it DOES hav a rangefinder...

[amateriat]

Melanie: Fantastic photos. You do seem to get the hang of most any camera you get hold of pretty fast.

I've messed with Polaroids for decades, from my dad's 95 (which I still have although Polaroid hasn't made film for it in about a decade), all the way to my mother's auto-everything Spectra (which is the weirdest 'roid I've ever tried to use...not their finest hour in terms of ergonomic desigh). I have gone back-and-forth about getting a "Holgaroid" for the hell of it, and youir post (and pics) has me thinking about it again.

As for film, I agree with Steve: you're best off sticking to Fuji from a cost/performance/availability standpoint. And, yes, depending on the film (and the scanner you have at hand), scanning the images can be a bit of a pain without setting up some basic parameters beforehand. They canbe almost as bad as those prints some studios make with print surfaces made specifically to thwart scanning or other means of copying.

Have fun with it. Hope to see more.

About that Element: as rolling boxes go, you could have done a lot worse. Not that obnoxious to me.


- Barrett

 

[Eric T]

Polaroid 220

Polaroid 220

Melanie,
Amazing photos. I bought a new Polaroid 220 in July 1969. I still have it but probably haven't used it since the mid-70s. You have encouraged me to take it out and see if I can get some decent images out of it.
Where did you get a battery for it? And there is no exposure control right? So you I presume you simply shoot ISO 100 color film in bright sunlight.
Again - great photos. I don't think I ever got photos that good out of my Polaroid.
Eric

 

[Finder]

I used Fuji FP100C, which is a 100-speed color film. I am not sure I understand packfilm speeds. Is 100 actually 100? The reason I ask is that black and white pack film is rated at 3000 and that just seems crazy. (I haven't used any yet.)

I got the orange Element because if you're going to drive a rolling box, it makes more sense for it to be a totally obnoxious color.

Yes, it is 3000 ISO - just five stops faster than 100 ISO.

You should have gotten a yellow Element painted red arrow-like stripes on it and then written "Kodak." It would look like a rolling box of film. (You could go green if you are more of a Fuji person.)

 

[dazedgonebye]

Oh yea...adorama sells fuji fp100c for $8.49 per pack. I just bought 4 packs. Add $6 for shipping and you're at $10/pack.
Still not cheap...but much better than $14.

 

[SteveM(PA)]

Oh yea...adorama sells fuji fp100c for $8.49 per pack. I just bought 4 packs. Add $6 for shipping and you're at $10/pack.
Still not cheap...but much better than $14.

I think that seals it for me, total roid rage...going shopping. 🙂

 

[Farace]

Another "holy grail" Polaroid to look out for is the 195, which gives you all the flexibility of a hacked 110a, but it came from the factory that way.

I've got a few too many folding Polaroids at home, from my grandparents' 100, a couple of 200-series, and a 320 (I think, the one that came with an electronic flash unit), a bunch of accessories, a Big Shot (beloved of Warhol), and even their slide printer. And I haven't used any of it in years. I guess I need to dust some of it off. I used to play with emulsion transfers, but never got good at it.