Polaroid camera wanted for serious B&W work - recommendations?

Hi,<p>does the following exist? If not, got any other

ideas?<p><ul><li>Camera for instant black-and-white prints<li>Takes

readily-available film<li>Full manual control (focus, shutter,

aperture etc.)<li>Coupled rangefinder would be nice<li>Good

lens<li>Elegant, old-fashioned body</ul><p>I am a complete newbie to

Polaroid and know absolutely nothing about it, so please be patient

with me if I said something silly.<p>All help would be greatly

appreciated!

I am using a Polaroid 545 Holder with my large format cameras (Sinar and Linhof) which fits into the international back. With a used Linhof Technika for example you'd have a solid and nice camera, many lens options, rangefinder, movements etc. It will also depend on the printsize you want to get. I use the single-sheets in 4x5, allthough it's not the cheapest way. But the results are very nice.

 

I don't know too much about any "dedicated" Polaroid cameras.

 

regards

wolfgang

The Polaroid 600SE is what you are looking for. It is a professional Polaroid camera with interchangeable lens capability. The only one of your criteria it doesn't meet is the part about the "elegant, old-fashioned body" (kinda don't see what appearance has to do with camera quality, anyway). It is fully manual, x-sync'd for flash, coupled rangefinder, etc., etc. I use one myself quite frequently. The standard lens on it is the Mamiya 127mm f/4.7 lens, which will stop down to an incredible f/64 (somewhat unusual on a factory instant print camera). I use two lenses on mine. In addition to the standard lens, I also use a Mamiya 150mm f/5.6 lens. It's a medium format camera and takes 3.25 x 4.25 pack film, most varieties of which are readily available at camera stores and even drugstores. The lenses, in my opinion, are actually the equal of some large format lenses costing four or five times as much. The camera is no longer made, but you can sometimes find them on ebay, although some seen on ebay are junk, so you have to be careful there. You can also sometimes find one at pro camera stores. Their value is steadily increasing. You can also purchase a 4x5 back from NPC, which will allow you to shoot large format Polaroid film with the camera. For a 600SE in excellent shape, expect to pay from $350 up for one with the standard lens. I have seen new ones still in the box sell for almost $800. It is an outstanding camera. I shoot Polaroid Type 665 p/n film in mine.

Ronnie,

 

I have a Speed Graphic with a Polaroid 545i back that I use with Polaroid 55 film. I think this will come close to meet your requirements, and the whole outfit is affordable and easy to find. Polaroid 55 yeild superb and evocative negatives that are easy to scan but does require care in handling as it is a little delicate and easy to scratch. Hope this little two penneth worth is of use.

 

good luck Steve

<blockquote><b>Wolfgang Wachata</b> wrote:<br><i>With a used Linhof Technika for example you'd have a solid and nice camera, many lens options, rangefinder, movements etc.</i><br><br><b>Jim Adams</b> wrote:<br><i>The only one of your criteria it doesn't meet is the part about the "elegant, old-fashioned body" (kinda don't see what appearance has to do with camera quality, anyway).</i></blockquote><p>Thanks, guys, for responding. I'm planning to use this camera handheld to take photos of tourists in the street and sell them the (instant) prints. First, Wolfgang, it would be rather problematic to handhold a view camera such as the Linhof (though, yes, I'm dying to use a Linhof for other purposes!). Second, Jim, I think it would help sales if the camera looked like something from a different age, being that that's the image sought by most tourists where I live (heck, I might even dress accordingly).<p>Interchangable lenses are nice, but not necessary - a nice "normal" length fixed lens would suffice.<p>Jim, your name popped up just now when I searched for your recommended 600SE. Looks like you're quite the celebrity. Those photos are brilliant! Incidentally, I like the look of the camera, too - in this day and age of sleek plastic digicams stuffed with electronics, the 600SE already smacks of a different day and age. Unfortunately it requires quite an investment, so I will have to seriously think about it before buying.<p>Thanks again.

Steve - thanks! Are Speed Graphics easy to use handheld with rapidly moving subjects (street photography style)?

Ronnie,

Speed Graphics were designed to be hand held by press photographers back

in the day. But for your use, I think the fastest Polaroid film you can use with

the 545 holder is ISO 100 (other than the pos/neg film), which would work in

bright sun light, but not so good in the shade.

Ronnie

my idea is not viable for what you have in mind with Polaroid 55, but regular Polaroid film and a Speed Graphic is quite easy to use hand held for what you want a Polaroid camera is probably a better bet.

good luck Steve

Ronnie

my idea is not viable for what you have in mind with Polaroid 55, but regular Polaroid film and a Speed Graphic is quite easy to use hand held for what you want a Polaroid camera is probably a better bet.

good luck Steve

I second Polaroid 600SE. The camera takes 600 series film - image is 3 1/4" by 4 1/4" or

something like that. You can load 100 ISO Color film. You might also like 400 ISO Sepia

monochrome film (I'm assuming they still make it).

<p>

I'm not sure either camera (Graflex Graphic thingies or the Polaroid 600SE) promotes a rapid

street shooter style - you'll get less tired whipping the 600SE around...

<p>

Why do you want to shoot Polaroids on the street? And why would people by them? Just

curious.

Polaroid 195.

 

Nice lens, uses standard pack film, rangefinder coupled and full manual control.

I might agree with Kirk. Try checking out a pack camera. I just picked one up on e-bay for an amazing price. If you want full manual control I might check out the Polaroid 180 or 195 pack cameras. I also just bought a cheaper Polaroid 330 pack camera for $10 on e-bay. You'd be surprised at the quality of the B&W prints that I get from it and it would allow you to check it out for cheap. My other suggestion would be a Polaroid back for a your medium format camera if you have one. Check out the Creative section on the Polaroid site. It will give you an idea of the qulaity of images that you can create with these camera and films. Here are some links for you. Enjoy!

 

Creative:

http://www.polaroid.com/creative/index.jsp?bmUID=1125417772097&bmLocale=en_US

 

Pack Films and Cameras:

http://polaroid.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/polaroid.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_lva=&p_faqid=2625&p_created=1085666910

 

 

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions...

You can also check out this previous PhotoNet thread for more info...

 

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00DEtT

 

 

It doesn't get any more classic looking than these old pack cameras!

The *cheap* way to do this (in case you're on the kind of budget I am) would be to buy almost any pack-film Polaroid that has a tripod socket (that's the bulk of them except the bottom-line models), strip the plastic lens and electronic shutter out, and install a suitable replacement lens in manually operated shutter. If you can get a lens that's within a few mm of 114 mm focal length (110 mm to 120 mm are likely close enough), you'll even be able to use the original rangefinder (assuming your camera has one -- some of the cheapest models have some other type of focusing aid, though I'm not sure if any of those have tripod sockets).

 

The only significant hazard with doing this is you might find you have a camera with bent struts that make the front standard non-parallel.

 

Get one that's straight, however, and you'll get a good bellows, focusing mechanism, Polaroid pack-film back (takes 660 series film, 3x4ish pack format, including 665 pos/neg and another pos/neg material with a slightly faster negative but high-contrast, high-speed positive -- also the ISO 400 and ISO 3000 print-only films) and, with some models, even an accessory shoe. Though the cameras originally depend on batteries for their operation, replacing the shutter makes them battery independent (unless you really feel the need for the electronic timers in the 300 and 400 series). Similarly, replacing the shutter lets you choose how to handle flash synch, instead of being locked into M synch by the shutter's design.

 

OTOH, it's a lot easier to get a 180 or 195... ;) They go for around $200 lately, are completely manual, have a lens already matched to the rangefinder, and are capable of making images good enough to enlarge a good bit, if you use the pos/neg film.

Hi Ronnie.

The requirements you want will fit for a Polaroid 110a or 110b converted to Polaroid pack film and using 665 film pack. You will get both positive and negative in B&W. You can check on Ebay for one.

The price is about $300.00 to $400.00 for an excellent one. MINH

Thanks, guys! I ended up getting a $5 "Polaroid Automatic 250" pack film camera (the one with the coupled range/viewfinder) for experimenting. If the lens does not turn out satisfactory results, I will try and replace it per Donald's suggestion. And if the enterprise turns out to be a money-maker, I can always get a more upper-end model to complement it.