sx 70 or land camera for portraits?

robert blu

robert blu

quiet photographer
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I'm planning a project consisting in a series of B&W portraits, 10-12 subjects to be taken on instant film.

The idea is one shot to check light exposure + 5-6 more shots of the same person in the same location. Interior with (possibly) available light. One of the photos should be left to the subject.

I am thinking to use the same camera for all of the shots.

I could use one of my sx70 with B&W.2 Impossible Film. Pro: I can go very near the subject. Reflex view. In extreme cases I have the Mint flash. Contra: film has not very high iso, available light cannot be very strong in interiors (homes).

Or I could use my Land Camera 340 with the FP3000b left. Pro high iso and excellent B&W. Contra: i should buy a portrait kit in order to go close the subject, if necessary. And the camera itself is not always reliable.

I'll do some trials in the next days (weeks?) with my friends to compare results from the two cameras and film.

Meantime I would like to know opinions of other instant photography lovers, thanks.

robert
 
They will produce very different results, regardless of anything else, due to the very different character of the film. I'd experiment with both for a bit to see which I liked more.

The most significant limitation with the SX-70 is the speed of the film (and resulting camera meter calibration) for the shooting circumstances. That's going to make camera and subject motion a predominant factor in the look of the photos. Plan to work in good light or with flash if you go that way. I'd likely want to use an IR shield on the MiNT flash and an optical trigger on a second flash unit to get an nicer lighting setup. It will take some experimentation to get the exposure right, I imagine, since the Polaroid SX-70 flash system is a mechanically set aperture adjustment by GN once you fit a flash to it.

(BTW, there's an SX-70 1.5x telephoto lens accessory, model 119a, that might be useful to you for a portraiture set like this. There's one available on Ebay right now for $90:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Polaroid-SX-70-Film-Camera-Tele-1-5-Close-Up-Lens-Model-119A)

The Land Camera 340 should do fine without accessories unless you want to get VERY close, its reliability would be the major worry for a project.

G
 
Thanks Godfrey for your answer, it's more or less what I'm thinking by now.

The idea is to use window light and I'll try with both camera to evaluate the result...

I just clean very well the roller of my 340, opened the viewfinder and clean it, used the bobby pin to lower the spring pressure on the Fuji Film pack, which seems to work ok now.

When I'll experiment with both camera I'll post the result.

robert

PS: I'm just back from a short holiday when I had a Polaroid 600 with Impossible Films and the Land with a Fuji film...no time now to scan but I'll do it in a few days...
 
I photographed a model last week and took a lot of shots with my SX-70 loaded with IP 2.0 B&W film. Even though I have the Mint SX-70 flash, I wanted to use natural light. Since SX-70 film is slow, and the camera doesn’t have a tripod socket (at least my model doesn’t), I built a “cradle” to hold the camera. My cradle has a tripod socket which allows me to put my SX-70 on a tripod. My contraption may look crazy, but it works quite well. As for the longer exposures (probably 1/15 to five seconds), I just asked the model to hold her pose until the film popped out of the camera. Generally, I was happy with the results. I say generally, because it was a chilly day (temps around 50 F) and it was hard for me to keep the film warm so it would develop properly. The IP 2.0 B&W film is pretty good, but my experience is that it develops best in mild temps.

I did take some pics using the Mint SX-70 flash, but wasn’t happy with these at all. They were all underexposed (again, maybe due to the cool ambient temperature).

The close focusing ability of the SX-70 is one of its strong points. I took a few pics about 10” from her face that I like a lot.

I have an old peel-apart Polaroid 110 camera, but have never used it for portraits, so no comment there.

Hope the above helps.

Jim B.
 
Dear Robert,

600SE and 127mm or 150mm lens. Yes, it's more money, but not a fortune -- or you could pick mine up in July at Arles and borrow it for a year until the next Arles.

Cheers,

R.
 
Oh yes: for SX-70 type cameras, Polaroid Tripod Mount #111

Ebay: Polaroid SX-70 Tripod Mount #111

and the Remote Shutter Release #112

Polaroid SX-70 Remote Shutter Release Button #112

are invaluable accessories. You've already made your own cradle; it's much better to use a cradle than to use the tripod mount on the later SX-70 models. (Lack of a tripod mount means yours is likely first-second production year, btw; I have one of those, and the next year, first to have the tripod mount, which was my uncle's camera.) The tripod mount and the remote release are easily findable on Ebay for $10-25 apiece. They make using the camera much more flexible.

I've found the MiNT flash unit works very well, but many of the SX-70s have circuitry that has aged ungracefully and proves a bit inconsistent with it—the synchronization is off, it works intermittently, etc. The flash unit works very consistently with a refurbished SX-70 or with the overhauled and upgraded SLR670m and a model from MiNT; it produces very good exposures.

Fun stuff!

G

Mackinaw said:
I photographed a model last week and took a lot of shots with my SX-70 loaded with IP 2.0 B&W film. Even though I have the Mint SX-70 flash, I wanted to use natural light. Since SX-70 film is slow, and the camera doesn’t have a tripod socket (at least my model doesn’t), I built a “cradle” to hold the camera. My cradle has a tripod socket which allows me to put my SX-70 on a tripod. My contraption may look crazy, but it works quite well. As for the longer exposures (probably 1/15 to five seconds), I just asked the model to hold her pose until the film popped out of the camera. Generally, I was happy with the results. I say generally, because it was a chilly day (temps around 50 F) and it was hard for me to keep the film warm so it would develop properly. The IP 2.0 B&W film is pretty good, but my experience is that it develops best in mild temps.

I did take some pics using the Mint SX-70 flash, but wasn’t happy with these at all. They were all underexposed (again, maybe due to the cool ambient temperature).

The close focusing ability of the SX-70 is one of its strong points. I took a few pics about 10” from her face that I like a lot.

I have an old peel-apart Polaroid 110 camera, but have never used it for portraits, so no comment there.

Hope the above helps.

Jim B.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for your offer, very kind from you Roger but my plan is to shoot this beginning next spring!

What attract me in the use of the sx70 with B&W is the "old look" of the photos, without any additional pp work!
And from a few casual shots I noticed when taking portrait with one istant camera people behave in a more natural way than when using a digital. Hmmm, maybe an M9 or a DF could make it as well :)

robert

PS: I was going to buy an 600SE times ago but gave up because of the size and weight...probably a mistake !
 
Godfrey said:
.......I've found the MiNT flash unit works very well, but many of the SX-70s have circuitry that has aged ungracefully and proves a bit inconsistent with it—the synchronization is off, it works intermittently, etc. The flash unit works very consistently with a refurbished SX-70 or with the overhauled and upgraded SLR670m and a model from MiNT; it produces very good exposures.....
Click to expand...

Someplace on the Mint website they tell you how to date an SX-70 by using the serial number. Mine was built on August 29, 1973.

I wasn’t sure if the underexposure I saw was due to the flash or the cool ambient temperatures. I use a frog-tongue on my camera so as to keep the freshly exposed picture dark. That was my conundrum, do I keep the picture beneath the frog-tongue in 50 degree weather? Or do I remove the print from the camera, exposing it to light, and then place in a warming box? I opted for the latter which may explain my disappointing exposures.

One interesting quirk about the Mint flash (on my camera). If you take a picture with the flash off, but still on the camera, the picture will come out blank. I’m guessing that mounting the flash puts the electronics in “flash mode.” After several blank pics, I learned to take off the flash when I didn’t need it. That solved my blank pic problem.

Jim B.
 
I found this tool for decoding the SX-70 serial number:
http://www.rwhirled.com/landlist/sx70sn.htm

It says my older one is from May 23, 1974 (no tripod mount) and the newer one is from October 25, 1977 (tripod mount). I don't know whether the tool is accurate; I believe my uncle told me he bought the newer one in 1973 or 1974. But then, he's getting quite feeble and it was a long time ago.

It also reports that the older one has the original SX-70 shutter and the later one the Alpha 1 shutter. I guess that was an upgraded model. That later SX-70, my uncle's, out of the seven original cameras I have is the best performer. (The SLR670m and SLR670a are the best performers of them all.).

I tried the frog tongue and mostly gave up on it, even with the older films I found better results using a home-brewed catch box that protects the film for the first minute or two, after which I just put it into my camera bag to finish processing. With the B&W 2.0 film, it's not really needed; I don't use any protection, just take the film out of the slot and put it into the bag. The results have been very good overall.

I haven't tried the 2.0 film outdoors in cooler weather yet. Winter is coming... :)

I think that the flash behavior is as you suspect: fitting a flash unit or flash bar puts the SX-70 into flash mode so the exposure is way off the mark without the flash firing. It is setting an aperture at a fairly high shutter speed based on the focus setting.

I find it a lot of fun figuring out how these cameras behave and getting them to do what I want. The B&W 2.0 film (and the duotone variant) have been great. Hopefully the new 2.0 color will put the camera into its stride; the preview packs I shot were very promising.

G
 
robert blu said:
What attract me in the use of the sx70 with B&W is the "old look" of the photos, without any additional pp work!
And from a few casual shots I noticed when taking portrait with one istant camera people behave in a more natural way than when using a digital. Hmmm, maybe an M9 or a DF could make it as well :)
Click to expand...

Hi Robert,

I think I-BW2.0 instant film is a good idea for both the reasons you mentioned (and I like instant bw film as you know); but thinking just now about what you said: have you considered an uncoated Summar/Summitar to give an "old" look - or perhaps a TLR or folder, both of which I've found elicit a more relaxing and natural response from sitters.

Cheers,
 
Many interesting ideas thanks you all. The idea to work with Polaroid camera has come because I noticed a different reaction of people in front of it, probably because different from the usual cameras tourists have and use. It's a touristic area where I would like to take pictures of the residents. I have time to make a few trials in the meantime photographing my friends as subject with different light source, different tools and compare results.
robert
PS: I could use also my Zeiss Ikonta or Rolleflex but giving soon a photo to the subject I think is important as well...
 
Godfrey said:
They will produce very different results, regardless of anything else, due to the very different character of the film. I'd experiment with both for a bit to see which I liked more.
Click to expand...

Years ago I did a number of projects with Polaroid film. I am thinking about it again, and would be most comfortable with a view camera and film pack back.

Suggestions, I admit I am being lazy and have done no research.

In the past I used SX-70, but that camera is long gone, here is a studio SX-70 from about 1985.

med_U23628I1444577698.SEQ.0.jpg
 
photomoof said:
Years ago I did a number of projects with Polaroid film. I am thinking about it again, and would be most comfortable with a view camera and film pack back.

Suggestions, I admit I am being lazy and have done no research.

In the past I used SX-70, but that camera is long gone, here is a studio SX-70 from about 1985.

med_U23628I1444577698.SEQ.0.jpg
Click to expand...

I like the shot.

If you want to use a view camera and instant film, The Impossible Project is producing integral 8x10 film. I'm very tempted by it, but getting into 8x10 work requires a fairly substantial commitment.

MiNT Camera in Hong Kong is selling refurbished as well as "refurbished and upgraded" SX-70 cameras. I have both their SLR670m and SLR670a cameras now ... the 'a' model in particular is a terrific SX-70 with access to the 600 films as native, just what the SX-70 needed.

MiNT and Impossible Project have both been excellent to work with.

G
 
A couple pf examples here:

med_U3692I1441811382.SEQ.0.jpg


Polaroid Land 340 - Fuji FP 100 silk - Studio flash - Epson V 600 - minimal PP

med_U3692I1442324211.SEQ.2.jpg


Impossible Third Man Records Edition: a new version of the duotone films by Impossible, first photo. yes, it's not B&W, it's B&Y ! I like it, just to play a little bit with a basic Polaroid 600
 
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