot of fun but it does take patience and some playing around to see how they best focus. Some use a rangefinder system for focusing.
Check out some colour peel apart groups here.
All the info you’ll need on these cameras : Moominstuff
As I have shown you in most of the previous links, one of the best places to find Polaroid film is on ebay. There is still Polaroid film available for both peel apart, Spectra and integral cameras, however it is now very expired and very expensive. You are taking a risk if you buy expired film as may be completely useless. I suggest buying from someone who has tested the same batch of film or who takes refunds if it doesn’t work.
I hope you have enjoyed this little Polaroid run down.
If you are in the market, do your research. I wouldn’t just jump in, look around online and in the flickr forums. There is a wealth of knowledge out there! Feel free to ask me any questions and I will try to answer them as best I can.
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