SX-70 Land Camera

moot1 · Dec 18, 2010

Hi everyone,

I picked up a Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera for a friend who loves photography for 60 bucks. I figured it was a good deal, seeing as how it went for 2x to 3x that amount on Amazon.com.

I wanted to check to see if it's working, but I can't seem to get it open. Help will be greatly appreciated. The camera is in amazing condition, so I really hope it is working! This will be a Christmas present.

Thanks!

-moot

P.S. if it's not working how much does it usually cost to get something like this fixed / where would I even go to get it fixed?

clanthar · Dec 18, 2010

If it's really an SX-70 then you open it by pulling up on the top -- you just grab the viewfinder on the top of the camera and pull up.

The camera operates from a battery in the film pack. So to further check the camera for function you need film. Polaroid discontinued the original Time Zero film for the SX-70. I believe a few years ago some new product with blend in the name was released -- don't know status.

Joe

moot1 · Dec 18, 2010

clanthar said:
If it's really an SX-70 then you open it by pulling up on the top -- you just grab the viewfinder on the top of the camera and pull up.

The camera operates from a battery in the film pack. So to further check the camera for function you need film. Polaroid discontinued the original Time Zero film for the SX-70. I believe a few years ago some new product with blend in the name was released -- don't know status.

Joe

Thank you so much for your reply! This camera is breathtaking, I really hope it works! There's some dust when I open the camera, is there a proper way to clean it? Or is a cotton ball with alcohol sufficient?

Lastly, maybe I'm reading too much into your wording, but when you say "if it's really an sx-70", do you think it's a fake because of the low price? If so, I suppose I can get it checked out and if it's a fake. How much are these usually work anyways? It was just in such amazing condition, I couldn't pass it up...

ann · Dec 18, 2010

The issue is film, right now you can get something from a group called THe Impossible Project. Older film is probably not going to be anygood as polariod film does not have a good shelve life. Blend film may still be available.

They are lovely and in fact I believe they rank 51st on the list of most beautiful items made in the past century.

moot1 · Dec 20, 2010

ann said:
The issue is film, right now you can get something from a group called THe Impossible Project. Older film is probably not going to be anygood as polariod film does not have a good shelve life. Blend film may still be available.

They are lovely and in fact I believe they rank 51st on the list of most beautiful items made in the past century.

Thanks for the tip! Would you mind linking me to the rankings? I would love to check out that list!