So you wanna shoot Polaroid?

It's bad timing if you want to start shooting Polaroid... since Polaroid announced they have stopped making film.

At this point, I wouldn't waste money on an SX-70 unless you are rich and able to afford 600 film for over $15/pack.

Time-Zero is gone... even if you're rich, you won't be able to stock up on much Time-Zero, as it's going for $60/pack, and it's very likely it won't even work.

But the joy of instant photography is not completely dead yet. There are the Fuji packfilms that are still being produced. Many people don't realize that they are "Polaroids" because they don't have the classic white frame around them, but they are just like Polaroid's series of 690, 664 and 667... only a little better.

So to get started shooting "Polaroid", you need to get a camera...
The most useful guide available is the lovely Land List:

www.rwhirled.com/landlist/land…

[That links directly to the packfilm cameras]

I've got a few of them for myself, and I've given a few of them away. You can pick any of them, just make sure they take the 100 series films and not the 80 series!!!

Which one do I recommend??

Any of them that have a glass lens.
My favorite was the 103, it's light meter was perfect and my eye and it's eye were very similar.

Though, I would say get yourself a 250 if you can.
They are pretty cheap on ebay if you look for them, and they have a great flip up Zeis Ikon focus viewfinder on it. I think I got mine for $4.00 at the thrift store.

The next thing you'll need is a battery. The shutter doesn't work without a battery. No matter how much it sounds like it's working... it's not... you need a new battery.

The packfilm cameras take either a 531 or 532 battery, which you will have to get online. Check the land list website to find out which battery works with the camera you selected. To buy, I recommend:

stores.ebay.com/Battery-Wholes…

It's about $9.00 a battery, but they last for a loong time.


And now you just need some film.

Fuji has:

100C film, (100 iso Color) It's very saturated and is amazing with skin tones and shadows. I wasn't a big fan of it at first because I'm use to Polaroid's blue, but this film has grown on me.

100B film, (100 iso Black & White) Great black and white film. The contrast is not too much and has a range of greys in between.

3000B film, (3000 iso Black and White) Contrasty and sharp black and white film. works great indoors, outdoors .. it doesn't matter. It's also the cheapest of the fuji films

Fuji also makes 4x5 format instant films, but I've never used them, so I can't say much about them.

You can buy them here:

www.adorama.com/Search-Results…

or:

www.ebay.com

From my Gallery:

Fuji 100C film:

:thumb95560879: :thumb92064428: :thumb92064319:

Fuji 100B film:

:thumb95605529: :thumb92020636: :thumb84753667: :thumb87751996: