The I DON'T LIKE POLAROID PRINTS appreciation thread

It seems no more interest in Polaroid ! What a pity!

Anyway here is my last submisison for the RoidWeek spring 2022, diptych taken with the B&W i-Type Film and OneStep2 camera.

med_U3692.1651141233.0.jpg
 
CameraQuest said:
For a long time I was in the never bother with POLAROID PRINTS camp.

[…]

I finally saw the beauty and importance of POLAROID PRINTS.

Their beauty is

1) a unique moment in time, often the only view of that moment
- the photog was busy with their Polaroid

[…]

...
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The quote above is from the first post of this thread. I, too, initially did not grasp the subtle significance of a Polaroid print. Only after I bought a Polaroid camera on a whim and started using it did I see the importance, as mentioned in item 1 above. In the nearly 20 years of using Polaroid, I’ve probably annoyed many readers of photo forums by belaboring this point, but I’ll do it again. 🙂

As Ken Nadvornick on another forum used to say, the significance of such an image is a matter of provenance. How so? Consider this image from the National Archives; it was made on a glass plate by Mathew Brady at Gettysburg and shows Abraham Lincoln before he gave his famous speech:

https://i0.wp.com/prologue.blogs.arc...n-smallrgb.jpg

Here’s another photo, made by Neil Armstrong with a special stock of Ektachrome 70mm film. It shows Buzz Aldrin saluting the flag on the Moon:

https://archive.org/download/GPN-200...001-000012.jpg

Now consider what we know about each these images:

* If you were to hold the glass plate or Ektachrome transparency in your hand, you’re holding a tangible artifact that was present at the very event being photographed.

* The light from that event directly created the very image you’re holding.

* The image is genuine; it hasn’t been modified to add or remove details.

* The image is unique.

What is true here can also be said of images of more mundane events, such as a family picnic, made with a Polaroid or other instant-film camera. Such images have that same provenance and uniqueness. Actually, the same can be said of any image formed on a negative or transparency (but cannot be said of a print - which is obviously a copy).

To some people this has meaning. Others will say, “so what?”
 
It’s a matter of “soul”, 🙂, or as some would say, there is mojo in the genuine object such as a negative or glass plate. 🙂🙂🙂

A masterpiece painting hanging in a museum has the same attraction I think, it is a direct creation of the painter.
 
Just ran across this thread. Hmm. I love instant film, shoot way too much of it...


Palm
Polaroid SLR670x by MiNT + Orange filter, B&W 600 film


Empty
Polaroid SLR670a by MiNT, Color 600 Round Frame​

I just this evening received the latest MiNT Camera product: an InstantFlex TL70 Plus. Just registered it, downloaded the instruction manual, and loaded it. I didn't really need the manual, most everything on the camera is very easy to figure out. I'll create a new thread for it after I shoot a little with it tomorrow.

Only negative side to this is that I'll have to buy a few double-packs of Instax SQ film now. 😉

G
 
Godfrey said:
….

Only negative side to this is that I'll have to buy a few double-packs of Instax SQ film now. 😉

G
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Instax has put the “film” back into “Fujifilm”. It’s heartening to know that the Instax film is so popular that it will be around for a long time.

I get anxiety when my Instax or Polaroid supplies drop low. They have us figured out…
 
I posted this in another thread, but felt it should be here too...

Making steady progress learning/understanding the Instaflex TL70 Plus. One pack of color came with the camera, I had another pack of color and a pack of B&W.

First pack of film I made one or two decent photos, snaps of my friends at breakfast last Thursday morning.


Jack with Coffee - Mountain View 2023​

Second I was in experimentation mode on a walk ... again, a couple came out nice.


House on Walk - Santa Clara 2023
ND8 filter used​

I sacrificed the B&W pack to exposure experiments, learning the film response on manual exposure and then the camera's Auto modes.

It's quite a nice camera. Feels a bit like one of my early '50s Rolleiflex TLRs, albeit all light plastic rather than metal and leather. The lens seems quite good, the metering/exposure system is good, the viewfinder is good. The amusing thing is that when you press the exposure eject button, the eject motor whines and whirrs and the print pops up into the WL finder hood.

A box with 6 packs of color and 4 packs of B&W arrived today, and I now feel like I understand the film and the camera well enough. Time to go shooting! 😀

G

(btw: these photos were made with the iPhone 11 Pro hand held, not my usual instant film copy setup, so I apologize for the rather poor quality.)
 
'RoidWeek 2025 (Spring) has passed, but I still had a few exposures left in two cameras that I'd started during the week. I just posted the ones from my SLR670x in a separate thread ... A few photos post-'RoidWeek 2025

Oh yes: my 2025 stocking order of 5 pack 600 B&W and 4 packs 600 Color have arrived. Waiting for SX-70 film stock to return now.

enjoy! G 😀
 
Godfrey said:
'RoidWeek 2025 (Spring) has passed, but I still had a few exposures left in two cameras that I'd started during the week. I just posted the ones from my SLR670x in a separate thread ... A few photos post-'RoidWeek 2025

Oh yes: my 2025 stocking order of 5 pack 600 B&W and 4 packs 600 Color have arrived. Waiting for SX-70 film stock to return now.

enjoy! G 😀
Click to expand...

How are you getting on with the TL70+?
 
Disappointed_Horse said:
How are you getting on with the TL70+?
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I like it, but I haven't used it all that much. Probably four or five packs of film through it so far. It works very well ... The major reason for not carrying it often is the same as for carrying my Hasselblad: although light weight, it's pretty bulky to carry. When I compare carrying either of them vs an SX-70 type Polaroid or a 6x6 folder, the latter wins easily for being compact and able to slip into a modest sized bag.

Nowadays, I tend to take out the Hassy or the TL70+ when I have a specific kind of photo project in mind, which has been pretty rare in the past five years. They're just a bit difficult to fit into the casual "go for a walk and make some photos" model of what I've been doing most of since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

G
 
Godfrey said:
I like it, but I haven't used it all that much. Probably four or five packs of film through it so far. It works very well ... The major reason for not carrying it often is the same as for carrying my Hasselblad: although light weight, it's pretty bulky to carry. When I compare carrying either of them vs an SX-70 type Polaroid or a 6x6 folder, the latter wins easily for being compact and able to slip into a modest sized bag.

Nowadays, I tend to take out the Hassy or the TL70+ when I have a specific kind of photo project in mind, which has been pretty rare in the past five years. They're just a bit difficult to fit into the casual "go for a walk and make some photos" model of what I've been doing most of since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

G
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Thanks for the response. I hear you. I greatly prefer shooting with my 35mm film cameras, but I've been shooting a lot more often with my iPhone these days. (Hope I don't get kicked off RFF for admitting that…)
 
AusDLK said:
get a Fuji Instax Evo Wide, hitch you Polaroid wagon at the door, and I promise you'll never look back.
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LOL! That looks like an interesting camera, but I doubt it'll make me "hitch my Polaroid wagon at the door" any time in the foreseeable future. 🙂

I might get one anyway as I do keep Instax Wide in stock, and I find my only IW camera at present is a bit more bulky and slower to use than I prefer.
----
Ah, did some reading on the Fuji Instax EVO Wide. It's basically a micro-sensor digital camera married to a WiFi enabled digital printer that prints to Instax Wide film ... Not really an instant film camera in the traditional sense at all. Still looks like an interesting device, but it's important to know what it is, not what it looks like.

G
 
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I'll start with expired film in my Polaroid 180.

Three Past Their Prime by Neal Wellons, on Flickr
Tulips
Polaroid 180 Camera
Expired Fuji FP-100C Film
Henry County, Georgia

JobPro2

Behind the Market - Polaroid by Neal Wellons, on Flickr
Mid Georgia Livestock Market, Jackson, Georgia
Polaroid JobPro2 (600) camera with Polaroid Black and White film.

SX-70

Polaroid Emulsion Lift - Griffin by Neal Wellons, on Flickr
Another from the colorful neighborhood in Griffin, Georgia
Polaroid Color SX-70 film emulsion lift.
 
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