so..whats the deal with poloroid instant film?

tyqre · Feb 12, 2012

I was just thinking about it now... what would that Polaroid instant film be classified as? Medium format? How does it compare to 35mm? It neve occurred to me what it was... Are there slr type cameras that take this kind of film?

compur · Feb 12, 2012

tyqre said:
I was just thinking about it now... what would that Polaroid instant film be classified as? Medium format? How does it compare to 35mm? It neve occurred to me what it was...

Polaroid film has always pretty much been its own classification.

Are there slr type cameras that take this kind of film?

Nearly all of the "SX70" cameras are SLRs. So are the SLR680 and SLR690 cameras which use Polaroid 600 film.

tyqre · Feb 12, 2012

compur said:
tyqre said:

I was just thinking about it now... what would that Polaroid instant film be classified as? Medium format? How does it compare to 35mm? It neve occurred to me what it was...

Click to expand...

Polaroid film has always pretty much been its own classification.

So, its bigger than 35mm so does that mean that its better?

dxqcanada · Feb 12, 2012

Polaroid is just "Instant Film". It was available in a multitude of sizes ... so it had it's own category (Polaroid cameras) and also fit with Medium and Large format cameras using special film backs.

2WheelPhoto · Feb 12, 2012

modern polaroid and its film: http://www.amazon.com/Polaroid-300-Instant-Camera-PIC-300L/dp/B003B2GTY0

Helen B · Feb 12, 2012

tyqre said:
Are there slr type cameras that take this kind of film?

It's long gone, but there used to be 35 mm Polaroid instant reversal (slide) film that would fit in any 35 mm camera. It was rather low resolution and it was expensive. There was an equivalent movie film as well, in Super 8.

Those of us who still shoot instant film in large format use Fuji pack film. Although that is no longer manufactured in 4x5 there is still plenty of it left. The smaller size of pack film, 3-1/4" x 4-1/4" is still manufactured by Fuji in colour and B&W. I use that as well.

Possibly in a year or so we might see a completely new version of Polaroid Type 55 4x5 sheet film on the market, that provides a negative and a print.

Best,
Helen

tododelsur · Feb 12, 2012

Since Polaroid stopped making the film, there is a new company trying to redevelop it. You can check them out here: The Impossible Project

tyqre · Feb 13, 2012

so is there an instant film out right now that is equiv or greater than the image capturing abilities of 35mm?

Helen B · Feb 13, 2012

What do you mean by 'image capturing abilities'? What are you looking for?

tyqre · Feb 13, 2012

Helen B said:
What do you mean by 'image capturing abilities'? What are you looking for?

i guess the tonal range, sharpness, low light capabilities and such

Zembonez · Feb 13, 2012

My impression of Polaroid has always been that they compromised a lot of quality for the ease of instant images. I toyed with their products years ago with varying results. At some point, they had some really large format specialty film that was applauded. Not sure if that still exists.

Helen B · Feb 13, 2012

tyqre said:
Helen B said:

What do you mean by 'image capturing abilities'? What are you looking for?

Click to expand...

i guess the tonal range, sharpness, low light capabilities and such

The only instant films available right now are print films, so they have the resolution of prints - ie not as great as normal film. They aren't particularly sharp, but they are sharp enough for the size they are. For low light there is an EI 3000 B&W (Fuji FP-3000B) which is actually quite good. The dynamic range (or exposure latitude if you wish) is low - something similar to slide film.

The Fuji instant materials are generally better quality than the equivalent Polaroid materials were. The Impossible Project materials are worse, so they are more hip. You can get a usable neg from Fuji FP-3000B and FP-100C (an EI 100 colour material), with a little messing around, but it isn't the quality of a proper film neg.