Is this a good camera?

Well you will have to take the battery out of th left side rear compartment and clean out all the corrosion and then figure out how many AA batteries you need to substitute in a holder you can buy from radio shack. Then you get some Fuji peel apart film and make the mod (search the net for modifying pack cameras... It is not difficult. Them you find a decent flash with a PC cord ( standard wire attachment) I use a Vivitar 285 on Blue setting for 100 ASA film but you will have to mess around a bit. Don't spend much money on the flash. Clean the rollers and other gunk out of the back of the camera. Have fun.

David
 
I actually used this camera (maybe the very same model) when I was a physics TA as an undergraduate. It is a very versatile camera. We used a strobe light to record the trajectories of bouncing balls, etc, and then measured displacements directly from the photo.

You need a film pack - I got excite seeing this and took a quick look but could not immediately locate any. Does the company that is resurrecting polaroid film process make anything for these?

Randy
 
You'll need a battery to start with. PX-19. Costs about $9. I think Radio Shack sells them, or else you can buy online.

For film, you have a choice of Fuji FP-100C (color, ISO 100), or FP-3000B (black and white, 3200 ISO). You can also pick up some Polaroid left over pack film on ebay or from Impossible Project.

If you use the color pack film, I suggest you use a warming filter on it. How?
Get a 24mm Series V filter holder and retaining ring, and an 81B series V filter to go inside it. You can see my post in the Polaroid forum about how FP-100C needs a warming filter to give decent color rendition.

For the B&W film, Polaroid made a "cloud" filter (orange) which has a primary filter for the taking lens, and a small filter that goes over the photocell. Clever!

Fuji pack films bind when the big leaf springs in the back push down upon them. You need to work the metal springs back and forth until they break off from metal fatigue. Even then, the timer on the back of your camera may still make pulling the pictures out difficult.

Your camera's flash is synched for bulbs. If you want X-synch, you'll need to visit your friendly camera repairman. While it's there, he could switch out the back for you with a back from the 250, which doesn't have a timer.

If your pictures are too light, or too dark, fiddle with the lighten/darken control which is the collar around the lens. The photocell averages over a wide field, so any bright lights in the image cause underexposure. Unfortunately with these autoexposure Polaroids, you waste a picture or two getting the correct exposure.

Enjoy!
 
We refurb and sell dozens of these at our shop, they are incredibly fun to use. David and Robert above summed it up pretty well: get a battery, and shoot Fuji Instant film (100c or 3000b), which is excellent film and easy to find online.

One note is that you don't *have* to modify the battery compartment. You can buy a compatible battery at batterymart.com for about $10. Just make sure the contacts are clean and corrosion free by scrubbing them with baking soda and water.
 
Thanks for all of the advice, it is greatly appreciated. The battery contacts are clean as a whistle, there is no sign of corrosion. One question, though. Should the shutter be firing with no battery?
 
Its great fun. I got a 250 just before X-mas. And have gone through 25 packs of film since.

I got rid of the old battery and soldered in a AAA holder instead. Went over the connectors and cleaned them up. Good to go after that. Its a true rangefinder. Works too. Rather intuitive in use, set the ISO (under lens) correctly, use the lever next to it, to adapt for lighting conditions in general, and if need be use the lighten/darken wheel to correct for backlighting etc. Cock the shutter and shoot. The electric eye will take care of the rest. In essence an aperture priority auto camera.

Fuji films are self expiring, meaning you don´t need to time them, just let them develop for up towards 60 seconds (68F and above) and peel. The negatives can with a bit of ingenuity be used too. FP3000B, if kept out of the direct light while drying can be scanned directly, but is not a true negative as such, there is no traditional film base, just spread out on paper. FP100C has a negative, but needs the backing to be washed off with a weak bleach solution and can then be scanned, or even used in an enlarger.

If you want to try out expired, but batch tested, Polaroid films, go to the Filmphotographtproject.com site. They still have (at a cost) the brilliant Fuji FP100B too.

In fact I´ve had so much fun I got hold of a Pathfinder 110A and converted it to take Polaroid 600Se backs. Two CB103 pack film holders ready loaded are with me, one with FP100C, the other with FP3000B. Fit for any occasion. Trouble is trying to find room in the messenger bag for the Leica too ;)
 
Make the good voltage with AA or buy a polaroid battery from the Film Photography Podcast google it and use some Fuji Pack film, fully compatible.
FP100C is color iso 100, FP3000B is black and white iso 3000.
The FPP always talk about those camera.
They're real fun to shoot.
 
Greyscale said:
Thanks for all of the advice, it is greatly appreciated. The battery contacts are clean as a whistle, there is no sign of corrosion. One question, though. Should the shutter be firing with no battery?
Click to expand...

The shutter will cock and release with no battery but will not actually open. You need the battery to see light through it. You can test it with two 1.5 volt batteries and jumper wires before you invest in a battery and film. I just started playing with the Polaroids and they are great fun.
Pete
 
a 195 with a zeiss finder is on its way to me as we speak :D

FYI, there are portrait and close up kits for these cameras,... without them the minimum focus is about 3.5 feet.
 
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