Polaroid Land Camera Automatic 100

[birdfish]

A friend picked this up at a thrift store for me. Just wondering if it would be worth it to try and buy a battery and film just to play around with?

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[compur]

You may already know this, but ...

Production of the film for these cameras was recently discontinued but some retailers are still selling their unsold stock such as this one:
Fujifilm FP-100C Professional Instant Color Film ISO 15435626

You'll also need a battery for the camera. The original battery (#531) can still be found online. They cost about $10-$15. If you can do simple soldering it's easy to convert the camera to use 3 AAA batteries instead.

But, before spending any money on the camera I would recommend testing it to make sure it works. If you want to know how, I will tell you. You'll need a few simple things to test it.

 

[limr]

This ^^^

But it you are willing to give it a try, these cameras can be great fun.

 

[vintagesnaps]

I thought Fuji was going to go back to manufacturing the color pack film but I could be mistaken. CatLabs is supposedly working on it but I imagine it'll take a long time. The film's wonderful if you can find some at a decent price; lasts pretty long in the fridge in cold storage.

 

[limr]

I thought Fuji was going to go back to manufacturing the color pack film but I could be mistaken. CatLabs is supposedly working on it but I imagine it'll take a long time. The film's wonderful if you can find some at a decent price; lasts pretty long in the fridge in cold storage.

Fuji continues to make instant film for their Instax line but are no longer making the peel-apart film that is compatible with the Land Cameras.

 

[birdfish]

You may already know this, but ...

Production of the film for these cameras was recently discontinued but some retailers are still selling their unsold stock such as this one:
Fujifilm FP-100C Professional Instant Color Film ISO 15435626

You'll also need a battery for the camera. The original battery (#531) can still be found online. They cost about $10-$15. If you can do simple soldering it's easy to convert the camera to use 3 AAA batteries instead.

But, before spending any money on the camera I would recommend testing it to make sure it works. If you want to know how, I will tell you. You'll need a few simple things to test it.

I'd love to know if it still works. If I can find some film that is, already found a battery online.
Thanks for the info!


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[pixmedic]

did someone say.....Polaroid land camera?

i have two of these in mint condition.
film is an issue so they just sit. ive just never been able to drum up enough interest to look into places that might still make compatible film for them.
anyway...if you get yours working, find pack film for it, and decide you like shooting with it, I would be more than happy to give you one of my land cameras.
couldnt tell you the difference between yours and mine, but im sure you can just look up the model number online and find that info.

 

[compur]

The Polaroid 900 Electric Eye model used Polaroid roll film which hasn't been produced for a long time. I believe Polaroid's last available roll film was discontinued in the late 1980s or early '90s.

I run across Polaroid roll film from time to time at estate sales and such and it's usually older than that -- 1960s-70s and likely all dried up.

I think it's unlikely that anyone will pick up the torch and start making it again.

There's a guy on YouTube who converted a 900 to use packfilm ... but then we're back to the packfilm scarcity problem.

 

[pixmedic]

The Polaroid 900 Electric Eye model used Polaroid roll film which hasn't been produced for a long time. I believe Polaroid's last available roll film was discontinued in the late 1980s or early '90s.

I run across Polaroid roll film from time to time at estate sales and such and it's usually older than that -- 1960s-70s and likely all dried up.

I think it's unlikely that anyone will pick up the torch and start making it again.

There's a guy on YouTube who converted a 900 to use packfilm ... but then we're back to the packfilm scarcity problem.

huh..
i thought i had heard of a company that was making small batches of some pretty obscure films and that one was on the list. could have been wrong though. or there might have not been enough interest for them to actually produce it.
maybe its time to finally bite the bullet and toss the old girls.

 

[compur]

I'd love to know if it still works. If I can find some film that is, already found a battery online.
Thanks for the info!

OK, if you have the battery then just install it in the snap connectors. If they are corroded then clean them first with vinegar and brush off the corrosion until they are clean.

Here is the camera manual:
http://www.cameramanuals.org/polaroid_pdf/polaroid_100.pdf

With the battery in place unfold the camera and cock the shutter (press down on lever #3 so it locks down).

Point the camera at a bright scene such as outdoor daylight and press the shutter release. You should hear a single click as the shutter fires.

Now cock the shutter again and this time cover the front of the camera with one hand as you press the shutter release. This time you should hear two clicks about 1 second apart. If you hear two clicks then the camera's shutter and internal meter are working and the camera should be OK.

If you don't have the battery then you'll have to jerry-rig a power supply to replace it. You need 4.5 volts so three 1.5v batteries connected in series will do it (any kind). You can tape them together or have someone hold them or whatever. You'll also need 2 wires to connect them to the camera's battery snaps for the above test (positive to positive, etc).

 

[compur]

huh..
i thought i had heard of a company that was making small batches of some pretty obscure films and that one was on the list. could have been wrong though. or there might have not been enough interest for them to actually produce it.
maybe its time to finally bite the bullet and toss the old girls.

Some Polaroid films are being made again such as SX70, 600 and others but not the roll film.