Beginner's Guide to Polaroid Photography

Instant photography is in the midst of a renaissance. The rerelease of film for Polaroid cameras, the popularity of the Fuji Instax system, and the growing interest in lomography and all things retro have added up to make 2010 the start of the next generation of Polaroid. With all that, it's no wonder that I've been getting lots of questions about shooting with these awesome cameras! To answer the requests, I've put together this post of basic information, including recommended cameras and film. If you enjoy it, let me know and maybe I can put together a part two with tips for using your Polaroids!

1: The Cameras
The 50-some years that Polaroid was popular (from the 1940s to the 1990s) resulted in the production of LOTS of cameras.  With all of those cameras floating around, (many of which don't take the famous integral instant film) it's no wonder that getting started can be really intimidating.  I recommend going one of two routes with your first Polaroid camera: an SX-70 or a 600 type.

The SX-70

My SX-70 is the gem of my camera collection.  I LOVE this camera.  It's beautiful, it feels good in your hands, and it produces some amazing images.  SX-70s each have their own personalities, and mine is a lot like me - generally pleasant and industrious, but occasionally downright moody!

An SX-70 will give your photos a soft, dreamy quality.  The model 1s (which are chrome with brown leather accents) and 2s (white with brown leather accents, like mine) have a manual focusing ring that allows you to find an extremely crisp focus, and a short focal distance that will give you lovely blurred backgrounds.  SX-70s are SLRs, meaning that when you look through the viewfinder, a mirror reflects out through the lens, showing you exactly what the lens will capture, and allowing you to frame your shots just as you want them.


{Magnolia}

The major downside to this type of camera is the difficulty of finding one - I've never come across one in a thrift shop or antique store.  The best place to go seems to be Ebay, and film tested cameras can get pretty pricey there.  Additionally, they are more delicate than some other Polaroid camera types, and are prone to breaking.  They are primarily made of metal, and heavy as a brick - tough if you want to throw it in your bag and run around town.  Flash bars are no longer made for them, so if flash photography is important to you, this probably isn't the right choice.  Finally, there is a bit of a learning curve involved in using these cameras, and with the price of Polaroid film, that curve can become pretty expensive.

The One Step

I'm sure you all recognize this one - it's a favorite photography subject for bloggers!  This cute little camera takes SX-70 film, but operates like a point and shoot.  Focus is set automatically, and it's very lightweight.  The downside comes in the focal distance.  It needs to be fairly far away from an object to achieve focus, meaning that you aren't going to get that lovely in-focus/out-of-focus look.  These cameras are fairly common and inexpensive; you can find them for about $20 on Etsy or Ebay.

The 600 Type Cameras

600 cameras are the most common of all Polaroids, which is a good thing because it means they are very cheap and very easy to find.  I find these in the $5 range on nearly every thrifting or flea market trip I go on.  I have several of these cameras, but this is the one I usually use for shooting; it used to belong to Nate's grandparents.

600 cameras couldn't be easier to use.  They are pretty much fully automatic and most come with an onboard flash (which you can opt not to use).  Like the One Step,  you'll need to leave some space between your camera and your subject, and generally pretty much everything in the shot will end up in focus.  Some models have an focal distance knob that you can adjust for shooting something nearer to you or farther from  you.  They are bulkier than the SX-70, but much lighter and generally harder to break.  You can achieve a beautiful look with these, especially if you like that 70s/80s feel in your photos.


{Fruit}

An aside: typing this up made me curious about how many 600 type cameras are currently living in my apartment, so I counted.  The answer is seven (it might be time to do some clearing out of the Polaroid collection).

Nate likes the yellow one (and he says he doesn't like 80s design!),


but my favorite is this little Spirit; without an onboard flash it's much more compact than a typical 600, and I'm a total sucker for the Polaroid rainbow.


This One 600 isn't a favorite design-wise, but it has a lot of sentimental value; it's the camera that I brought home from a white elephant party, beginning my love of Polaroid. It was kind of like a match maker between me and my SX-70, haha.

The One 600 is the last Polaroid camera produced (although the company says new ones are coming...), and there are still lots of them kicking around, some in their original packaging.  The photos that they take are a little too crisp for me, but I do appreciate how much smaller they are than previous 600s.




2. Film

SX-70
For the SX-70, you have a few options.  I love the look of TZ Artistic, which is still available from The Impossible Project, 8 shots for $24.50.  This film was made with the last of the old Polaroid chemicals, and has a particularly vintage, dreamlike quality.

You can also shoot Polaroid 600 film in an SX-70, with a few modifications.  You'll need a filter over your lens or over the film pack to make up for a speed difference between the camera and film, and you'll need to use a special technique to load the film - placing a used darkslide (a piece of cardstock that protects your film from light while it's in the package; it will eject when you load your film) in the film slot, then sliding the film in on top of it, removing the darkslide, and closing the film door.  The downside to using 600 film is the price.  The last packs are disappearing quickly, and their price seems to go up by the day.  As far as I know, there are two places left to find it: Unique Photo and Ebay.  At both places it's going for about $50 a ten pack...ouch.


{birds}

Finally, the Impossible Project's new PX-100 film is made especially for SX-70s.  PX-100 is a monochrome sepia film, although a color version is slated to come out this summer.  The film is tricky to use (I suggest reading up on the Flickr PX-100 group before taking your first shot), but it's really fun and can result in gorgeous images.  A package of 8 shots sells for $22.


{horses}

600
Polaroid 600 film, of course, works great in 600 type cameras.  Again, the downside is price - $50 is pretty prohibitive for most people (it certainly is for me).  Luckily, the Impossible Project has just released a version of their monochrome film made for 600 cameras.  You can buy a package of the first release for $21 (for 8 shots) or an improved second release for $22.

The Alternative

I know that many people love instant photography, but just can't do the price of Polaroid film.  In that case, the Fuji Instax makes a great alternative.  You can find new cameras for about $50 on Ebay, and the film goes for about $8 a pack (buy several packs at a time to save).  I have the Instax mini, which makes cute, credit card sized photos.  It's great for parties and get-togethers with friends, times when instant photos are fun, but you can't justify blowing through a $22 pack of Polaroid film.

This camera is going to be rebranded as the "Polaroid 300" this summer, but it only differs cosmetically from the Instax.





Whew, that was a long post!  Leave any questions, and let me know if you'd like to see a part two with tips on actually using your camera.  You might also want to check out the fabulous guides to Polaroid published by Amanda of Mocking Bird: see part 1 here and part 2 here.