Topic: Suddenly I want to try Instant

[Alan]

I still kick myself for not giving colour Infrared film a go in the 80's
and 90's and at the weekend after viewing some of the podcasts
here I realised I never tried instant either apart from Caffenol-C . . . 

Im looking at the Fuji line, the Instax 100, 200, 210 and
the Mini's and there are probably more models also,
so which are the ones not to get or to get . . . ?

I want to do this on a budget, I dont know if im gonna really take
to it until I try it.

thanks in advance

[Francois]

I really probably couldn't help much, but here's my 2¢ worth...
The Instax Mini is a lot cheaper to run than the full size models. But it also makes very small prints.
On the other hand, the full size models cost an arm to run... but that's less than half the price of using a Polaroid with some Impossible film, so it ain't so bad.

I currently have an Instax 100. Nice camera to use. It has zone focus and what I think are plastic lenses. Still, I find the results very pleasing.

Other models are probably very similar in quality. I know the Photojojo shop sells the Instax 210 for 80$ brand new.

There's also an Autofocus Instax and a Macro instax... but I don't know much about them.

[Thom Stone]

I have toyed with polaroid 600 for a few months but just got a polaroid 320 pack film camera, i know its not what you were thinking of but i can HIGHLY recommend it, i have been shooting with it for 2 or so days and have fallen in love, peel apart film is my favourite form of instant now. its not as insanely expensive as integral film either as fuji still make it (FP stuff, altho they have just stopped production on aload of black and white stuff, see the forum for more info) and the expired 669 and other films are abundent online, i picked up some old 669 for a tenner and it turned out pretty nice!

[Ed Wenn]

Instax is fun, but for me you can't beat peel apart and I endorse everything Thom Stone says in his post. The film is cheap (well, almost no instant film is cheap cheap, but peel apart isn't so bad, it's easy to source and it isn't made by TIP - miaow!  ). The cameras are where the 100 series (for that is what it's called) format comes into its own. You can get a cheapo Land Cam on eBay for a very small outlay, buy some film, mod a battery and just get cracking. The joys of peel apart instant film is will be yours. If you watch the podcast about dipping prints in coffee you'll see Damion & I using my Land Camera 360. Polaroid made loads of different cameras which look almost identical to the 360, but there are lots of differences between the lower end (320, 340 etc.), the middle range (360, 250 etc.) and the top end (195, 185 etc.). Don't worry about that for now though....any and all of them will give you a feel for whether or not the format is for you.

On the integral front I can endorse the Instax ranges. They're all good. I have one of the larger format Instax cams and enjoy using it, but it doesn't have the same charm as peel apart.

[Miles]

I've got the Instax 100 as it was £2.99 in the Oxfam shop, also because I'm too scared of using a "real" polaroid and wasting the film.  Here's a sample ... They are still quite cute but perhaps a little too good maybe.

Miles ...

[Alan]

thanks guys,

francois, i did look at your 100 review, thanks!

thom, thanks for the samples

ed, the polaroid stuff just scares me . . . so many models and so many types
of film . . .

Miles, good spot . . . nice sample.

I really like the ideas of the peel apart but as i said above going polaroid
im gonna need someone to hold my hand ! 

and as everyone has mentioned the fuji cams are well worth considering.

keep posting ! 

[jojonas~]

there are lots of differences between the lower end (320, 340 etc.), the middle range (360, 250 etc.) and the top end (195, 185 etc.).

I know a camera is only worth as much as you are prepared to pay for it, but I still wonder..
what kind of prices do these go for?

I guess my only must is that it'd have a rangefinder. the zeiss finders look nice~ hehe 

[Thom Stone]

i got my 320 for £5 ish with £13 shipping to the uk, something like that, however the guy had no idea if/how it worked so it was a bit of a gamble, luckily it did work, i will toy with it for a few months and then hopefully upgrade to someting a bit nicer

[Ed Wenn]

The low end and medium range 100 format Land Cams aren't expensive. All have rangefinders, but some have the RF and the viewfinder window separate - i.e. you compose through one and focus through the other. One of the big differentiators between the low and mid range Land Cams is whether or not the RF and the viewfinder are in the same window. My 360 does, which is why I use it far more often than my 420 and my 230....or do I own a 240 and a 320, erm??? Doesn't matter.

aoluain: don't be afraid by the world of Polaroid and all the formats of cameras and films. It's worth getting involved and there's not that much to learn really if someone explains it to you. Starting from scratch though...it does get confusing. If I remember, you're based in ireland, right? I'd be more than happy to give you a call and spend 15 minutes explaining the basics for you. Might save a few hours of reading. Fir instance, why are 665, 669 and 125i are all classed as 100 series films even though only one of them is a "100" number? How come100 series compatible Land Cameras have more model numbers than there are grains of sand on the beach? How come The Swinger is a Land Camera....but doesn't take 100 series films? Finally why aren't 669 and 667 classed as 600 series films?

Seriously...I'd be happy to bring you up to speed. I remember being overawed by it all to start with too, but it if you get someone to explain it all to you you'll have no problems. le me know.

[moominsean]

some possibly useful blog posts i've done on peel-apart...

http://moominsean.blogspot.com/2008/04/polaroid-primer-peel-apart-films.html

http://moominsean.blogspot.com/2008/12/polaroid-pack-film-final-lesson.html

http://moominsean.blogspot.com/2010/06/polaroid-peel-apart-instant-film-types.html

http://moominsean.blogspot.com/2009/08/polaroid-sans-auto-manual-cameras.html

it does seem daunting at first, but after a bit you realize that most of the cameras are exactly the same. there are four basic types of camera to look at: automatic folders (100, 360, etc.), hardcases (super shooter, colorpack II, etc.), manual folders (180, 195), and modern folders (propack, reporter). and the 600SE and mamiya universal are bonus cameras.

if you want an auto folder, get a 250, 350, 360, or 450.

if you want a hardcase, get a colorpack III or a super shooter plus (or big swinger 3000 for 3000 speed film only).

manual folder, get the 195.

i've only had troubles with propacks.

i wouldn't worry about spending the money on a 600SE until you understand how everything works!


i definitely prefer peel-apart over integral. it's really not confusing because if it's not integral, it's peel-apart. they are completely different, so if you buy a peel-apart film, you can't buy the "wrong" film (unless you get large format type 50s, but then you would be like why am i paying $70 for a pack of film?). peel-apart don't look remotely the same!

if you want to shoot integral, get an sx-70. any but model 3...doesn't really matter as they are all about the same and just have different colored bodies.
good luck!

[original_ann]

That ocean scene moominsean.... jawdroppingly gorgeous!

[jojonas~]

ditto on the ocean scene. I was planning to keep this as a future project, maybe a christmas present to myself.. but now I just laid a bid on a 340 I found on the local auction site haha I'll probably be overbid and I wouldn't mind that now. wouldn't mind buying a land for my cheap bid either!

are there any things to look out for when buying one of the folders? like any malfunctions that may happen due to age that are more frequent for this particular type of camera?

thanks for the info so far! I'm take a look on those blog posts, sean

[Alan]

ed: thanks a million for the offer . . . I just might call on your
service soon!

sean: . . .   . . . what wonderful info you have compiled there
very well done, another nice read for when things get quiet in the office  
and thanks for the info.

ok the first step has been completed . . . I've recharged my paypal a/c.

Im gonna have a snoop around see what I can dig up . . .

ive got some more info from here >

http://www.rwhirled.com/landlist/landhome.htm

[Edited to remove unethical commercial URL]

[Alan]

Well I have bit the bullet and bought a polaroid land camera,

I couldnt afford to go with the glass element type like the
*50's so i went instead for a newer 420 model.

Plastic body and lens, no tripod socket.

I was looking at the 220 cameras which for a a plastic
lens one was a kind of anomaly of a camera in that it
has various aperure settings which is not common
with the plastic grade land cameras,

anyway this is just a start to see if I could connect with
the style and bring it further.

€27.00 delivered from the U.S.

. . .

thanks for all the help people,

i'll post up my first image, or not!

 

[Miller]

Aoluain

Simply 'tap' a tripod socket as I did on a 340 model if required...

[Alan]

Yes indeed I'm sure it can be modified.

[moominsean]

i see 360s go for less than $20 on ebay all the time!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Polaroid-360-Camera-Case-W-Accessories-/160480860793?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255d679a79

[John Thawley]

Instant is a blast. In the past two months I've gone from buying a 250 (which I love) to two conversion 110A/B (a 4x5 and 3.25x4.25), an SX-70 and four Spectras. The Spectras are for pounding around with integral film and letting my 8 year-old enjoy. The look of the Spectra films is definitely a funky 60s-70s style color.

The peel-apart pack films are the most satisfying, though. The SX-70 films including the new experimental products from The Impossible Project can be rather frustrating and don't leave you with much control over the outcome.

But... by the same token, the 110A/B cameras using FujiFilm 100C (color) can be SO GOOD... you end up with images that leave you thinking... hmmm.. what was the point, it looks just like my digital stuff.

I think in the end, the peel-apart film and quality of images serve as a starting point once you're producing pristine exposures. From there... with pristine exposure as your point of reference, you can begin to experiment and working toward finding a look you want from the images. My next step is limit my self to black and white and I've got a batch of Polaroid Sepia. So we'll see.

I have found the instant film to be inspiring. It's not as instant as digital... but at least you're shooting film without the wait of getting back from the developer.

From The Impossible Project's PX-100 shot with SX-70


From FujiFlim FP100C45 using 110A/B Polaroid conversion