Polaroid film/back... does it make sense to travel with?

im thinking of going up to medium format for my travels.

i was wondering if anyone does the following... travel with a film

back as well as a polaroid back... and when you come to a village

where kids or others come up to you for a photo, you take one of

them with the polaroid back and give it to them. it would be a

great way to make friends and make people happy. most people in

this world cant afford to, or dont have the means to have a photo of

themselves or their family. on the other hand, ive been in

situations where people dont understand that i cant give them a

photo right away because it needs to be developed. its impossible

to explain such things when you cant speak the language!

 

so i guess im asking, is polaroid film good to travel with and would

it be economical? and is polaroid 120/220 film readily available?

Most of my travel now is for business and assignments and I keep Polaroid (or Fuji) with me at all times - especially when shooting large or medium format. A perfect example was this week when I traveled six hours for a one hour interview and photo session and six hours home. Having the Polaroid for test shots gives me a real warm fuzzy feeling inside. Just knowing that I nailed the exposure and lighting makes it worth the extra space the back and a few packs of FP100C requires. Another added plus is that when I give the subject the 'roids at the end of the session, they know what they'll look like when the story and pictures go to print. Many times, a subject who isn't crazy about having his/her picture taken will open up when they see the test shots and I wind up with much better images than I might otherwise.

There is no 120 or 220 Polaroid material. You need a camera that takes a Polaroid back (NPC makes them as do the camera makers). I use the 405 back for my 4X5 when shooting with a roll film back, a 545 when shooting sheet film, and I have the Bronica Polaroid back for my SQ-A and SQ-Ai cameras (uses pack film).

I've never brought a polaroid back with me traveling, but I also don't shoot people much (I'm a landscape person), and wouldn't encounter issues with people wanting pictures, etc. I ussually don't carry one because of the weight issue and the back isn't worth the effort for my work, but it sounds like it might be for yours, it's a good idea, at least worth trying I'd imagine. As for the film, MF film backs take pack film, which can be had at good pro photo stores, though many locations don't have good pro photo shops, even in the US, I'd imagine that would be more true in less developed areas abroad. In terms of cost, polaroid film is around $1 US a shot, so it may or may not be worth it, depending on your budget and the number of shots you anticipate taking with it.

 

Peter

I used one when i had a m645pro with no light meter and was using a handheld meter for the first time. I was using it for travel photography, ruins in Israel, and it was worth carrying. It did not take up much space in the camera bag. I'm not really sure if you want to take purchase a MF Polaroid back for pics of kids for fun stuff to do, it is much more usefull as a photo tool, the small image is not very impressive. You could always look for a beater Polaroid camera for this use, and use the Polarois back for an exposure tool.

 

Polaroid film comes in packages, it's not very economical for snaps of kids. Maybe an outlet like K-Mart has it cheap though.

 

Where are you traveling to? Have fun and don't forget insurance.

 

cheers~md

In the situation you are describing, where you want to shoot portraits as a tourist and to be able to give people a Polaroid on the spot, I don't think the kind of Polaroid you are going to get from a Polaroid back on an MF camera is going to be that satisfying--a 2x2" image surrounded by a black border, typically off center, depending on the type of back and camera you have. It's more of a proofing method than a means of producing a print for display. Maybe a way to make 2x2" Polaroids more appealing would be to make some sort of nice paper folder for the prints, cut them out, and present them that way.

 

This kind of exchange is usually done with a 4x5" camera and type 55 positive/negative B&W film, where you can split the difference between the optimal exposure for the print (about EI 80) and the neg (about EI 40), give the subject a print, and keep the neg (which means carrying a clearing tank of sodium sulfite solution), or alternately shoot a Polaroid and then switch to film.