A Polaroid Story

[vintagesnaps]

You can put in a used empty film pack to test a camera. Just pop it in there and 'take a picture', it will fire. There won't be a picture pop out obviously but the camera doesn't know it's empty... (The empty pack couldn't be too old probably, the battery still needs to be working.)

These cameras need a good bit of light. If there isn't enough light it will just sit there. The SX-70 gathers light but I find it hard to hand hold it long enough while it pauses, gathers light, then spits out a picture. Which is why there's a place on the bottom to attach it to a tripod. Or, put on a flashbar.

I had a pack of film get jammed but I don't remember what I did...

 

[vintagesnaps]

The film now supposedly doesn't need to be kept dark to develop (they had T shirts about keeping it in the dark! lol). But I'm in the habit of that still. I usually flip it face down, stick it under something, in a pocket, etc. I save the dark slides and sometimes use those. It does develop faster than it used to. I started buying it early on and it's improved since then.

But I think it's going to be a softer look so it takes thinking about what will work with that. The ones like the white rainbow (which I have too) or the basic 600's with plastic lenses get softer images than the SX-70.

I've used 600 film in an SX-70 without the ND filter in lower light; it seems to work sort of like putting higher speed film in a camera. Of course it's experimental, at least the first shot, if it isn't working then I leave it in the camera for another time.

 

[smithdan]

Frame 8 in the Spectra failed to eject, this after spending a lot of time setting up for a portrait type shot. Guess I'll be bending something as well jc.

Polaroid fun over for now.