Does it matter what kind of polaroid camera I get?
filed in Xdela Community on Jun.07, 2010
I’m just looking for an old polaroid camera to take more vintage looking photos. What kind should I get? What does it mean when they say "land camera". Thanks.
June 7th, 2010 on 7:26 pm
"Land" cameras are named after Edward Land, who invented Polaroid cameras and instant film. (In the late 1940′s or early 1950′s, I think.)
And yes, it does matter what kind of Polaroid cameras you get because film is available only for certain kinds. You can get a Polaroid 600 camera…which is the type of camera where the picture is ejected from the front of the camera. Those are the more modern cameras that were popular in the 80′s and 90′s. (And in fact, they were still popular until fairly recently. My dad used one for his job until about 2004). They use what’s called "integral" instant film. The film comes in a cartridge with a built in battery for the motor and flash. They’re very simple and easly to load…you just snap in the cartridge. They’re the kind of cameras that most people think of when you say a "Polaroid" camera.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silverscape/3709064118/in/set-72157621492668515/
You can find a Polaroid 600 camera on eBay or in thrift shops or yard sales, etc for cheap. They used to be very common. In fact, about 3 years ago you could have walked into a Walmart or Target and bought a brand new Polaroid 600 camera. So it’s not like we’re talking about ancient history here.
Polaroid had stopped making instant film, but there is a new company called "The Impossible Project" which has started making instant film which will work with Polaroid 600 cameras. Right now they only make black and white film, but they’re going to start making color film in the near future.
There is also another kind of antique Polaroid Land camera which uses "peel apart" instant film. It uses a cartridge, but you manually pull the picture out of the camera after every shot. You wait about a minute and then you peel the negative off the print. It’s kind of messy, but it’s a lot of fun to use those cameras, and the picture quality is actually lot better.
Here is my Polaroid Automatic 100 camera:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silverscape/3758991445/in/set-72157621492668515/
You can sometimes get lucky and find an antique Polaroid Land camera on eBay or in antique shops for fairly cheap. I bought one in good condition for about $20 and it takes great pictures.
Fuji still makes several kinds of peel apart instant film which will work with antique Polaroid Land cameras.