Passport / Photo ID camera's

[bjornkeizers]

Hey guys,

I bought a fun 'little' camera the other day on a Dutch second hand website, and while I'm waiting for it... I'm doing a bit of research and googling into this genre.

I bought a Polaroid 402 'Studio Express' passport photo camera. It is a fully mechanical, four-lens model that takes Fuji instant film (100C/3000B for those that might not know). This model is mainly seen as the 'Miniportrait', mine seems to be somewhat rarer. Good news as well: they seem plentiful and cheap. I've seen a dozen on Ebay and even that Dutch site has a handful listed.

(Seller's pic, he's a professional product photographer)

Now, there's very little to be found about this or passport cameras in general. There are, however, some Flickr groups about this subject.

The camera is mostly geared towards passport use, meaning, you take a picture and you get four images on a single sheet, all with a slightly off perspective. By blocking three of the four lenses, you can do up to four exposures on a single sheet. That seems to be the most creative way to use it.

The camera is obviously quite heavy as it's full metal and intended for studio use. Add in the needed flash for indoor use, and I probably won't be lugging it around much. Still, I can't help but feel a certain excitement about trying to shoot one's own passport picture with this. Yes, I'm a weirdo.

So, is there anyone else who owns a passport camera?

 

[Murchu]

Very cool, kinda makes you want to go out and photograph everyone you know with it! 🙂

 

[bjornkeizers]

I fear it'll mostly be the other way around - people asking for free or cheap passport photos 😀

 

[Murchu]

I fear it'll mostly be the other way around - people asking for free or cheap passport photos 😀

Ha ha, use it, lol! Get them to come to you, and over time, build up a body of work with it of all that you have shot.. 🙂

 

[bjornkeizers]

I just received the needed 1/4 to 3/8 adapter to mount the camera on my Manfrotto tripod. Here's what it looks like with the Cactus V5 wireless trigger (so I can go from PC flash port to actual hot shoe) and an old Minox 35 flash (surprisingly powerful little guy)

The camera is quite easy to use. You load the film into the back, set the aperture between 8 and 32 depending on flash power and such, set the shutter to 1/60 or 1/125 and let'er go.

The results were surprisingly good. I took a few shots of my mother and a colleague, and both turned out better then expected. The tricky part is actually getting focus, as these cameras have a set focus distance of 1.2 meter. You can of course cheat by using a smaller aperture, but that would mean using a bigger flash or studio lighting.

I haven't had time to scan the ones I took, so I'll probably bleach the negatives and see if I can get some funky scans from those.

 

[vdonovan]

I have the two-shot version. I've been amusing myself by doing multiple exposures - covering one of the lenses, shooting one picture, then covering the other lens and shooting another. Great fun at parties.

 

[bjornkeizers]

Cute shot! I've done a few shots of friends & family so far, and I'm quite liking it.

I actually bought a *second* one last week. Since my first camera came without lens caps, no dark slide, no manual, etc. I put in an opening bid on a Rainbow-front 402 on Ebay. Camera was listed as 'I don't know how to use it, so it might be broken'. Surprise surprise - It works and looks flawlessly. In fact, I can barely find signs of use at all. It's much nicer then my first Studio Express.